The Arab Revolts and the Liberal Order (The German Marshall Fund of the United States)

04.05.2013 08:01

https://blog.gmfus.org/2013/05/02/the-arab-revolts-and-the-liberal-order/

It is difficult to pass judgment on the health of democracy today without an assessment of the Arab revolts. Despite the stirring images of courageous, sophisticated, and articulate protesters running great personal risk for a less-repressed future, the essential meaning of the region’s reforms is still profoundly contested. Some insist that the reform momentum that has gathered since 2011 constitutes a major fillip to core liberal values. In contrast, skeptics warn that authoritarian dynamics remain entrenched across the region and that where change has occurred, it actually presages deeper illiberalism.