The Quest for Liberal Democracy in Egypt and Syria

Dr. Line Khatib is a fellow at CSS, University of St Andrews and was Associate Professor of Political Science at the AUS. She is the author of Islamic Revivalism in Syria: The Rise and Fall of Syrian Secularism (Routledge, 2012) and Quest for Democracy: Liberalism in the Modern Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Her research and teaching interests lie within the fields of religion and politics, and democratization and authoritarianism in the Arab World. Her forthcoming book is an examination of ten pivotal moments in the political history of Damascus, shedding light on the city's enduring significance.

It has often been assumed that the politics of the Arabic-speaking world is dominated, and will continue to be dominated, by orthodox Islamic thought and authoritarian politics. Challenging these assumptions, Line Khatib explores the modern liberal democratic movement in the region, examining its activists and intellectuals, their work, and the strengths and weaknesses of the movement as a whole.