Summary Of Understanding The Revolutions Of 2011

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In his article, “ Understanding the Revolutions of 2011: Weakness and Resilience in Middle Eastern Autocracies”, Jack Goldstone classifies a sultanistic regime as one in which “a national leader expands his personal power at the expense of formal institutions, (who) appeal to no ideology and have no purpose other than maintaining their personal authority”. Such sultans use features of democracy such as political parties, elections, and general assemblies as a grformal guise, when in truth they aim to advance their own personal agendas over the well being and interests of their citizens. Not only does this effectively oppress the citizens, but it leads to the population's general unrest and later, to the cultivation of a revolution. The political