The Arab Springs Failing to Produce Democracy

Hunter Herring
Placek
POL 102
November 19, 2014

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The Arab Springs Failing to Produce Democracy
At the start of the current decade, mass protests began in the Arab world. These
protests began in Tunisia and reached as far as Bahrain and Yemen. The world fixed its
eyes upon North Africa and the Middle East and watched with optimistic,
unprecedented, and ultimately unrealistic hope that the old fortress of autocratic,
militaristic, and theocratic rule would fall and be replaced by young and prosperous
democracy. After the dust cleared from the decades old regimes faltering, the people of
the Middle East and North Africa, along with the rest of the world, democracy was not
going to be easily manufactured from this new Arab Spring. Autocratic backslide, civil
unrest, and even full blown civil war have replaced the once optimistic hopes of the
world, Arabs, and Africans. There are a plethora of reasons that democracy did not
spring from the 2010-2011 Arab protests including the regions historical background,
the lack of democratic institutions, and the lack of a prosperous and unified civil society.
Failed Democracy and the Regions History
The region today known as the Arab World, which encompasses the Middle East
and North Africa has a long and complicated history with autocratic rule. The argument
can be made that the regions history with autocratic and authoritarian rule dates back
as far back as the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia where societies were built with
god like kings presiding over the various ancient empires. The regions historically
Islamic background has also been seen as a major issue that stumps democratization
efforts. Islamic extremist cling to false histories and teachings that Muslims are

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supposed to be ruled by a central authoritarian male figure.1 However, the regions more
current problems date back to much more recent history. The long time controller of the
region, the Ottoman Empire, collapsed after World War One leaving a void that was all
too easily filled by Western Europes and its imperialistic tendencies.2 The imperialistic
policy of the great European powers after World War One were complex systems were
either they would attempt to rule indirectly or even directly. Sometimes these policies
would call for harsh use of oppression and the military to attempt to consolidate control
over the territory or to make local vassal rulers kowtow to European demands.3 These
Europeans, who had centuries perfecting the practice of imperialism, only saw these
newly acquired territories as resource cows which they could continuously and
destructively pull as much out of them as possible until their was nothing left.
In order to control the areas better, the European overlords promoted city growth,
but according to Jacqueline and Shereen Ismael, they did not promote the
industrialization, civil society/nationalized bureaucracy, or the other necessary
foundations to create a stable democratic environment after they were inevitably forced
to leave after nationalistic sentiments rose following World War Two.4 Once the
Europeans lost their influence over the region the only ruling class left able to govern
the region was the middling level national colonial officials that had been trained in
Europe on how to oppressively control a state.5 These officials ultimately became the

Howard J. Wiarda, Arab Fall or Arab Winter?, American Foreign Policy Interests 34,
no. 3 (2012): 136, 10.1080/10803920.2012.686723.
2
Jacqueline S. Ismael & Shereen T. Ismael, The Arab Spring and the Uncivil State,
Arab Studies Quarterly 35, no. 3 (2013): 232.
3
Ibid, 232.
4
Ibid, 232-33.
5
Ibid, 233.

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autocrats, dictators, or militarist that were toppled in the Arab Spring and the legacy of
foreign imperialism and colonialism.6
The Significance of Institutions or the Lack thereof in the Arab Spring
According to Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyders article Democratization and
the Arab Spring, the lack of clear and well defined political institutions is what led to the
failure of the autocratic regimes of the Middle East and North Africa.7 The political
institutions that these Arab countries did have were not effective, only served as a
rubberstamp, or in most cases non-existent. For example, Syrias parliament is mostly
filled with supporters of the countrys authoritarian president Bashar al-Assad and
therefore is there only to give the falsity that the regime has democratic roots. In the
cases of Libya and Egypt were also authoritarian dictators ruled with an iron fist political
institutions were seen as corrupt, such as the police forces and the court systems, and
others, such as competitive and thriving political parties, were so badly suppressed that
they might as well have been irrelevant or a non-factor.8 Ismael and Ismael also agree
that these institutions were incredibly useless and causing great difficulties within these
countries borders. These countries stagnated and outdated institutions were seen as ill

Patrick ONeil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, 4th ed. (New York, NY: W.W.
Norton & Company Ltd., 2013), A-16 and A-18. Colonialism is defined as an imperialist
system of physically occupying a foreign territory using military force, businesses, or settlers.
Imperialism is defined as a system in which a state extends its power to directly control
territory, resources, and people beyond its borders.
7
Edward D. Mansfield & Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Arab Spring,
International Interactions 38, no. 5 (2012): 723, 10.1080/03050629.
8
Howard J. Wiarda, Arab Fall or Arab Winter?, American Foreign Policy Interests 34,
no. 3 (2012): 136, 10.1080/10803920.2012.686723.

