United Nations and Democracy Promotion in the Middle East and North Africa from 2000 to 2020

Abstract: This research seeks to determine the effect of the United Nations’ democracy promotion on democratization in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) between 2000 and 2020. The dissertation scrutinizes the correlation between the level of democracy and democracy funding provided by the United Nations to state and non-state actors in the MENA region. This is conducted, first, by (1) examining the literature about the United Nations and its role in promoting democracy; (2) designing a mixed-methods research design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches; (3) identifying the extent to which the UN has a positive or a negative influence on democratization in the region. The trend in academic writing about the United Nations is to place emphasis on its efforts to advance international peace and provide economic and social assistance to the developing countries. Less is known about the role of the United Nations in democracy promotion, and in particular, there has not been much academic research that examines whether the UN’s democracy promotion strategies are effective. My project will assess whether the United Nations can actually contribute to the democratization process and whether it has any significant impact on the development of democratic governance inside the recipient countries, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region).