Brought to the fore by the events of September 11th, the world is increasingly conscious of a devastating and dangerous change in the Arab world: a steady march toward isolation, brought on by illiteracy, ignorance, and repression. Many have come to believe that this will lead to an inevitable “clash of civilizations” between the rest of the world and the Arabs. Fighting against this “inevitability” is a small group meeting at Oxford University. The Project for Democracy Studies in Arab Countries, meeting in Britain because “nowhere in the Arab world would such a gathering be possible,” has gathered for the last fourteen years to discuss the structural weaknesses in their native lands. Among the problems they see: despotism, corruption, and excessive government interference in everyday life. And, unlike most Arab groups, the PDSAC believes that only Arabs themselves can create the democratic institutions necessary to prevent a further decline. Without these new institutions, it is entirely likely that a new generation, denied such a basic right as participation and self-expression in government, will find a much more perilous vent for their frustrations.