Author: Sean L. Yom | Journal of Democracy

Sean Yom is associate professor of political science at Temple University, nonresident senior fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington, D.C., and senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

Articles by Sean L. Yom:

July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3

Kuwait’s Democratic Promise

Sean L. Yom

This Arab state is different. It is far more liberal than any other Gulf kingdom, and it may even have a path, with much trial and effort, to becoming the region’s first democratic constitutional monarchy.

July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3

Jordan: The Ruse of Reform

Sean L. Yom

The Hashemite monarchy still fails to understand the challenges that threaten Jordan’s political order. The old playbook of limited, manipulated reform is no longer enough, but key players fail to realize it.

October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4

Resilient Royals: How Arab Monarchies Hang On

The “Arab Spring” has been very hard on autocratic presidents but so far has left the Arab world’s monarchies intact. How and why have Arab royals been able to resist the tide of protest?

October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4

Jordan: Ten More Years of Autocracy

Sean L. Yom

Jordan gets much good press for having one of the more open and liberal regimes in the Arab world, but that reputation masks a considerably grimmer reality.

Books:

Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World

The uprisings that swept the Arab world beginning in 2010 toppled four entrenched rulers and seemed to create a political opening in a region long impervious to democratization.