Why Authoritarianism Tends to Persist in the Middle East?

This is the prompt for the paper:

“Identify which “variable” has the most evidence to write about and why from this prompt: Guidelines for the Term Paper

You are expected to write a 7-page, double-spaced, paper (due on February 29th, 2024) titled Why Authoritarianism Tends to Persist in the Middle East?

SUBMIT YOUR WORK ON CANVAS. YOU WILL NOT GET CREDIT IF YOUR PAPER IS NOT SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY.

Length: 1750 WORDS of text (in addition to the title page and the list of references).

Paper topic:

In order to address this question you need to decide which of the several possible factors (independent variables) BEST explains the persistence of authoritarianism (dependent variable). This means that you should choose only ONE (and not several variables!) as an explanation. In justifying your claims you should discuss the conditions in at least two states in the region. In addition to Arab states, your case studies could also include Iran and Turkey. Once you do decide which independent variable to use keep in mind that it must explain persistence of authoritarianism in BOTH cases (i.e., individual ME states) you discuss in your paper. In other words, if you have different independent variables for different cases you do not have a theory.

When considering different independent variables as possible explanations you should also think (but not discuss in you paper, given its required length) about the cases outside of the region. For example, if abundance of oil may explain the persistence of authoritarianism in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, how is it that it does not interfere with a democratic process in Canada, Norway or the United Kingdom? If you believe that Islam has something to do with authoritarianism in Egypt how is it that it does not interfere with democratic governance in Indonesia?

The following is a list of probes you could make. (The list is by no means exhaustive nor it implies that you have to probe all of those issues).

Political history of state institutions: pre-colonial state structures, the nature of colonial administration (who was the colonial power?), the post-colonial political development.

Political culture: patriarchy, patrimonial leadership, and/or the lack of trust and tolerance.

Political cleavages: ethnicities, tribes, religious sects, and/or political ideologies.

Economic factors: level of poverty, level of integration into world economy, and rentier status.

External interference: during the colonial era, the cold war era or the post-cold war era.

Your paper should contain an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. You should state your thesis (i.e., your answer to the puzzle) in the introductory section of the paper (in a short paper like this usually at the end of the first paragraph). In a short paper like this you should spend no more than a page refuting arguments that differ from the one you advance in your paper.

You must support your argument. At least FIVE peer-reviewed outside sources are required. Be sure to supply a list of references and use notations in the text to show where the principal ideas and facts you use come from. These notations should be precise enough to allow others to find the same information easily.”

Whichever topic in the prompt has the most evidence to support it (and the best sources: i.e. the five best 5 “peer-reviewed journals”) is the topic I want you to write about, please. I think that Political Culture is likely the best choice in this regard. I’ve attached a slide show that gives some insight as to the actual material covered in the course. This professor is very particular about the mechanics of the paper, as well as the fact that all five sources must be peer-reviewed journals.