Attitudes toward Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Muslim World

Abstract

22 *Scott Spehr, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Political Science Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research, KIMEP e-mail spehr@kimep.kz 1. Bahgat Korany, Rex Brynen and Paul Noble, “Conclusion: Liberalization, Democratization, and Arab Experiences”, in, Baghat Korany, Rex Brynen and Paul Noble eds., Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, vol. 2: Comparative Experiences (Boulder,London: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 1998): 267. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXIII, No. 3, Spring 2010 Attitudes toward Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Muslim World Scott Spehr* Introduction Hopes were high that the Middle East and the Maghreb would be swept up in the latest wave of democratization that began thirty years ago. But by the latter half of the 1990s any optimism in this regard seemed misplaced. The democratic winds of change – the practice of competitive elections, the adherence to the rule of law, and the protection and promotion of explicit rights and liberties - seem to have largely bypassed many of these countries. Nevertheless, as in much of the rest of the world, the discourse on democracy has become widespread throughout the region, at all levels. Even patently non-democratic regimes claim that they represent the will of the people, while regularly misusing the procedures of democratic governance to stabilize their rule and to appear legitimate in the eyes of the world. This is as true of the Arab world as anywhere else. As Korany et al have observed about the region:” The emphasis placed by regimes on the ‘democratic’ character of their regimes confirms that the very language of dimuqratiyya has come to acquire considerable symbolic value.”1 But symbolism is not substance. Political systems in the Arab world have 23 2. See Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner and Daniel Brumberg eds. Islam and Democracy in the Middle East (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press 2003); Adam Przeworski, Michael Alvarez, J.A.Cheibub, and Fernando Limogi, Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World 1950-1990, (New York: Cambridge University Press 2000); Larry Diamond, Juan Linz and Seymour M. Lipset Democracy and Developing Countries: Persistence, Failure and Change (Boulder: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 1999); Elie Kedourie, Democracy and Arab Political Culture (London: Frank Cass, 1994); Howard Handelman and Mark Tessler eds. Democratization and It’s Limits: Lessons from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.(Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press, 1999); Mark Tessler, “Do Islamic Orientations Influence Attitudes toward Democracy in the Arab World: Evidence from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Algeria,” International Journal of Comparative Sociology 2 (Spring 2003): 229-49; and Mark Tessler “Islam and Democracy in the Middle East: The Impact of Religious Orientations on Attitudes Toward Democracy in Four Arab Countries,” Comparative Politics 34 (April 2002): 337-54; Mariana Ottaway and Thomas Carothers, “Middle East Democracy,” Foreign Policy, November-December 2004; Emmanuel Sivan, “Arabs and Democracy: Illusions of Change,” Journal of Democracy 11 (July 2000): 69-83; Najir Fardani, ed., The Arab Human Development Report 2005, (New York: UNDP). 3. See Rex Brynen, Baghat Korany, and Paul Noble, “Introduction: Theoretical Perspectives on Arab Liberalization and Democratization” in Rex Brynen, Baghat Korany and Paul Noble eds., Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, vol. 1: Theoretical Perspectives (Boulder, London: Lynn Reinner Publishers, 1995). 4. Tin Niblock and Emma Murphy eds., Economic and Political Liberalization in the Middle East (London: British Academic Press, 1993); and Bhagat Korany, “Arab Democratization: A Poor Cousin?” Political Science and Politics 27, 3 (September 1994), 511-513. 5. See Bhagat Korany and Paul Noble, “Introduction” and “Conclusion” in Bhagat Korany, Rex Brynen, and Paul Noble, Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, vol. 2: Comparative Experiences (Boulder, London: Lynn Reinner Publishers, 1998). undergone little change. The reasons for this are diverse.2 One line of explanation focuses on the level of equilibrium or disequilibrium in statecivil society relations. Thus, weak political parties and oppositional social groups could contribute to state dominance over society, undermining the process of democratization.3 From a political economy perspective it has been argued that exogenous revenues or rentierism allows regimes to buy off dissent through various social welfare programs paid for by the state and thereby regimes are able...