In his September 27, 2021column in the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Lebanese journalist and pollical analyst Sam Mansa voiced concern for the fate of democracy in the Middle East, which he said was in decline after the failure of the Arab Spring uprisings and in the wake of the U.S. decision to diminish its involvement in the region. He directed pointed criticism the U.S., saying that it lacks a vision for establishing and cementing freedoms and democracy in the world.

Its political and military withdrawal, he said, leaves a vacuum in the region, which is being filled by non-democratic players like Russia, Iran, Turkey and China; these players, in turn, are cultivating inexperienced local forces that choose tyranny as their form of government. He concluded by saying that the region's only hope is that the younger generation, influenced by globalization and social media, will be attracted by democracy and act to strengthen it.