Assessing the Progress Toward Democracy in the Middle East

Three years after the demonstrations that launched the so-called Arab Spring, the political and social stability of nations involved remains uncertain. In his book, “The Second Arab Spring,” former deputy prime minister of Jordan, Marwan Muasher, argues that all governments involved, including the U.S., Israel and Arab states, had unrealistic expectations for a quick transformation to democracy in the Middle East. In his book, Muasher traces causes of the unrest and warns of the forces that threaten today’s movements toward positive state-building. He joins us in the studio.

• More: More on ‘The Second Arab Awakening and the Battle for Pluralism’ (Indiebound)