Tewodaj Mengistu

Daunting challenges lie ahead for Arab countries where revolutions have upended longstanding authoritarian regimes. These unexpected events created new uncertainties in a troubled region: Would the Arab Spring lead to a flowering of democracy? Would loosening of the political systems in these countries unleash dangerous forces of extremism or ethno-sectarian conflict? Would new autocrats replace the old ones? Through a comparative analysis of past democratization experiences over nearly four decades and a detailed look at recent uprisings in the Arab world, this volume explores the conditions and decisions that are most likely to influence whether democratization will succeed in Arab countries undergoing political transitions. It also identifies the main challenges to democracy in these countries, analyzes how other countries have made similar transitions, and suggests what the United States and the international community can do to help strengthen fledgling democracies in the Arab world.