Public diplomacy visiting professor Eytan Gilboa worries that electoral victories by Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections may not lead to true democracy for the Palestinian people. Recalling past elections in Iran and Algeria, he writes in a Jan. 31 Los Angeles Times op-ed, "Islamic radical movements exploit democratic elections to gain power and to replace secular regimes with Islamic theocracies" and cautions "Instant elections, however successful and legitimate, will prove insufficient in the quest for true democracy." Gilboa has been an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. He is a professor of communication and government at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv.
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