This essay examines the international dimensions of political change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, focusing specifically on the prospects for democratization. It sketches the major historical and cultural features constituting the MENA region, and situates it in the structure of world politics, and then examines the internal dynamics and international factors that help to explain why there has been less progress toward democracy in MENA than elsewhere. The conclusions reflect on the prospects for democratization, and on where the MENA region belongs in the context of the global spread of democracy.