The impact of the Arab Spring on democracy in the Arab world :  A comparative study of the divergent democratic development of Tunisia and Egypt

The outbreak of the Arab Spring took place more than ten years ago and is currently of great interest to researchers. The suicide of the street vendor Bouazizi is considered the start of the revolution. As a result of the uprisings, both Tunisia and Egypt succeeded in overthrowing their authoritarian leaders and regimes. However, Tunisia managed to maintain and develop a democratic political system, unlike Egypt, which is still classified as an authoritarian dictatorship. The main purpose of this study has been to find explanations for why a regime change took place in both countries during the Arab Spring and why Tunisia’s democratization process remained successful compared to Egypt’s. Huntington’s transition processes and consolidation theory have been helpful in finding answers to these questions. The study is of a comparative nature where the most similar system design has been applied. A key conclusion concerns the fact that Egypt’s non-neutral and powerful military has undermined the country’s democratization process. In contrast, Tunisia’s democratization process has been characterized by a peaceful period with a neutral military and political actors willing to negotiate with each other despite divided political views