THE 2011 ARAB UPRISINGS AND BEYOND: THE INCONGRUITY OF DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND AUTHORITARIAN PERSISTENCE/ RESILIENCE

Abstract

One of the main questions that have revealed after the 2011 Arab Spring or Uprisings has revolved around whether they will lead to democratic transition or not. It has become ostensible that one of the initial outcomes of the public protests have been the sporadic overthrown of authoritarian regimes in several Arab countries. In this sense, this article aims to analyse synchronous upshots brought about by the uprisings, referring to the patternsof state-formation in the Maghreb and Mashreq. One of the main outcomes has been the persistence of authoritarianism in various forms, and the fragility of the Arab Republics coping with the protests as compared to the more resilient nature of the Monarchies. In addition, Islamist movement did not hijack the Arab Uprisings as some initially predicted. However, the Islamist movement has since re-invigorated as key actors, namely the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere. Thus, to understand the changes and continuities in the processes of state-formation in MENA region in the post-2011 Uprisings era, analysing the changing faces or forms of authoritarianism in the region despite the timid reforms as well as the resilience of authoritarian regime-types in are highly imperative.