The international politics of authoritarian resilience and breakdown in the Middle East

Abstract

The hope and disappointment that accompanied the 2011 Arab uprisings have demonstrated the centrality of international factors in affecting regime change and shaping transitions in the Middle East and North Africa. Although the impact of international factors on the survival of authoritarian regimes has gained attention in recent years, it remains subject to wide disagreement in both academic and policy circles. Some scholars stress the role of democracy promoters, namely the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), in affecting regime change in regions with entrenched authoritarian regimes, namely in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Others have, however, suggested that international policies can protect and embolden autocratic elites through shielding incumbent autocrats from democratizing pressures through diplomatic and economic support. In the Middle East, research has overwhelmingly demonstrated that international powers promoted the authoritarian status quo (Jamal 2012 Jamal, A.A. (2012) Of Empires and Citizens (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press); Bush 2015 Bush, S. (2015) The Taming of Democracy Assistance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).10.1017/CBO9781107706934