Area Studies - The MENA Region

Challenges of Democratisation in the Middle East and North Africa The aim of this section will be to treat the question related to the possibility of democracy and the process of democratisation for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Almost three years have passed since the start of popular uprisings in the MENA and it still draws world’s attention. The notion of democracy is still uncertain in most of the states in the region although there are some positive developments and reforms that do not really imply a democratic transition. The answer to this question has to be developed through the analysis of the political systems in the different states of MENA. While the common characteristic in the entire region is the lack of democracy, the different types of regimes impose an analysis of the power structure, the complexity of political parties, election results and the formation of civil society. It also establishes the purpose of referring to structural and conjectural causes that inflict the lack of democracy. Analysing the factors of the failure of democracy and the different types of regimes, solutions and processes suitable for democratisation can be proposed. Another question that must be addressed is whether actors such as the EU and the U.S. want a democratized Arab world. In order to analyse different aspects of this important issue for our analysis it is essential to include the democratic attempts in Afghanistan and Iraq after the wars in 2001 and 2003 respectively. It is also important to study the real interests, economic and political in the region and if the policy interventions with the ethical justification of democratization have had any practical effect for democracy in the region. In this context, the relations of the West and the Islamic world must be studied and following questions should be considered; what are the perceptions of the Western world for a world with different culture and religion and what does the Middle East expect from the Western world? Do democratic values are universal or not? This section aims to provide a discussion platform for democratisation dynamics in the region. Papers are expected to cover any aspect related to democracy and democratisation process however following panel themes are encouraged but not limited: • Regime change and political transition after Arab uprisings (Political behaviour, democratic backsliding, the military in politics, economical factors, politics and culture, other internal actors) • Democratization: constitution and governance principles (new institutions, constitution writing, secularism vs. Islamism) • The role of external actors (European-Arab relations, new perspective for U.S. role) • Characteristics of the authoritarian regimes (structure power, religious organizations, security mechanism, and role of media) • Comparative case studies. All abstracts are welcomed with clear statement of purpose and methodology regarding to the democratization process in the MENA. This section aims to include theories beyond International Relations mainstream theories on democracy but also other theoretical perspectives such as critical theory, transformation theory and other relevant approaches. However, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary contributions are also encouraged to submit to bring innovative research perspective to the democratisation attempts in the region.