Armies and Civilians in the Arab Awakening: An Inevitable Compromise?

The final outcomes of the Arab transitions are far from over. However, it is certain that civil-military relations will be redefined and renegotiated in every case. Arab militaries responded to 2011’s popular uprisings in various ways, but always with one of two consequences. In Tunisia and Egypt, the decision of regime-loyalist commanders to abandon their presidents allowed quick transfers of power and cut short bloodshed. Conversely, in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, militaries fragmented, moved to the sidelines, or remained loyal, thus enabling incumbents to fight for their power. The Tunisian and Egyptian responses were largely shaped by the officer corps’ considerable institutional autonomy and professionally formed cohesion; the latter by the intermeshing of the military-government…