As protests have spread throughout the Arab world, Washington's democracy promotion community has shown an almost parallel level of fervor for the action on the ground in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya, with the hope of more to follow. Their enthusiasm, however, is tempered by their acknowledgement that democracy-building is a struggle and often comes with setbacks.

But one of the biggest battles of how to "democratize" the region may take place in Washington when those stakeholders who claim they would love to see Arab democracy want to have their say in what kind of democracy and for whom.

Carnegie Endowment's Tom Carothers, writing in the Washington Post, points out that supporting democracy in Egypt is one thing, but determining outcomes is another.