Given this backdrop of repression and punctuated democracy, the failure of Islamists in Egypt and Turkey tells us less about Islam’s compatibility with democracy than we might think. Did Morsi and Erdoğan behave as they did because of their religious ideologies, or would most political leaders seeking to retain power have acted in similar ways in their position?
在这一镇压和干预民主的背景下，伊斯兰教在埃及和土耳其的失败所揭示的伊斯兰教与民主的兼容性问题并不像我们想象的那样严重。穆尔西和埃尔多安之所以这样做，是因为他们的宗教思想吗？或者说，大部分寻求保持权力的政治领袖在任上都会这样做吗？伊斯兰教没有政治作用的拉美也不乏一再破坏公民自由和政治权利的民粹主义强人。