The 'Fall' of the Arab Spring Democracy's Challenges and Efforts to Reconstitute the Middle East Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy Series

Constitutional bargains are seen as cornerstones of democratic transitions in much of the world. Yet very few studies have theorized about the link between constitution-making and democratization. Shifting the focus on democratization away from autocratic regime break down, this book considers the importance of inclusive constitution-building for democratization. In this pathbreaking volume, Tofigh Maboudi draws on a decade of research on the Arab Spring to explain when and how constitutional bargains facilitate (or hinder) democratization. Here, he argues that constitutional negotiations have a higher prospect of success in establishing democracy if they resolve societal, ideological, and political ills. Emphasizing the importance of constitution-making processes, Maboudi shows that constitutions can resolve these problems best through participatory and inclusive processes. Above all, The 'Fall' of the Arab Spring demonstrates that civil society is the all-important link that connects constitutional bargaining processes to democratization.

1. Constitutions, civil society, and democratization in the Arab world; 2. Democratizing the parchments: the impact of process on the democratic content of constitutions; 3. Constitutional negotiations and the pathway to democratic transition: The case of Tunisia; 4. Pathways of Failure: the importance of the process; 5. Pathways of failure: the importance of civil society; 6. Pathways of failure: the importance of constitutional design; 7. Lessons from the 'Fall' of the Arab Spring.

Tofigh Maboudi is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago, who has studied Arab constitutions and constitutionalism for over a decade. Maboudi's research focuses on comparative constitutional studies, democratization, authoritarianism, and Middle East politics. His research has appeared in several journals including The American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, and Political Research Quarterly. He is the co-author of Constituents before Assembly: Participation, Deliberation, and Representation in the Worldwide Crafting of New Constitutions (2017). Professor Maboudi has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Bar Foundation.