Democracy after the Arab Spring?

The cases of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya

Authors

  • Antônio Alves Tôrres Fernandes DCP/UFPE
  • Amanda Rafaela Domingos de Lima DCP/UFPE
  • Rodrigo Galvão Pinho Lins DCP/UFPE

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36311/2237-7743.2020.v9n3.p604-624

Keywords:

Democratização, Poliarquia, Primavera Árabe

Abstract

What are the paths taken towards democratization by the countries that passed through the Arab Spring and had their governments deposed? The objective of the article is to analyze the electoral democracy indexes of the countries that had governments deposed by the Arab Spring (Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya). The working hypothesis suggest that the regimes’ breakdown in these countries led to a path of simultaneous increase in civil and political rights. In other words, those breakdowns led to a simultaneous increase in the two dimensions that lead to Polyarchy: contestation and inclusiveness. To test this hypothesis, a quantitative approach was adopted through a descriptive analysis of democracy, civil freedom and rights indexes presents in the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), Freedom House and the contestation and inclusiveness indicators present in the Quality of Government (QoG). The results suggest that only Tunisia and Libya showed a simultaneous evolution of civil and political freedoms after 2011 and only Tunisia made the transition into a democratic regime.

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Author Biographies

  • Antônio Alves Tôrres Fernandes, DCP/UFPE

    Antônio Alves Tôrres Fernandes é Cientista Político e mestrando em Ciência Política pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE). É membro do grupo Métodos de Pesquisa em Ciência Política (DCP/UFPE) e bolsista de mestrado do CNPQ.

  • Amanda Rafaela Domingos de Lima, DCP/UFPE

    Doutoranda, mestra (2019) e bacharela (2016) em Ciência Política pelo Programa de pós-graduação em Ciência Política da UFPE. Catalisadora do Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS, 2019) e membro do Grupo Métodos de Pesquisa em Ciência Política e do Grupo Instituições, Política e Governo, ambos da UFPE. 

  • Rodrigo Galvão Pinho Lins, DCP/UFPE

    Doutorando e Mestre em Ciência Política pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE). Bolsista da Facepe. Jornalista formado pela Universidade Católica de Pernambuco (Unicap). Catalisador do Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS, 2017) e membro do grupo de Métodos de Pesquisa em Ciência Política (MPCP) da UFPE. 

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Published

2021-09-02

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 3 (2020)

Section

Artigos

How to Cite

Democracy after the Arab Spring? : The cases of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya. Brazilian Journal of International Relations, Marília, SP, v. 9, n. 3, p. 604–624, 2021. DOI: 10.36311/2237-7743.2020.v9n3.p604-624. Disponível em: https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/bjir/article/view/9653.. Acesso em: 17 jul. 2024.