Authoritarianism and Democracy in Rentier States
Authoritarianism and Democracy in Rentier States
Bachar EL-Halabi
International Political economy
Dr. Khalil Gebara
Friday December 21, 2012
Introduction
We can never understand politics until we begin to understand the flow of political, economical and social events that occur on a daily basis in our country and the countries surrounding us. For instance, Lebanon experienced the first form of rebellion on March 14, 2005 during a historical rally that ousted the Syrian regime, from security services to military officials, outside the borders of the Lebanese territory. Then came the Arab spring which was initiated by a Tunisian citizen setting himself on fire due to the unfair socio-economical behavior of the Tunisian ruling regime towards its citizens, and nowadays the Spring has settled in Syria were a blood bath is taking place between the rebels and the murderous regime. Basically, the Middle East has been undergoing a unanimously process that is changing its face and breaking the status quo Arabs lived for the past 40 to 50 years. Morocco’s king gave a lot of concessions to the opposition; he even went as far as drafting a new constitution and decreasing his power over governmental institutions and policies. Algeria has been through a revolution that was forcefully silenced by the military in the early nineties, yet following a wave of protests in the wake of popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, Algeria officially lifted its 19-year-old state of emergency on 24 February 2011. The country 's Council of Ministers approved the repeal two days prior. Tunisia was the cradle of the revolutions where Ben Ali’s 24 years of rule were put to an end by an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations. Libya’s revolution started as protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces and transformed into an armed rebellion that spread across the country. With
Bachar EL-Halabi
International Political economy
Dr. Khalil Gebara
Friday December 21, 2012
Introduction
We can never understand politics until we begin to understand the flow of political, economical and social events that occur on a daily basis in our country and the countries surrounding us. For instance, Lebanon experienced the first form of rebellion on March 14, 2005 during a historical rally that ousted the Syrian regime, from security services to military officials, outside the borders of the Lebanese territory. Then came the Arab spring which was initiated by a Tunisian citizen setting himself on fire due to the unfair socio-economical behavior of the Tunisian ruling regime towards its citizens, and nowadays the Spring has settled in Syria were a blood bath is taking place between the rebels and the murderous regime. Basically, the Middle East has been undergoing a unanimously process that is changing its face and breaking the status quo Arabs lived for the past 40 to 50 years. Morocco’s king gave a lot of concessions to the opposition; he even went as far as drafting a new constitution and decreasing his power over governmental institutions and policies. Algeria has been through a revolution that was forcefully silenced by the military in the early nineties, yet following a wave of protests in the wake of popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, Algeria officially lifted its 19-year-old state of emergency on 24 February 2011. The country 's Council of Ministers approved the repeal two days prior. Tunisia was the cradle of the revolutions where Ben Ali’s 24 years of rule were put to an end by an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations. Libya’s revolution started as protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces and transformed into an armed rebellion that spread across the country. With
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