Analysis of the current democratic wave in the Arab world: Lessons and implications

The Arab world which occupies the vast desert land of the Middle East is one of the most blessed in natural resources and with a peculiar socio-political setting distinct from the West. This oil rich region which has over the years been governed by monarchical rule witnessed an unrest that started at the end of 2010 attracting interest in the western democracies, in the middle and near eastern nations, whose instability will compel changes in western policies for the region. However, this paper, using both political economy and political culture approach, sought to extricate the dichotomy between the Arab world and the west in terms of political ideology. The central argument of this paper is that the current Arab revival is not a trend but rather a long time project designed by western powers and therefore posited that democratization should be a home grown process and the west may not be able to achieve politically in its current bid to democratize or “liberalize” the desert except it incorporates Islamic-political culture in its effort. More importantly, the west needs to carry along the Arabian government and its people for the full actualization of its interest(s) in the Middle East and desist from using ‘force’ on the people to accept a new form of political administration. Key words: Arab spring, western liberalization, political transitions, democratic wave.