One man, one vote, one time? A model of democratization in the Middle East

Blaydes, Lisa; Lo, James

doi:10.1177/0951629811423121

Cited by 44 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…One opinion is decidedly pessimistic. It is based on the judgment that a host of cultural and institutional characteristics hinder the development of democracy in the region (Blaydes and Lo 2011;Fox 2006;Huntington 1993Huntington , 1996Lewis 2009;Lust 2011;Posusney 2004). In this view, Muslimmajority countries are not conducive to liberal democracy because Islam lacks a liberal democratic tradition.…”

Section: Pessimistic Versus Optimistic Outlooksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Variation in Tolerance in 23 Muslim‐Majority and Western Countries

Milligan

Andersen

Brym

2014

Canadian Review of Sociology

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Scholars disagree over whether Islam hinders the development of liberal democracy in Muslim-majority countries. We contribute to this debate by assessing the influence of Islam at the individual and national levels on ethnic, racial, and religious tolerance in 23 countries. Our analyses are based on a set of multilevel models fitted to World Values Survey data and national-level contextual information from various sources. Our findings suggest that people living in Muslim-majority countries tend to be less tolerant than are those living in Western countries. Although a significant part of this difference is attributable to variation in level of economic development and income inequality, Muslim countries remain less tolerant even after controlling for these factors. On the other hand, controlling for other individual-level factors, nonpracticing Muslims in Western countries are more tolerant than are all others in both Muslim-majority and Western countries. This finding challenges common claims about the effects of Islam as a religion on tolerance, suggesting that it is Islamic political regimes--not Islam itself--that pose problems for social tolerance.

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Section: Pessimistic Versus Optimistic Outlooksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Variation in Tolerance in 23 Muslim‐Majority and Western Countries

Milligan

Andersen

Brym

2014

Canadian Review of Sociology

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“…Realist foreign policy has backed Western friendly secular dictators under the premise that true democratic competition in predominately Muslim countries would undoubtedly culminate in "one-person, one-vote, one-time" (Blaydes & Lo, 2011;Hurd, 2008;Neep, 2004). In other words, true democratic competition would lead to the election of anti-democratic Islamist parties, unfriendly to the West that would also curtail political pluralism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islamism, Secularism and the Woman Question in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring: Evidence from the Arab Barometer

Fox

Abdelkarim

Refki

2016

PaG

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The uprisings that led to regime change during the early period of the Arab Spring were initially inclusive and pluralistic in nature, with men and women from every political and religious orientation engaging actively in political activities on the street and in virtual spaces. While there was an opening of political space for women and the inclusion of demands of marginalized groups in the activists' agenda, the struggle to reimagine national identities that balance Islamic roots and secular yearnings is still ongoing in many countries in the region. This paper seeks to deepen understanding of the extent to which the pluralistic sentiments and openness to accepting the rights women have persisted following the uprising. We aim to examine changes in attitudes towards women's equality in countries that underwent regime change through popular uprisings during revolutionary upheavals of the Arab Spring and in countries where regimes have remained unchanged. Using available data from consecutive rounds of the Arab Barometer survey, we examine changes in attitudes in nine countries with two rounds of Arab Barometer during and post Arab Spring (Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine). We find that support for "Muslim feminism" (an interpretation of gender equality grounded in Islam) has increased over the period and particularly in Arab Spring countries, while support for "secular feminism" has declined. In most countries examined, relatively high degrees of support for gender equality co-exist with a preference for Islamic interpretations of personal status codes 1 pertaining to women. We discuss the implications of these findings for academics and activists concerned with women's rights in the Middle East North Africa (MENA).

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“…The literature has highlighted potential influences on the uprising, including economic grievances (Achcar, ; Joffé, ), class differences (Kandil, ), the new media (Lynch, ), pre‐existing opposition networks (el‐Ghobashy, ), coalitions between elites (Blaydes & Lo, ; Yom & Gause, ), social influence (Saideman, ), state repression (Davenport & Moore, ), emboldening emotions (Pearlman, ), and prior protest cycles (Gunning & Baron, ).…”

Section: Case Study: Joining the Arab Springmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐Stakes Decision‐Making Within Complex Social Environments: A Computational Model of Belief Systems in the Arab Spring

Dornschneider

2019

Cognitive Science

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People experiencing similar conditions may make different decisions, and their belief systems provide insight about these differences. An example of high‐stakes decision‐making within a complex social context is the Arab Spring, in which large numbers of people decided to protest and even larger numbers decided to stay at home. This study uses qualitative analyses of interview narratives and social media addressing individual decisions to develop a computational model tracing the cognitive decision‐making process. The model builds on work by Abelson and Carroll (1965), Schank and Abelson (1977), and Axelrod (1976) to systematically trace the inferences connecting beliefs to decisions. The findings show that protest decisions were often based on positive emotions such as pride, hope, courage, and solidarity, triggered by beliefs about successful protest and self‐sacrifice. By contrast, decisions to stay at home were triggered by beliefs about safety, state approval, and living conditions. As one participant said, “When I heard about the revolution in Tunisia, my heart was filled with solidarity for the people.” In the words of a non‐participant: “When people are killed, we must be careful. There are more important things than protest: safety and stability.” This study of individual explanations about events identifies the role of emotions in high‐stakes decision‐making within complex social environments.

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One man, one vote, one time? A model of democratization in the Middle East

Cited by 44 publications

References 46 publications

Assessing Variation in Tolerance in 23 Muslim‐Majority and Western Countries

Assessing Variation in Tolerance in 23 Muslim‐Majority and Western Countries

Islamism, Secularism and the Woman Question in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring: Evidence from the Arab Barometer

High‐Stakes Decision‐Making Within Complex Social Environments: A Computational Model of Belief Systems in the Arab Spring

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