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Article: Reassessing support for Islam and democracy in the Arab world? Evidence from Egypt and Jordan.
- Article from:
- World Affairs
- Article date:
- September 22, 2006
- Author:
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Across the Middle East, support for democracy is striking. Regional survey data throughout the Arab world indicates that levels of support for democracy enjoy considerable majority support. (1) However, the Arab world has yet to see its first full-fledged democratic state. Studies examining the potential for democracy in the region often analyze institutional reforms that correspond with liberal democratic principles. Yet, students of Middle Eastern politics understand that existing institutional reforms, such as parliamentary elections and greater freedoms within civil society, have done little to enhance democracy in the region. In fact, the liberalizing tendencies of the ...