What explains divergence in democratic outcomes following the Arab Spring? After 10 years, why is Tunisia the only country to continue down the path towards democracy, while Egypt experiences authoritarian retrenchment, and Libya, Syria, and Yemen are engulfed in civil war? Professor Elizabeth Nugent unpacks how legacies of repression under authoritarianism help us to understand different trajectories across the post-Arab Spring Middle East. Repression shapes political identities and exacerbates political polarization among the actors charged with navigating transitions from authoritarianism, with detrimental implications for democracy. This talk draws on her first book, After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition, published in September 2020 by Princeton University Press.
