(Brookings Institution) Mwangi S. Kimenyi - Much of the Arab world has reached a level of development that is inconsistent with its political system. As citizens in Middle Eastern countries became richer, healthier and more educated, they became much less willing to tolerate being ruled by predatory elites. The protests in the streets of the Middle East are an expression of a pro-democracy movement that is often being led by university-educated youth who form part of an emerging middle class that is no longer willing to live under semi-feudal autocrats.
2011-03-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive