Diffusion in the arab world: Turkey and Iran as models of emulation on the eve of the ‘Arab spring’

The literature about factors that promote growth and change presents models of diffusion that are based on societies’ attempts to learn from the success of other societies and adopt their models. The stepped-up protests and calls for change that led to the Arab Spring were strongly influenced by Arab society’s exposure to the successes of the non-Arab Muslim states in the region: Turkey and Iran. In this article, we identify the focal points of the discussions about the models that the Arab world should adopt from Turkey and Iran, as proposed by leading public intellectuals, leaders, and think tanks, during the period between 2002 and 2012 prior to the eruption of the Arab Spring and during its first stage.