Abstract
The Arab world has had little exposure to democratic practices and democratic institutions. For this reason, it is not surprising that the Arab Spring led to disappointment and disillusionment. Instead of democracy, the region has been beset by conflict, state failure and authoritarian reversals. The one positive exception was Tunisia. Today, Tunisia still stands as the only country in the Middle East that has a strong chance of democratizing fully, in spite of enduring years of authoritarian rule. This chapter looks into the lessons that can be learned from Tunisia’s transition to democracy. The author looks at how political parties, secular education and women’s rights have helped Tunisia in its transition to democracy, and in turn, can help us to better advance our understanding of how democracy can take hold in the region.
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- 1.
The chapter looks only at Arab countries, excluding Turkey, Iran and Israel.
- 2.
Libya did not have a dominant political party under Qaddafi.
- 3.
This was an international treaty instituted on September 3, 1981.
- 4.
This was passed on August 16, 2011.
- 5.
This was amended on November 23, 2014.
- 6.
This was passed on August 11, 2017.
- 7.
This was passed on July 26, 2017.
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Ezrow, N. (2020). How Can the Liberal Democratic Cause Be Advanced in the Middle East?. In: Crewe, I., Sanders, D. (eds) Authoritarian Populism and Liberal Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17997-7_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17997-7_10
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