The Arabs and the Democratic Path

Abstract

With the onset of the Arab Spring, concepts such as democracy, human rights, elections, governance, transparency, anti-corruption, and extremism became dominant motifs influencing progressive movements. These concepts are part of the problematic question of political authority and political culture. This paper poses some questions and challenges in relation to the extent to which such concepts are relevant to Arabs and if they are able to follow the democratic path and succeed in realizing democracy. Furthermore, the paper asks if the Arabs ever took this democratic path, would they succeed or fail as their modern experience indicates?