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Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World

edited by Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner

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Three years after the first mass protests of the Arab Spring, senior scholars weigh in on how democracy is faring.

Beginning in December 2010, a series of uprisings swept the Arab world, toppling four longtime leaders and creating an apparent political opening in a region long impervious to the "third wave" of democratization. Despite the initial euphoria, the legacies of authoritarianism—polarized societies, politicized militaries, state-centric economies, and pervasive clientelism—have proven stubborn obstacles to the fashioning of new political and social contracts. Meanwhile, the strong...

Three years after the first mass protests of the Arab Spring, senior scholars weigh in on how democracy is faring.

Beginning in December 2010, a series of uprisings swept the Arab world, toppling four longtime leaders and creating an apparent political opening in a region long impervious to the "third wave" of democratization. Despite the initial euphoria, the legacies of authoritarianism—polarized societies, politicized militaries, state-centric economies, and pervasive clientelism—have proven stubborn obstacles to the fashioning of new political and social contracts. Meanwhile, the strong electoral performance of political Islamists and the ensuing backlash in Egypt have rekindled arguments about the compatibility of democracy and political Islam. Even though progress toward democracy has been halting at best, the region’s political environment today bears little resemblance to what it was before the uprisings.

In Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World, leading scholars address the questions posed by this period of historic change in the Middle East and North Africa. This volume includes chapters examining several broad themes: the region’s shifting political culture, the relationship between democracy and political Islam, the legacy of authoritarian ruling arrangements, the strengths and vulnerabilities of remaining autocracies, and the lessons learned from transitions to democracy in other parts of the world. It also features chapters analyzing the political development of individual countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, and the monarchies of the Gulf.

Contributors

Hicham Ben Abdallah El Alaoui
April Longley Alley
Zoltan Barany
Ahmed Benchemsi
Mieczysław P. Boduszyński
Nathan J. Brown
Jason Brownlee
Daniel Brumberg
John M. Carey
Michele Dunne
Abdou Filali-Ansary
Hillel Fradkin
F. Gregory Gause III
Husain Haqqani
Steven Heydemann
Philip N. Howard
Muzammil M. Hussain
Amaney Jamal
Stéphane Lacroix
Juan J. Linz
Tarek Masoud
Marc F. Plattner
Tarek Radwan
Hamadi Redissi
Andrew Reynolds
Michael Robbins
Olivier Roy
Peter J. Schraeder
Alfred Stepan
Mark Tessler
Frédéric Volpi
Lucan Way
Frederic Wehrey
Sean L. Yom

Reviews

Reviews

... the book is a must-read text for all those who want an informed understanding of the Arab upheavals and their consequences.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
424
ISBN
9781421414164
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Thematic Essays
Chapter 1. The Languages of the Arab Revolutions
Chapter 2. The Transformation of the Arab World
Chapter 3. Arab Democracy or Islamist Revolution?
Chapte

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Thematic Essays
Chapter 1. The Languages of the Arab Revolutions
Chapter 2. The Transformation of the Arab World
Chapter 3. Arab Democracy or Islamist Revolution?
Chapter 4. There Will Be No Islamist Revolution
Chapter 5. Islamists and Democracy: Cautions from Pakistan
Chapter 6. New Findings on Arabs and Democracy
Chapter 7. The Split in Arab Culture
Chapter 8. Democratization Theory and the "Arab Spring"
Chapter 9. Transforming the Arab World's Protection-Racket Politics
Chapter 10. Resilient Royals: How Arab Monarchies Hang On
Chapter 11. Why the Modest Harvest?
Chapter 12. The Global Context
Chapter 13. The Lessons of 1989
Chapter 14. The Role of the Military
Chapter 15. The Impact of Election Systems
Chapter 16. The Role of Digital Media
Part II: Country Studies
Chapter 17. Ben Ali's Fall
Chapter 18. Tunisia's Transition and the "Twin Tolerations"
Chapter 19. The Road to (and from) Liberation Square
Chapter 20. Egypt: Why Liberalism Still Matters
Chapter 21. Egypt's Failed Transition
Chapter 22. Yemen Changes Everything... and Nothing
Chapter 23. Libya Starts from Scratch
Chapter 24. Syria and the Future of Authoritarianism
Chapter 25. Bahrain's Decade of Discontent
Chapter 26. Algeria versus the Arab Spring
Chapter 27. Morocco: Outfoxing the Opposition
Chapter 28. Jordan: The Ruse of Reform
Chapter 29. Is Saudi Arabia Immune?
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Larry Diamond

Larry Diamond is coeditor of the Journal of Democracy, codirector of the International Forum for Democratic Studies, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Featured Contributor

Marc F. Plattner

Marc F. Plattner is vice president for research and studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Plattner and Diamond are coeditors of the Journal of Democracy.