From “Subject” to “Citizen” Chances of Democratisation in the Arab World

Analysis by: Erzsébet N. Rózsa. 

The “revolutions” in the Middle East revealed profound changes undergoing in the Arab political systems and societies. The events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria, and the lack of similar events elsewhere drew the attention to the fact that the social impact of Western modernisation has not yet been fully analysed and understood. The authoritarian character of the political regimes disguised the underlying neo-patrimonial structure in which the real political power is vested either with traditionally legitimised political actors or by the “revolutionaries” of the 1950’s and 1960’s, while the “international norms” introduced by the colonisers and superpower allies, and by the need to adapt to a globalising world have remained in the virtual sphere of political power.

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