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equipped to deal with ongoing globalization and modernization efforts. They were also
not able the strain that was brought on by failing educational and economic systems.9
Following the 2010-2011 toppling of several of the authoritarian Middle Eastern
and African leaders, the world saw the rise of mass chaos and then the return in some
form or fashion militarist or former supporters of the old authoritarian regime. According
to Gerald Butt of the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC), the rise of these
somewhat neo-authoritarian leaders is due to how little institutional development these
counties had at the time of the fall of the old leaders.10 These countries were entirely too
consolidated under one-man rule for democracy to develop quickly or easily therefore
political backslide occurred rapidly. This is most commonly seen in areas of Syria, Iraq,
and nationally in Egypt.11
Civil Society
Howard J. Wiarda in Arab Fall or Arab Winter? lists out several prerequisites
that a country must have before true democratization may occur. One of the things that
he lists is a healthy and functioning civil society. Edward Mansfield, writer of
Democratization and the Arab Spring, and unnamed author of an article in The
Economist titled The Arab World: Tethered by History, both state that former
authoritarian regimes used political violence and divisiveness as a tool to ensure that a
stable civil society capable of challenging their authority was to become a reality.12 This

Jacqueline S. Ismael & Shereen T. Ismael, The Arab Spring and the Uncivil State,
Arab Studies Quarterly 35, no. 3 (2013): 234.
10
Gerald Butt, Viewpoint: Why Arab Spring has not delivered real democracy, BBC
News, last modified June 1, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27632777.
11
Ibid.
12
Edward D. Mansfield & Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Arab Spring,
International Interactions 38, no. 5 (2012): 723, 10.1080/03050629. and The Arab World:

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is particularly true in the case of Libyas former dictator Col. Mummar Gaddafi, who
used terror, torture, murder, and other human rights abuses to ensure his reign and the
fragmentation of his people.13
Conclusion
The Middle East and North Africas volatile political situation makes it an
interesting case to study from a journalistic and political point of view. The region has
many complex facets that prohibit it from moving out of its seemingly never-ending dark
age. Some of the things that prohibit it from taking its rightful place in the world of the
twenty-first century include its relationship with history and religion as well of it lack of
development institutionally, civilly, economically, and educationally. If the people of the
Middle East wish to truly build a new more encompassing democratic society then they
will need to shake off the bonds of history and rebuild their world from the ground up
because the old world was not built on foundations capable of supporting the desired
new world.

Tethered by History, The Economist, last modified July 5, 2014,

http://www.economist.com/node/21606286.
13
MAD DOG: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi, directed by Christopher
Olgiati. (2013: Showtime Networks), Television.

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Bibliography
The Arab World: Tethered by History, The Economist, last modified July 5, 2014.
http://www.economist.com/node/21606286.
Butt, Gerald, Viewpoint: Why the Arab Spring has not derived real democracy, last
modified June 1, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27632777.
Ismael, Jacqueline S. & Shereen T. Ismael, The Arab Spring and the Uncivil State,
Arab Studies Quarterly 35, no. 3 (2013): 229-240.
MAD DOG: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi, directed by Christopher
Olgiati. 2013. Showtime Networks, Television.
Mansfield, Edward D. & Jack Snyder, Democratization and the Arab Spring,
International Interactions 38, no. 5 (2012): 722-33, doi:
10.1080/03050629.2012.726188.
ONeil, Patrick H., Essentials of Comparative Politics. 4th ed. New York, NY: W.W.
Norton & Company, 2013.
Wiarda, Howard J., Arab Fall or Arab Winter?, American Foreign Policy Interests 34,
no. 3 (2012): 134-37, doi: 10.01080/10803920.2012.686723.