Scott Alexander announces the winners of the 2022 Book Review Contest, lists finalists and honorable mentions, and provides commentary on the entries and contest process. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the winners and finalists of the 2022 Book Review Contest. The post lists the top 5 winners, followed by the remaining finalists and honorable mentions. Scott provides brief commentary on many of the reviews, explaining his selection process and praising various aspects of the entries. He also shares some insights about the anonymity of the contest and its results, noting that some well-known writers performed well. The post concludes with information about prizes for winners and finalists, and a brief mention of plans for next year's contest. Shorter summary

The post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries, finding a wide spectrum of outcomes and concluding that Islam often acts as an obstacle to liberal democracy. Longer summary

This post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries: United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Lebanon. The authors review each country's history, constitution, democratic institutions, and human rights record to assess the extent to which liberal democracy has taken hold. They find a wide spectrum, from Tunisia's robust democracy to Iran's theocratic regime, with the other countries falling in between. The authors conclude that while it's possible for Muslim countries to adopt liberal democracy, Islam often acts as an obstacle, and most Muslim countries have only taken small steps in that direction so far. Shorter summary