Interview: A Source of Hope  Christian Höller: The recent
uprisings in various Arab countries have been accompanied, at
least on the side of Western commentators, by equal measures of
hope and fear. Hopes that at last a sustained wave of
democratization will sweep through these societies, which have
resisted reforms for so long. Fears that more reactionary or
totalitarian tendencies may gain the upper hand. For you, as a
profound specialist on the political systems in the region as
well as someone with many personal ties there, what has been the
prevailing feeling?  Gilbert Achcar: For me, the events are
essentially a source of hope. I certainly have worries about the
evolution and the future of the movement but the fact that such
a revolutionary shockwave is sweeping the region is something
very positive. Those who express fear of what is going on are
implicitly those who believe that the stability offered by the
despotic governments could be regarded as the lesser evil
compared to potential scenarios they h