Democratization in the Middle East and North Africa: A More Ambidextrous Process?. Issue 4 (2nd October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schmitter, Philippe C.; Sika, Nadine
• Is Part Of: Mediterranean politics. Volume 22:Issue 4(2017)
• Page Start: 443
• Page End: 463
• Publication Date: 2017-10-02
• Subjects: Mediterranean Region -- Politics and government -- 1945- -- Periodicals; 320.91822
• DOI: 10.1080/13629395.2016.1220109
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1362-9395

Abstract

Abstract: Democratization is always an ambidextrous process. On the one hand, it triggers a universalistic set of norms, events, processes and symbols. On the other hand, democratization involves a much more particularistic set of 'realistic' adaptations to the structures and circumstances of individual countries. In analysing the structures and conjunctures of countries in the Arab World during the past decades, scholars looked at them from the perspective of persistent authoritarianism. This essay exploits democratization theory – as well as its converse ‒ by analysing the universalistic set of events, processes and symbols of democratization elsewhere in the world, and then identifying the particularistic characteristics of timing, location and coincidence that seem likely to affect the political outcome of regime change in the countries affected by recent popular uprisings in the Arab World.