Introduction

The popular revolution in Tunisia, which brought down President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and his authoritarian regime in January 2011, had a cascading effect in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Ben Ali's quick flight from Tunisia sparked hopes of political change in the minds of Arabs. The potential to shift power from long-standing repressive and corrupt governments to the hands of the people was no longer a vain fancy; instead, it became a reality in the making. From the civilian-led major uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, to the street demonstrations in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria, and Morocco, the Arab Spring appeared to signal a region poised for a gradual transition to democracy.

Amidst these upheavals and power shifts, new democratic openings enabled the Islamists to emerge as major political actors after decades of being marginalized or even violently suppressed. Islamist-oriented political parties won majorities in parliamentary seats in free and fair elections held in Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco. Despite deep misgivings about the hidden agendas of Islamists held by certain segments of Arab secularists and the Western world, there was a sense of ‘cautious optimism’ about the development of a unique democracy articulated and led by mainstream Islamists.

However, eight years forward, this optimism has faded away with much of the MENA region now either deeply mired in bloody conflict with Sunni- Shia sectarian overtones or have returned to the pre-Arab Spring status quo with prevailing authoritarian power structures intact.