Naslov
Arab Spring: Challenges to the Conventional Theories of the Middle Eastern Politics and Society

Autori
Matić, Davorka

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, pp prezentacija, znanstveni

Skup
Social Structures and Social Institutions: the Quest for Social Justice

Mjesto i datum
Dubrovnik, Hrvatska, 13.06.2016. - 18.06.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Arab Spring ; contentious politics ; paradigm of authoritarian resilience ; transition paradigm

Sažetak
The period of contentious politics unleashed by Muhmmad Bouazizi’s self-immolation in December 2010 in Tunisia has significantly reshaped the terrain of regional politics. Arab Spring, as this new wave of contentious politics was described, is a momentous event that surprised both local regimes and international scholars and policy-makers. The speed and magnitude of mobilization across multiple countries, the decisive role of the new protest actors, and the radical nature of their demands not only destabilized regimes themselves but also challenged much of the conventional literature on comparative politics of the Middle East. The Arab Spring has therefore led to a degree of soul- searching among regional experts with the paradigm of authoritarian resilience and the democratization/transition paradigm coming under scrutiny. The argument proposed in this presentation is that both paradigms have demonstrated shortcomings in explaining Arab politics over the last three decades and that therefore they both need to be revisited. Arab uprisings clearly indicated that we need to move beyond rigid tools and structures of both paradigms and focus our attention on significant longer-term socio-economic changes that Arab societies have been going through and their influence on political, social, and economic institutions. There are three key assumptions about the politics and society of the Arab world that the Arab spring contributed to challenge. First, there has been an inherent, un- problematized belief in the potential of neo- liberal economic development bringing about political change in the Arab region. Secondly, policymakers and regional experts have been working on a prevailing assumption that the Arab world has somehow missed its rendezvous with modernity. And thirdly, most observers have been assuming that the only alternative to authoritarian rule is Islamic politics and that Islamist parties would be the only and not a welcome alternative to existing rulers.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Sociologija

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