The move towards authoritarianism is a worldwide phenomenon.

bbc.com

The article gives statistics on how Arab countries are viewing democracy as being detached from economic success. This view is not just an Arab view, but a more and more common failure inside places like the USA as well.

Without a strong social safety net and strong civil right guarantees, democracy by itself is only a means of selecting which leader is going to seek personal advantage over everyone else, and perhaps bring along and elevate the select part of the population just like himself. The USA, with our utterly corrupt SCOTUS and white supremacist fascist Republican Party, is busy rejecting civil rights and safety nets and are the first things to be destroyed towards creating economic distress and social chaos in order to achieve greater and greater power. Democracy is only the means. The goals can be expressed and attempted by any form of government and right now Arabs under economic stress are feeling the failures of societies without safety nets and strong government institutions. Republicans want to take us the US there as well.