Democracy in Arabia?

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the public’s trust alleviates pressure on the state, allowing it to function more effectively. But, in times of elevated risk, real or perceived, people begin to organize increasingly on the basis of homogenous identities – a process now unfolding across the Middle East.

PARIS – In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the public’s trust alleviates pressure on the state, allowing it to function more effectively. This should give some comfort to governments in the Arab world, where a 2012 survey of young people showed 72% of the respondents expressing greater trust in their governments. But what, then, accounts for the continuing civil turmoil and government paralysis in the Arab-Spring countries?

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