Structured Response 5

When comparing the United States to the MENA region in terms of democratization, I was actually quite surprised to find parallels. I assumed there would be very little in common, seeing as how one nation is fully democratized while the other region is mainly authoritarian. One parallel between the American democracy and MENA region is the focus on individual rights and government accountability. Through these aspects, the democratization by the civil society sector is enabled to promote democratic change. Though civil society has no real autonomy from regimes in place, groups and actors can argue and protest for changes that benefit society. Caratorta and Elananza propose that there are three steps to regime displacement- opening, breakthrough, and consolidation. This can be seen through many cases throughout history. Take for example the American Revolution: a group of unhappy citizens organized and broke through the regime, which later toppled and finalized a new ruling establishment. This process has the possibility for allowing change in the MENA region. Though currently stable in many areas, cracks must be found in MENA governments in order to democratize them. Once that occurs, the organized civil society groups can take charge and consolidate into a new form of government.  Social movements have influenced democratization in the US by allowing for change when the government ignored minorities. Through women’s rights, suffrage rights, civil rights, and now gay rights, social movements are/ have been the key to evoking real transformation of the system. Because of this, the potential role of social movements in the democratization process for the MENA area is quite possible. Social movements have the power to uproot governments and represent the people as they fight for democracy and freedom.