Rethinking military behavior during the Arab Spring. Issue 3 (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Makara, Michael
• Is Part Of: Defense and security analysis. Volume 32:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 209
• Page End: 223
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Arab Spring -- military defection -- institutionalization -- civil–military relations; Military art and science -- Periodicals; Armed Forces -- Periodicals; Military policy -- Periodicals; National security -- Periodicals; World politics -- Periodicals; 355
• DOI: 10.1080/14751798.2016.1199121
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1475-1798

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Why did some Arab militaries remain loyal to authoritarian rulers amid mass uprisings during the Arab Spring while others defected to the opposition? One popular explanation shows this variation with reference to the degree of military institutionalization: institutionalized militaries defected, while patrimonial militaries remained loyal. This article argues that the institutionalization hypothesis does not provide a complete account of the mechanisms through which the degree of military institutionalization leads to either defection or continued loyalty. This shortcoming stems from the fact that scholars have treated military institutionalization as a catch-all concept for three distinct variables: ethnic stacking of the military, patronage distribution, and organizational factionalization. Examining the interaction between these variables highlights the mechanisms through which military defection occurs, and therefore that disaggregating institutionalization into its component parts provides a more complete explanation of military behavior during the Arab Spring.