<P> According to the Democracy Index 2016 study, Israel (#29 worldwide) is the only democracy in the Middle East, while Tunisia (#69 worldwide) is the only democracy in North Africa . The measure of the level of democracy in nations throughout the world published by Freedom House and various other freedom indices, the Middle Eastern and North African countries with the highest scores are Israel, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, and Kuwait . Countries that are occasionally classified as partly democratic are Egypt and Iraq . The remaining countries of the Middle East are categorized as authoritarian regimes, with the lowest scores held by Saudi Arabia and Yemen . </P> <P> Freedom House categorizes Israel and Tunisia as "Free", Lebanon, Turkey, Kuwait and Morocco "Partly Free", and the remaining states as "Not Free" (including Western Sahara, which is controlled by Morocco). Events of the "Arab Spring" such as the Tunisian Revolution may indicate a move towards democracy in some countries which may not be fully captured in the democracy index . In 2015, Tunisia became the first Arab country classified as free since the beginning of Lebanon's civil war 40 years ago . Theories are diverse on the subject . "Revisionist theories" argue that democracy is slightly incompatible with Middle Eastern values . On the other hand, "post-colonial" theories (such as those put forth by Edward Said) for the relative absence of liberal democracy in the Middle East are diverse, from the long history of imperial rule by the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France and the contemporary political and military intervention by the United States, all of which have been blamed for preferring authoritarian regimes because this simplifies the business environment, while enriching the governing elite and the companies of the imperial countries . Other explanations include the problem that most of the states in the region are rentier states, which experience the theorized resource curse . </P> <P> This article follows sources that place Cyprus in Europe, not the Middle East . </P> <P> After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, many of the empire's former territories fell under the rule of European countries under League of Nations mandates . Thus, European powers were instrumental in establishing the first independent governments that emerged from the Ottoman Empire . During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed for allies in the region and the U.S. has been accused of supporting dictatorships contrary to its stated democratic principles . The 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine was the beginning of a policy of American democracy promotion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), leading, for example, to American intervention on behalf of the democratically elected government in the 1958 Lebanon crisis . </P>

Which middle eastern nation is governed by a parliamentary democracy question 7 options