The Phoenix of Power: The reconstruction of political authority following revolutionary regime change

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While constitution-drafting assemblies and transitional justice commissions have garnered significant academic attention in recent years, transitional councils have so-far escaped a great deal of academic scrutiny.This research hopes to contribute to remedying this dearth of literature, and to consider several key questions pertaining to transitional councils. Why have transitional councils emerged as a prominent type of provisional government in recent years and what, if anything, distinguishes them from other forms of provisional governments? Why are transitional councils accepted by the population and international community as legitimate? Why are some transitional councils successful in organising democratic elections, while others fail to gain traction?Initial research will be conducted to ascertain the universe of possible cases of transitional councils, based on the definition outlined below, within the broader universe of provisional governments.The research will conduct qualitative analysis drawing on the full spectrum of cases, while narrowing in on specific examples of transitional councils through case studies.Tentative case studies include the:2009 High Transitional Authority (HAT) of Madagascar;52011 National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya;2011 High Commission for the Realisation of the Objectives of the Revolution, Political Reform and Democratic Transition in Tunisia (Haute Instance);6 - 2011 Syrian National Council (SNC).These cases have been selected for their varied political features. The list includes transitional councils which have undoubtedly failed to gain traction, those which have succeeded in shepherding their countries to democratic elections, and those which are seen as facades to justify unconstitutional changes of government.The primary mode of enquiry will be qualitative, making use of semi-structured interviews with the principal national protagonists in the transitional councils, as well as other relevant national political figures and international diplomats aware of the decision-making processes around their countries' positions vis-à-vis the transitional councils.