Authoritarian is described in the Oxford dictionary as “​Favoring​ or ​enforcing​ ​strict​ ​obedience​ to ​authority​, especially that of the

government, ​at the expense of​ ​personal​ ​freedom​” ​("Definition of authoritarian in English:"). It is thought to be negative throughout the world and
yet authoritarianism in the middle east still exists because of its very nature. We usually think of authoritarian regime as the one in which there is
a powerful dictator who, along with a small cohort of individuals, makes all decisions related to the governance of a state. To some extent a
dictator, Bashr-Al Asad for example, do get this kind of decision making power. But there is much more that leads to the Middle East still having
an Authoritarian government even though there have been many attempts for democracy. One of the issues is that the level of Education is lower
in Middle Eastern countries. Another issue is that those who do have the power to demand change do not see the benefit in doing so. In addition
religion is used as an explanation in some countries and a form of oppression in other. Finally, the Military and other security agencies are used to
oppress instead of protecting the people in the Middle East. For the lack of advanced education, religion and military oppression I believe that
Authoritarianism still persists in the Middle East.

Most of the Middle east countries still have a culture that is tribal in nature.This tribal nature in Authoritarianism can be an
educational related problem. If the illiteracy rate is high, then the probability that the government is not good is also quite high. For example, lets
compare the literacy statistics of females in Iran and Afghanistan. Both these countries have the same religion as well as a very similar society the
difference lies in the illiteracy rate. In Afghanistan where the illiteracy rate is a high 68% ("Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages
15-24)"), the young people will demonstrate if there is a picture drawn of prophet Mohammad. In contrast in Iran where the illiteracy rate is 2%
("Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15-24)"), the young people will also demonstrate but they do so because they want more
democracy. Note how even though ​Iran has more educated people that do not stage up any irrational demonstrations and the citizens in Iran are
now asking for democracy an Authoritarian regime still dictates the country.

Lynch touches up on this in his book ​Building Toward Revolution​ where he states “Iran’s Green Movement protests following alleged
fraud in the June 2009 presidential elections in Iranian protest movement brought a wide cross-section of society into the streets, but drew heavily
on the urban youth” (Lynch 63). This means that the youth who are being educated are wanting more of a democracy than an Authoritarian
regime. That they are willing to stand up for what they believe in with the knowledge that they can have a better ruling system then the one that
they currently have. Lynch continues his explanation about the youth by stating that technology has made the Green Movement so popular to the
outside world. But in the end Lynch states that “As in most of the Arab cases, the protests revealed unexpected depths of popular resentment and
extraordinar competencies to organize and to communicate, but ultimately Authoritarian regime seemed to be able to weather the storm”(Lynch
63). This is how education plays an important role in why Authoritarianism still prevails.

Although the youth are being educated in the “western way” as some may put it the people who have the possibility in changing the
current ruling system are not the youth but the traditional upper class. In Kings article ​Sustaining Authoritarianism​ it is stated ​“The traditional
upper classes are now the targets of state economic reform policies. These economic elites are largely not interested in political transparency or
democratization. The bourgeoisie and landed elite have not offered the support necessary for opposition groups to overcome regime efforts to
control political openings that they initiated” (King,447). With this statement it is easy to understand why even though the Workers, the Peasants
and the Youth all fight for change and get repressed every time. Even in countries where education is not an issue like Iran Authoritarianism will
reign until they have the support of some of the upper class that can put some weight on the challenges being made to the authority in power.

Another one of the reasons that authoritarianism still prevailing in the middle east is Islam. Islam can be used as a reason to help
explaining Authorianism on different levels depending on the state. If we need democracy to flourish we would need that the country or state
should embrace ideas like openness, competition, pluralism, tolerance of diversity, etc. However Islam is a major obstruction in this. Islam and
democracy cannot go hand in hand. This is because in Islam the concept of having a king is prevalent in their holy books that they strictly follow.

Although there is the counter argument that Turkey being a country with a majority of muslims is not authoritarian. This is true but
this change is in their thought is a result of a huge reforms, change of thoughts, etc. The modernisation of Turkey has resulted in separation from
the church and state thus resulting in Turkey being more secular even though they have majority of muslims. In the article ​Whatever Happened
to Secularization?: The Multiple Islams in Turkey​ by Gulalp it is stated that, “In 1995, the Islamist political party (Welfare Party) won the general
elections, making its leader, Necmettin Erbakan, the prime minister of the country for a period. It was only a short period, however, before the
Islamist-led coalition government was removed from power through an indirect intervention of the military in 1997. This sort of intervention was
not a new experience for Turkey. As Gellner himself has noted, the army, regarded by all as the guardian of Kemalism, does not seem to hesitate
to step in every time a democratic election results in Islamist victory. Hence secularization in Turkey seems to be a peculiar affair”(Gulalp,
381-395). This means that In order to maintain the separation of church and state in Turkey the Islamic party has been taken out of power. It is the
opposite of what is happening in other islamic nations where the people are the ones who encourage the Islamic party. Turkey has learned that in
order to maintain a non-exclusive relationship with the Islamic leads to a non-Authoritarian state.

