What Sort Of Elections?

Andrew Barwig recalls "instances when Arab regimes under duress used the guise of electoral reform to maintain control":

[W]e should pay careful attention to the rules that govern upcoming elections in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen. If history is any guide, protestors and reformists may be left out in the cold if transitional electoral systems simply diffuse power and reinforce clientelism rather than alter the rules of the game in a fundamental way.