Syrian Rebels execute Pro Assad supporters in public

[Mr Khan]

HappySqurriel said:
As with all of the arab spring countries, I was expecting this ...

Unlike what some people say, humans civilization tends to organize itself into totalitarian states; and the precursors for democracy have to be in place, and checks and balances have to be built to protect people against mob rule, before democracy can thrive.

Most of the middle eastern nations are ruled by brutal regimes, and the society has not developed in a way to support anything except brutal regimes; and, therefore, overthrowing one government will likely result in a new government taking their place that is just as bad or worse.

It's not about institutional checks and balances more than it is about natural ones. Less income inequality, and ideally either a certain degree of homogeneity or diversity. In highly ethnically diverse countries, there's little fear of one group running everything in a democracy (like in India), while in homogenous countries, the root of harmony is obvious. It's in places like Syria, where a Sunni Muslim Brotherhood would likely completely dominate discourse if allowed to by democracy, where other groups, like the Alawites who back Assad, feel they "need" to seize power to protect themselves.

Lower income inequality helps a lot, too.