On of the ways that Islam is used in order to keep Authoritarianism These sort of reforms are not possible in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc
because of the power, absolute monarchy and royal family there. In these said countries anything said against the royal family is dealt with
harshly and can lead to the person being beheaded. When one of the members of the royal family was quizzed on “should Saudi Arabia have a
constitution?”, he gave a prompt reply that the biggest constitution is the Quran and they do not require any other constitution. Such thoughts and
beliefs would never let democracy to even step a foot in such places. At the same time Saudi Arabia has a way to placate its people. Lynch
explains this when stating “ its cosmetic reforms, including granting women the right to vote for largely powerless advisory councils, created the
appearance of movement without conceding any real power” ( Lynch, 117). This expert from Lynchs book perfectly explains what is being said
earlier. The Saudi would not relinquish any power and would rather full the people into thinking they had some say than actually turning
democratic. The large influence that royalty plays is not something that can be undone. Moreover personally, I feel that Islam and the Quran are
just being used as tool so that the royal family can maintain their status. They want power and authority, however if they allow democracy to step
its foot in the country they will end up loosing all the power they had.

Another way that Islam has preserved Authoritarianism is shown by restricting islamic parties.While in Saudi Arabia it is the royalty
that uses islam in order to stay in power in Egypt the leaders refuse to allow Islamic parties into politics. King comments about this in his article
Sustaining Authoritarianism.​ King states “Workers and peasants probably form much of the support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other
Islamist tendencies, but religious parties are outlawed in Egypt, as in most countries of the Arab world. There is real popular force behind the
Islamist groups that renounce violence and claim to be willing to participate in electoral politics as democrats.[...] The Muslim Brotherhood has
participated in the elections of the last two decades in Egypt either as independents or in alliance with other political parties. [...] The overall
support for Islamists is difficult to determine, since adequate public surveys do not exist and the government utilizes its most intense and
sometimes fierce mechanisms of repression against those groups” (King, 449). This is contradicting to all the information that is being given
about Islam being one of the reasons for Authoritarianism still dominating in the Middle East. Although King confuses us with his explanation of
how this can lead to authoritarianism it is easier to understand when analysed. In Egypt it is the mass that want an Islamic rule but yet the leaders
refuse to allow it. This is because they would lose power if they allowed the Islamic party to take control. This oppression by the leaders is creates
an Authoritarian regime.

But why are parties that are Islamic banned in countries like Egypt still leading to authoritarianism being in control . The answer is
simple. Rogan talks about it in his book ​The Arabs a History​ in which he states “Hassan al-Banna had created the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 to
fight against western influences and the erosion of Islamic values in Egypt” (Rogan, 399). The influence of Western countries at that time was
frowned upon especially with how England and France were colonizing the Middle Eastern countries claiming it as their own. But during the
1950’s and the 1960’s The Muslim Brotherhood started to get repressed and banned even,during Nasser’s regime. “Yet repression only
strengthened the will of the Muslim Brothers to fight secularism and promote their own vision of Islamic values” (Rogan 400). Some of the
Muslim Brothers think that the reason that Authoritarian exists is because it is a man made creation. That American influences has caused the
Middle Eastern countries to not follow their Islamic ways and this leads to uprises. In the uprises the leaders use Military force to suppress the
Islamic parties making an Authoritarian cycle of oppression.

Military and security agencies are a part of the country, however in the middle east the security agencies and military do
not have any national purpose. They are thus used to maintain the stability and bring the country in order during political crisis.In the
Military Balance in the Middle East it states ““Far too many Middle Eastern nations still attempt to create the largest possible forces,
or invest in the latest and most modern weapons, rather than create balanced mixes of capability. Many governments also distrust
their military and emphasize loyalty and security rather than military effectiveness” (Cordesman 26). The government does not trust
the military because the royal families are never ready to surrender their power and they use the military and security agencies to
ensure that there is no conspiracy going on against them. This power over the military does not give opportunity for a democracy or
any other type of regime that is not authoritarian to come into power. Also by doing this they are also able to ignore the needs of the
people in their states.

If the leaders find anything suspicious then they use the military at will to overcome them. In an article called ​The 2011
Uprisings in the Arab Middle East: Political Change and Geopolitical Implications it states ​“In Saudi Arabia, where protests were
primarily confined to the eastern province and some bigger cities, the regime boosted social welfare spending and resorted to
renewed repression. In Algeria, which had experienced the trauma of internal conflict in the 1990s, protests in January 2011 did not
coalesce into a significant movement for change. Lebanon, Iraq and the Occupied Palestinian Territories remained mired in their
own webs of internal and geopolitical problems which isolated them from developments in the Arab region” (Dalacoura, 66). These
are real life example of how the rulers manipulate the people into oppression. They give something that the people ask for and then
continue to renew their oppression regime. If not they make it so that the masses are not able to join forces by separating them and
isolating the problem in small areas in order to not be overthrown. This technique used by leaders all over the Middle East also adds
to why Authoritarianism has not been overcome.

In the end the Middle East lack the basics and prerequisites of democracy like high
literacy rate, strong civil societies, separation of state and church, etc. which result in the
persistence of authoritarian nature. The working class and the poor are now attempting to
create a country that is fair for all. Education has been a key to that but even in nations that do
have high education rates the traditional upper class do not support the need for change
causing the uprisings and resistances to not succeed. The separation of the church and the
state is also important to overcome the Authoritarianism ruling in the Middle East. In some
middle eastern countries the government uses the Islamic ways in order to keep their
subordinates under their rule. In some countries in the Middle East the rulers refuse to
acknowledge the needs of the people because the party that helps promote their beliefs is
associated with Islam. Finally, the defense force that should be used to protect the people is
used to suppress them. Rulers use Military force to isolate revolution groups in order to not
allow a mass overturn of the Authoritarian power in control. In the end Authoritarian rule will
continue to persist in the Middle east until they are able to educate the masses, get the
traditional upper class to also want change, separate church and state and not allow the military
to be used as a form of repression.