Authoritarianism After 2011 in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran
MENARA Working Papers No. 30, January 2019 RESTORATION, TRANSFORMATION AND ADAPTATION: AUTHORITARIANISM AFTER 2011 IN EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN Rasmus Alenius Boserup, Eckart Woertz, Hiba Hassan, Erzsébet N. Rózsa and Luciano Zaccara This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 693244 Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture: Mapping Geopolitical Shifts, Regional Order and Domestic Transformations WORKING PAPERS No. 30, January 2019 RESTORATION, TRANSFORMATION AND ADAPTATION: AUTHORITARIANISM AFTER 2011 IN EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN Rasmus Alenius Boserup, Eckart Woertz, Hiba Hassan, Erzsébet N. Rózsa and Luciano Zaccara1 ABSTRACT Following the push for reform during the popular uprising in 2011, authoritarianism is once again dominating domestic politics and power relations in the MENA region. Drawing on data collected during field trips to Cairo, Tehran, Beirut and Kuwait city, the authors of this MENARA report analyse three distinct ways in which political leaders in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran have stood their grounds since 2011 by. The report shows that the region’s autocratic leaders have adopted highly distinct strategies to cope with the challenges they have been confronted with internally – including strategies of “restoration”, of “transformation” and of “adaptation”. The report ends by suggesting that European leaders, in spite of their limited leverage and resources, have a long- term strategic interest in fostering alternative forms of political regimes in the MENA region. INTRODUCTION Over the past half century, the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have displayed a remarkable ability to adapt to new circumstances, to grasp opportunities, endure challenges and to restore themselves in the cases where they were overthrown (e.g.
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