To browse Academia. Western media and academics talked about the Arab Spring as a possible mean of democratization, according to the theory proposed by S. Log in with Facebook Log in with Google. Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.
Need an account? Click here to sign up. Susanne Luther Responsible for Publication Dr. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form including photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e. The copyright for this publication lies with the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung e. The contributions by named authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher, the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung or Takamul Centre. The historical overthrow of persevering authoritarian regimes and widespread grass-roots mobilization prompted Western mainstream media in particular to label the phenomenon prematurely as the Arab Spring.
Afterwards, Mideast experts, journalists and Western politicians heralded the beginning of a new historical era of democracy, freedom and liberty in the Arab world. Instead, the caesura of revealed that the 20th century postcolonial dream of building up modern states in the Arab world, inspired by a national ethos and cohesiveness, had come to an abrupt end.
Serious shortcomings on the level of education, economic and participative structures were deeply rooted and nevertheless well-known deficiencies in most countries of the region. For a majority of Arab populations, the promises of modernity unfolded itself as an anticlimactic paradigm. With the exception of the smaller and wealthy Gulf States, nearly all other Arab countries were unable to tackle the challenges of political, social and economic modernization during the second half of the last century.
Apart from some oligarchic elites, most of the MENA populations have been prevented from participation in the benefits of modernity. Unfortunately, many Arab states cannot yet satisfy these rudimentary requirements of their citizens. Furthermore, the former cradles of civilization - Yemen, Syria and many parts of Iraq - are buried under a wave of devastating civil war and human tragedy to which the rest of the world has been for the most part a powerless bystander.
