Arab Democracy

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how, in the Arab world, the democratization process is strongly inhibited by several factors, including interstate conflicts, transnational ideologies and external rents. The paper looks at Jordan and discusses how since the 1940s, Jordanian politics have been influenced by the conflicts between Zionism, Arab nationalism and Palestinian nationalism.

From the Paper:

"However, several problems must be solved in order to make things less complicated for those working in favor of the democracy in the Arab world: on the one hand there is no "consensual definition of what organizations Arab civil society precisely comprises" . For example, regarding this issue, it is still a dilemma whether Islamists are part of the civil life and whether they can be useful for supporting democratic objectives. On the other hand, another problem that must be dealt with is that "the civil society thesis presumes that through the collective force of its demands and interests, the associational sector can compel unwilling authoritarian governments to instigate periods of democratization"."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Yom, Sean L. Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World (2005). MERIA - The Middle East Review of International Affairs. Volume 9, No.4, Article 2. Retrieved December 11, 2006 from http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2005/issue4/jv9no4a2.html.
• Gilchrist, Alice N. Khalidi discuses Arab world (1991). The Tech. Volume 111, No.21. Retrieved December 12, 2006 from http://www-tech.mit.edu/V111/N21/mideas.21n.html.
• Arab-Israeli Conflict: Role of religion (2006). Retrieved December 12, 2006 from http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-conflict-2.asp#Intra-Arab.
• Schnabel, Albrecht. A rough journey: Nascent democratization in the Middle East. Retrieved December 12, 2006 from http://www.unu.edu/unupress/sample-chapters/Democratization-ME.pdf.
• Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims (2001). Retrieved December 12, 2006 from http://www.israelipalestinianprocon.org/bin/procon/procon.cgi?database=5-F-Subs-Q02.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=3&rnd=629.2625213895783.

More papers on Arab Democracy:

• Essay # 48484 : "Arab Democracy"
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• Research Paper # 101848 : "Islam and Democracy"

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