ABSTRACT
Arab citizens continue to challenge the legitimacy of their autocratic ruling authorities, and many also claim that true sovereignty rests in the hands of the citizens. Legitimacy will always be the critical element that determines whether a governance system endures or collapses; in some cases, as in President Sisi's Egypt, legitimacy anchored in mass citizen fears and yearnings for safety can retard genuine democratic transformations and delay national rebirth. All across the Arab world, some new legitimacies are coming into force, including more legitimate rules for authority and power, governance structures, political leaders and actors, and citizen participation and activism. Arab societies are continuing their quest for citizen-based legitimacy as they can, and when another transformational moment arrives they will seek to avoid the mistakes and haste that curtailed the post-2010 changes for democratic pluralism. In all the experiences of transitioning Arab states – whether warfare, stalemate, fragmentation, or ongoing negotiations – citizens attach importance to achieving a constitutional agreement.
