Structured Response, Question #3

                It is clear that political movements around the world seek a claim of legitimacy in order to aid in their persuasion of others to their cause.  In seeking democratization, the legitimacy of the civil society is very important to the movement’s success.  This can be seen by the democratization of the Western world both in recent times and centuries ago.  There is debate, however, about the civil societies in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa reason over what can be claimed as authentic.  The political theorist Kawtharani believes that civil society actors based on traditional systems, known as al-mujitama’ al-ahli, have the best claim to legitimacy, for they are based upon important aspects of Arabian culture:  the village, religion, etc.  Kawtharani states that these values lead to the creation of a social contract that connects all citizens.  Another stance on this issue is that a civil society disconnected from tradition is truly legitimate.  The theorist Jabiri makes this claim based off of the belief that since traditional societies are born into, they aren’t truly representative of the ideals of an individual.  Civil societies that are created based off of mutual interest, or al-mujtama' al-madani, are more legitimate in his opinion because they are volunteer-based. 

                The issue of legitimacy is able to hinder democratization because it changes the role of civil society within the political system.  The mainstream model of democratization places a powerful civil society as a key factor.  It is possible that an “artificial solution” could lead to democratization.  However, the article made the claim that the states of the Middle East and North Africa region are attempting to interpolate themselves within civil society in order to quell the possibility of losing some authority.  As the bureaucracy becomes more involved in civil society, it becomes increasingly more important for civil society actors to claim legitimacy.  And therefore, the debate about legitimacy becomes more important.  With the emergence of “hybrid” civil societies that have widespread appeal, perhaps more citizens can accept their legitimacy, strengthening their civil society, and make progress towards democratization.