A Study of the Internal Challenges and Obstacles of Democracy in the Middle East with Emphasis on Bahrain
Subject Areas :Mohammad Sadegh Koshki 1 , Maryam Nazempour 2
1 - استادیار و عضو هیئت علمی گروه علوم سیاسی دانشگاه تهران
2 - کارشناس ارشد علوم سیاسی دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد شهرضا
Keywords: Bahrain, Democracy, authoritarianism, the Middle East,
Abstract :
The topic of the present article is a study of the challenges and obstacles of democracy in the Middle East with emphasis on Bahrain. The main question of this article is what are the most important internal challenges and obstacles of democracy in Bahrain? The hypothesis of the article is that the main challenge to democracy in Bahrain is the traditional authoritarian rule which this itself prepares the ground for other obstacles and challenges. The present article is theoretical and by a descriptive-analytical method wants to examine the above issue. The finding of the study shows that the root of authoritarianism lies in culture and economy of the Middle East countries. In fact the political culture of the Middle East countries is authoritarian and this itself is a serious and basic obstacle on the way of democracy and free and independent civil society.