Muslim Politics & Democracy - An Analysis of the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring was a phenomenon that shocked the international community. Starting with Tunisia in December of 2010, the citizens of Egypt, Libya, and Iran all voiced dissatisfaction with their governing leaders within the same period. The massive protests and demonstrations that broke out would soon prove to be different from the protests that occurred in the 1970s. What the world witnessed from December 2010 to February 2011 were calls for the resignation of authoritarian leaders and a new democratic government. The calls symbolized a new wave of potential Muslim democracies that would test the U.S. theory of liberal democracy. Today, Muslim democracies in the Arab world are marginal due to a lack of sustainability. Further, the development of these countries democratic transitions could determine the future of Muslim democracies in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. The chain reaction of events in the Arab Spring showed the world that the citizens were ready to regain control over their countries. After decades of being under authoritarian regimes, why did the uprisings occur at that time and what implications did they have on the future of Muslim democracies? This research question is explored in three chapters that examine and analyze the potential answers. The chapters draw upon theory, scholarly writings, and international news sources. The Arab Spring is continuing to develop in the MENA region, which makes credible international news sources crucial to this analysis. The theoretical composition of this thesis includes the discussions of revolution, liberal democracy, Islam and secularism. The results of this methodology present essential factors that will be imperative to the sustainability of future Muslim democracies. The factors include pre-existing conditions, political Islam, foreign intervention, the military’s role, Islamic political organizations, secularism and a transformation in political culture. The conclusion asserts these factors have contributed to the occurrence of the uprisings and further will act as the determinants of sustainability for future Muslim democracies in MENA region. In addition to the events of the Arab Spring providing new implications that test the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy