At a time when the Arab springs offer contrasting landscapes of democratic advances and authoritarian retreats, questioning democratization on a regional scale implies thinking together about the import of democratic procedures, which have often served only to legitimize autocratic regimes, and the socio-political developments that have marked the region since 2011. These include the birth of social movements capable of mobilizing the street, the momentary accession of Islamists to power in Tunisia and Egypt, and the progressive achievements of the Tunisian constituent assembly.
This colloquium will address a number of issues of concern to Arab societies and scientific research alike: the obstacles to a regional democratic transition since the start of the Arab springs; the way in which democratic forces interact with the military; and the various contributions that the political processes currently at work in the Maghreb and the Middle East offer to theories of democratization and social movements.
It will examine the following issues:
Are the popular revolts in certain Mashreq and Maghreb countries the driving force behind a regional democratic transition process?
Are we witnessing the emergence of new democratic and political practices in the Arab world that are likely to profoundly renew the macro-political approaches that dominate the academic field on these issues?
How do the democratic experiments underway in the Maghreb and Middle East resonate with the evolution of social movements on the northern shore of the Mediterranean?
