Palestine and democratic process

We can dispense with any suspicion of the election result itself. In the U.S., where public relations firms run elections, this brutal perversion of our championed mechanism produces little more than an empty analysis, or some quiet criticism. We can also reject the Huntingtonian "clash of civilizations". There is no clash, the U.S. has forged close relations with the most fundamentalist and repressive regimes in the Muslim world, as democracy would run counter to particular interests of world order and capitalist accumulation. On the other hand, democracy is cynically imposed in other, less affluent areas, where legitimacy and power hang in the balance. These curious relations with the idea of democracy in the Middle East and elsewhere in the "developing" world allow for a kaleidoscopic lens through which to examine the Hamas victory. One finds no consensus, no rational, single line of analysis. The situation complicates further daily. This can only be a good thing. The only certainty is that Fatah has run it's course... for the time being(?). A choice has been made by the people on the ground, right or wrong. Very real circumstances impelled this victory. But beyond good and evil, it stands as it is.

The U.S. should recognize the outcome of a free, democratic election it lended support to. This week's triumph of Hamas was feared, but the U.S. refused to allow the postponement of the election. It is probably safe to rest easy. As is well-known, the transcending, negative political forces within are almost invariably incorporated into the rationality of the prevailing order. The within or without of Hamas is up for debate, but this transformation occured with Fatah, rendering it impotent, corrupt, and ultimately stripped of power.