The 'Fall' of the Arab Spring
Democracy's Challenges and Efforts to Reconstitute the Middle East

It examines the wave of constitutions following the Arab Spring, considering when constitutional bargains are likely to yield democracy.

Tofigh Maboudi (Author)

9781316519325, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 April 2022

350 pages
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.1 cm, 0.554 kg

'The Arab Spring uprisings generated hope that new constitutional orders would yield more democratic politics. The ensuing decade brought no shortage of constitutional change, but democratic aspirations have (mostly) been disappointed. Maboudi shows us how participation in constitutional moments shapes their outcomes, emphasizing not just how participation unfolds but who is, and is not, involved. The result is a keener appreciation of the role of civil society organizations for whether democratic ambitions are realized. This is an essential book for readers seeking to understand prospects for democracy in the 21st Century.' John Carey, Wentworth Professor in the Social Sciences, Dartmouth College

Constitutional bargains are seen as cornerstones of democratic transitions in much of the world. Yet very few studies have theorized about the link between constitution-making and democratization. Shifting the focus on democratization away from autocratic regime break down, this book considers the importance of inclusive constitution-building for democratization. In this pathbreaking volume, Tofigh Maboudi draws on a decade of research on the Arab Spring to explain when and how constitutional bargains facilitate (or hinder) democratization. Here, he argues that constitutional negotiations have a higher prospect of success in establishing democracy if they resolve societal, ideological, and political ills. Emphasizing the importance of constitution-making processes, Maboudi shows that constitutions can resolve these problems best through participatory and inclusive processes. Above all, The 'Fall' of the Arab Spring demonstrates that civil society is the all-important link that connects constitutional bargaining processes to democratization.

1. Constitutions, civil society, and democratization in the Arab world
2. Democratizing the parchments: the impact of process on the democratic content of constitutions
3. Constitutional negotiations and the pathway to democratic transition: The case of Tunisia
4. Pathways of Failure: the importance of the process
5. Pathways of failure: the importance of civil society
6. Pathways of failure: the importance of constitutional design
7. Lessons from the 'Fall' of the Arab Spring.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Public international law [LBB], Comparative law [LAM], Comparative politics [JPB]