Simon Says: Stay! A Study of the Regional Diffusion of Political Stability

Abstract: This thesis suggests that neither the cue nor the result of a diffusion process need be manifested in a policy-change, but can indeed be simply the maintaining of the status quo, or rather, the hindrance of transformation. Also, it attempts to use this theory of regional diffusion of stability to explain the robustness of the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and Northern Africa. This thesis does not wish to contend with previous explanations, such as the region's abundance of natural resources or patrimonial rule. The aim is instead to complement them in focusing on the regional diffusion of authoritarian norms and behaviours, or the motivation behind the authoritarian rule, rather than the source of the means for making stable authoritarianism possible.