Soldiers of democracy? : military legacies and the Arab spring /
"Why do some militaries support and others thwart democratic transitions? After the Arab Spring revolutions, why did Egypt's military stage a coup to end the transition, while Tunisia's did not? On the other hand, why did Tunisia's military later facilitate the elected president&...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford ; New York :
Oxford University Press,
[2023]
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| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "Why do some militaries support and others thwart democratic transitions? After the Arab Spring revolutions, why did Egypt's military stage a coup to end the transition, while Tunisia's did not? On the other hand, why did Tunisia's military later facilitate the elected president's dismantling of democracy? This book argues that a military's behavior under democracy is shaped by how it had been treated under autocracy. Autocrats who had empowered their militaries, securing their loyalty through a share of power and wealth, create militaries who fear that democratization will encroach upon their privileges. Empowered militaries are thus more likely to repress pro-democracy uprisings, and if that fails, to stage coups against new democracies. Where autocrats instead marginalized their militaries, democratization is considerably easier. Yet, marginalized militaries still carry risks of their own, being less able to prevent a descent into civil war, and more easily co-opted into incumbent takeovers. In short, the dictator's choice to either empower or marginalize the military creates legacies that shape both the likelihood of democratization and the forms by which it breaks down. This book illustrates this theory through detailed case studies of Egypt and Tunisia, drawing on over 140 interviews with civilian and military leaders and three surveys of military personnel. It also probes the generalizability of the theory through a cross-national analysis of all countries between 1946 and 2010. Overall, the book brings civil-military relations front and center to the study of democratic transition and consolidation"--Publisher's description. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xi, 336 pages) : illustrations, charts |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780191976285 0191976288 0192873962 9780192873965 |