It& #39;s hard to imagine an Arab country, if it were democratic, striking a peace deal with Israel today. Whether that& #39;s a strike for or against democracy is another question

Of course, it& #39;s not exactly an accident that Israel, one of the region& #39;s few democracies, prefers that its Arab neighbors not be democratic

If democracy in Arab countries would entail a much lower likelihood of peace deals with Israel, democracy would still be serving its purpose: to reflect public sentiment and allow citizens and elected officials to express their preferences on controversial foreign policy issues

Even if & #39;no peace deals with Israel& #39; is a bad substantive outcome, that has no bearing on democracy& #39;s goodness or badness. In this sense, democracy is its own end: its goal is to give agency and choice to citizens and reflect popular preferences