Military Elites in the Political Process of the Middle Eastern and North African Countries

Abstract

An important characteristic of the contemporary political process in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the plurality of its actors. Among them, one can single out the military elites, who began to play a significant role in the political life of the region after the collapse of the colonial system. At present, in a number of MENA states, a new wave of growth in the participation of the army in the political process is observed. In this context, the primary goal of this study is to identify the degree of involvement of military elites in the system of state administration and determine the prospects for closed political systems based on the principles of militocracy / military dictatorship and stratocracy. The article defines the high degree of participation of the army in the political process of some MENA countries, associated with the consequences of a series of political upheavals during the period of the «Arab Spring», which formed a public demand in countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Sudan and Libya to revise the structure of the political systems of these states. The analysis of the problems stated in the work contributes to the deepening of scientific and practical knowledge in the field of regional studies and elitology, and also emphasizes the leading role of military elites in the political process of the MENA states.