A S L 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Arab Culture, Arab Spring, Standard Deviation
Document Summary
Demoratic change in the arab world, past & present. Percentage of a country"s landmass that was conquered by arab armies following the death of the prophet muhammad statistically accounts for the democracy deficit. Using history as a guide, hypothesize that this pattern reflects the long-run influence of control structures developed under islamic empires in the premodern era. Measure of new democracy deficit: the percentage of a country"s landmass that was conquered by arab armies in the centuries following the death of muhammad. This variable accounts for the arab league"s democratic deficit today. Widespread use of slave armies allowed rulers to undermine the power bases of local elites, leading to their destruction. Political power became increasingly concentrated in hands of military leaders backed by slave armies, religious leaders emerged as the only check. Political equilibrium (from military leaders and religious leaders) persisted in many areas into the. 19th century and left weak institutions and weak civil societies.
