New forms of democratic citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa: an alternative approach for the EU and the United States. Euspring Working Paper No. 3 July 2016

Alessandri, Emiliano and Balfour, Rosa and Bouchet, Nicolas and Youngs, Richard. (2017) New forms of democratic citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa: an alternative approach for the EU and the United States. Euspring Working Paper No. 3 July 2016. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

The Arab Spring and its truncated aftermath raise many important questions about political reform. Citizenship and rights, in particular, form an important area of concern in light of the obstacles to wholesale democratization and to the reform of formal institutional structures in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As most regimes have pushed back strongly against societal pressure for political opening, many reformers hope that active citizenship can compensate for the lack of progress in other areas. One of the few enduring legacies of the flowering of democratic activism in 2011 is citizens’ search for more active involvement in decisions that affect their day-to-day lives — even as the prospect of democratization has receded in most states. This has engendered much debate over how citizens across the region understand rights — and whether they seek a concept of citizenship that is distinct to the region.

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