POLI 340 Chapter Notes - Chapter ?: Harebrained Schemes, Arab Spring, Pan-Arabism
15 May 2016
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Gregory gause iii, why middle east studies missed the arab. Academic specialists on the arab world did not expect the arab spring. Academics focused on persistence of undemocratic rulers, not possibility of revolution. These autocratic regimes survived decades of democratization in the areas surrounding without experiencing democratic transitions themselves. An exception to this is iran and turkey, as well as iraq, all three of which experienced immense political tumult during this time. Author argued that the u. s. should not encourage democracy in arab world because washington"s authoritarian arab allies stable bets for future. Author also argues that democratic arab governments would be less likely to cooperate with u. s. foreign policy goals still an open question. Scholars/experts should try to understand what ended regime stability in order to examine new elements that spark revoluts this will allow u. s. policymakers a more effective approach. Important to note that, although fascinated by it, few political scientists articulated a sure explanation for regime stability.
