Author : Salma Shamel Elsayed Nasser
Source : Italy
Date of Publication : 01/2010
Abstract :
“When will Middle Eastern countries democratize?” is the
normative question that guided the literature on regime change in the
Arab world during the 1990s. Since significant political changes but no
systemic transitions have occurred, this question needs reformulation:
what accounts for the persistence of Arab authoritarianism? Escaping
thus from the teleological tunnel permits the identification of two major
developments. The first is an oscillation between controlled political
liberalizations and deliberalizations, and the second consists of five areas
of change within regimes: legitimation, elites, institution building,
co-optation, and regimes’ reactions to external influences. The second
trend is particularly crucial for understanding the durability of
authoritarianism in the Arab world.
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