Insight Turkey
Insight Turkey
Challenging ideas
On Turkish politics and International affairs

Author

Oğuz Dilek

Zirve University, Turkey
Oğuz Dilek
The Demise of the Authoritarian Bargain in the Arab Middle East
July 1, 2015
This paper conceives of the Arab Spring as a leap forward that has relegated the established order to the status of a ‘walking dead.’ The ‘old’ Middle East is dead in so far as that the Arab elites hold no bargaining chip with which to consolidate a stable domestic rule. Hence they are walking dead or zombies, as they have no sense of purpose, will or chances regaining livelihood. This is because, firstly, the repressive character of Arab states has no sympathy to gain from their impoverished and powerless masses. Secondly, such oppressive practices are coincident with the IMF’s austerity programs, which constitute the greatest obstacle to Arab economies’ serving their key purpose: social cohesion. Unfortunately these two arguments are insufficient to support the belief that a bright new day has dawned for the regional people, the ‘old’ Middle East is one of the proverbial ‘walking dead’.

We use cookies in a limited and restricted manner for specific purposes. For more details, you can see "our data policy". More...