Challenges to growing civil society and democratic practices in the middle east

Many societies in the Middle East and North Africa have had a long experience with autocratic governments, where power is concentrated in the hands of one or a few leaders at the top.  Moving forward into to become more democratic states has posed great challenges, because old power structures don't want to give up their power easily.  (See, for instance, the situation in Syria.)   It also happens that even if a regime is toppled, factions and rival power groups will position themselves to take over power, and true democracy isn't fully established.  (See, for instance, what happened in Egypt or Libya after the removal of leaders Mubarak and Gaddafi.)   Civil war between groups can become a devastating barrier to establishment of democracy and civil society.  (Again, see Syria, or also Yemen.) 

Of the places where "Arab Spring" movements toward democracy occurred, Tunisia has been the one success story, where democratization has proceeded favorably.  Professor Safwan M. Masri of Columbia University, in his book, Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly (2017), credits this to traditions of moderation in the Tunisian approach.  Extremism has doomed competing groups in other countries to continued internal conflict with one another.  Moderation, compromise, working together toward a peaceable, civil society -- that's the main thing that's needed for democracy to work in any place on the planet.

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