(Ebook) Marketing Democracy : The Political Economy of Democracy Aid in the Middle East by Erin A Snider ISBN 9781108844260, 9781108943505, 9781108952699, 110884426X, 1108943500, 1108952690

(Ebook) Marketing Democracy : The Political Economy of Democracy Aid in the Middle East by Erin A Snider ISBN 9781108844260, 9781108943505, 9781108952699, 110884426X, 1108943500, 1108952690

"A decade has now passed since protests in the Middle East captured the attention and imagination of audiences around the world. The story of how those protests began is now familiar to most, but no less striking to recall. On December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit seller in the central Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire after enduring harassment from local police. Bouazizi's action quickly sparked a wave of protests throughout the country, finding deep resonance amongst thousands of Tunisians frustrated by mounting corruption, exclusion, diminished opportunity, and the seeming indifference of their regime. Those protests soon spread beyond Tunisia to cities throughout the Arab world, tapping into similar grievances among citizens vis-áa-vis their respective regimes, and fronting a major challenge to decades of authoritarian rule. In the span of three months, four long-standing authoritarian leaders were forced from power. The initial euphoria felt by many in the region existed alongside a sense of trepidation about the changes to come both from those eager for change and those with a stake in preserving the pre-existing order. In the years since 2011, that euphoria has been tempered and the different paths since taken by states are testament both to the difficulties of change and to the struggle of challenging the logic and structure of authoritarianism in the region"--