College
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences (BCAS)
Date of Last Revision
2023-05-03 23:33:34
Major
Political Science
Honors Course
Honors Project
Number of Credits
4
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2021
Abstract
Despite experiencing countless wars, sectarian extremism, imperialism, and authoritarian rule, very few events have impacted the Middle East more significantly than the Arab Spring. Starting in 2010, the Arab Spring marked a turning point in which the people of numerous Arabic states collectively gathered to protest and combat the oppressive regimes that had controlled the region for decades. The Spring was indicative of the strong, recurring ambitions for revolution and regime change across the Middle East, presenting the Arab nations with an opportunity to reform their states from within. For some Middle Eastern states, the Arab Spring served as a catalyst for revolutions that overthrew authoritarian regimes and replaced them with governments that valued individual freedoms and sovereignty. Other states, however, chose not to pursue democratic goals after the Spring, often creating worse conditions than before. Although the Arab Spring was started with intentions of freeing the people of the Middle East from the regimes they existed under, the revolution simply failed within certain states. In this paper, a formal analysis will be conducted of two Middle Eastern states that felt entirely different effects from the Arab Spring: Egypt and Tunisia. From this analysis, a proposal will be formulated regarding how military status influenced Tunisia’s maintenance of a functional democracy, while Egypt fell victim to a coup and subsequent authoritarian rule following the Arab Spring.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Karl Kaltenthaler
First Reader
Dr. Ron Gelleny
Second Reader
Mr. Eihab Abousena
Honors Faculty Advisor
Dr. Ron Gelleny
Recommended Citation
Fleming, Andrew, "Military Influence on Middle Eastern Democratization Following the Arab Spring" (2021). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 1056.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/1056
Included in
Comparative Politics Commons, International Relations Commons, Models and Methods Commons, Political Theory Commons