Arabs and Democracy: The Awakening of Civil Society

Issue Date July 2000
Volume 11
Issue 3
Page Numbers 84-90
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While despotic Arab regimes may seem stable, change is brewing beneath the surface. A new era is emerging in which the state will be forced to retreat before a vibrant civil society.

Further Reading

Volume 19, Issue 1

Morocco’s Elections: A Dynamic Civil Society

Since the 1990s, Moroccan civil society groups have been proliferating, and they are increasingly influential in addressing society-wide matters including the rights of women, ethnic minorities, and the poor.

Volume 18, Issue 4

Iran’s Resilient Civil Society: The Student Movement’s Struggle

They are good signs for the future of democracy in Iran, but it will take time and energy to organize these promising pieces into a greater democracy movement.

Volume 13, Issue 3

Middle East Studies After 9/11: Islamists and the Politics of Consensus

Middle Eastern autocracies rely ever more on repression of both their Islamist and secular critics, and therefore increasingly fear that any opening will be uncontrollable. Is there a way out?