The Troubled Triangle: Populism, Islam and Civil Society in the Arab World

Civil society in the Arab world has revitalized itself in the last two decades due to internal, regional, and international factors. Internally, new socio-economic formations have been growing steadily, as the autocratic and/or populist regimes have no longer been able to accommodate or completely suppress them. Regionally, protracted armed conflicts have weakened the state, exposed its impotence in managing such conflicts, and drained its resources. Meanwhile, other regional developments have unwittingly empowered new and old constituencies within each Arab state. Internationally, the patron-client relationship between Arab regimes and the two superpowers has either ended or been greatly altered. The global wave of democratization has also had its marked demonstration effect on the expanding Arab middle class. The responses by Arab regimes to their civil societies indicate as many prospects for further democratization as against it. The modernizing monarchies, namely of Jordan and Morocco, have impressively engineered a smooth transition toward more democratic governance. Their example may tilt the balance toward greater democratic prospects in the entire region, prospects that promise to enhance the peaceful settlement of some of the region's protracted conflicts while also growing in strength from such settlements.