title: A Middle East Quandary: A Comparative Analysis of State Creation and Political Regime Formation in Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon
abstract: Democracy is at a crossroad. At the start of the twenty-first century analysts noted that though in the 1920s only a very small number of sovereign states were led by regimes that had the basic components necessary to qualify as a democracy, by 1990 that number had increased to 69, and by 2012 to 117. Between the years 2005 and 2013, however, political rights and civil liberties underwent substantial setbacks. Of no less significance, hopes that Middle Eastern states would begin their transition
journal: Digital Commons - Connecticut College (Connecticut College)