​"Arab Transitions in Comparative Perspective: Building Democracies in Light of International Experiences" aimed to address the conditions that lay behind the success of regime change and democratization processes, and elaborated on the histories of past experiences in countries that have overcome authoritarianism. The overall context was the challenges being faced by Arab countries seeking to democratize today. The seminar thus provided for a comparative analysis, particularly focusing on the political changes that have occurred since the mid-1970s in an effort to distill applicable lessons. As a starting point, the conference was premised on the assumption that there is no clear “transition paradigm” and that what was pertinent in one case might prove a failure in another, even in countries within the same geographical region and where the prevailing conditions are similar.

 

The conference also explored how factors and actors regarded as important in the democratization literature help to explain the outcomes of particular transition processes, not by looking at all factors but focusing instead on the ones that are relevant for the Arab world. The conclusions of this conference will be useful for external actors whose foreign policies and aid programs intend to encourage and assist the current democratization processes.