By JAY SOLOMON

DOHA, Qatar—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, adopting a tone reminiscent of the Bush administration, blasted Arab governments for stalled political change, warning that extremists were exploiting a lack of democracy to promote radical agendas across the Middle East.

Mrs. Clinton, addressing a conference on democracy as she wrapped up a four-nation tour of the Persian Gulf region Thursday, said the situation is exacerbated by dwindling natural resources and the difficulty of the region’s large population of young people in finding jobs or channels through which to express their aspirations.

If left unaddressed, such limitations could set the stage for more violence and political turmoil, she said.

The secretary of state’s speech marks a contrast with the tone of the Obama administration so far. President Barack Obama has been criticized by democracy activists for not more aggressively pushing leaders in the Arab and Muslim world to pursue political openness.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jeffrey Feltman, center, assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, arrive to attend the Forum for the Future conference in Doha, Jan. 13.

Mrs. Clinton appeared to put such reticence aside. “While some countries have made great strides in governance, in many others, people have grown tired of corrupt institutions and a stagnant political order,” she told the Forum for the Future, an annual dialogue established by the George W. Bush administration following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. “The region’s foundations are sinking into the sand.”

Filling the vacuum, she said, are “extremist elements, terrorist groups and others who would prey off desperation and poverty.” Mrs. Clinton’s speech came at the end of a diplomatic mission her aides said was designed to stimulate a debate on political and economic reforms, as well as to galvanize Arab support for financial sanctions against Iran for its nuclear work.

The shift in tone comes as the Obama administration has grown frustrated that a lack of political change in a variety of nations—including Lebanon, Afghanistan, Tunisia and Yemen—is undermining efforts to create stable governments that can effectively combat terrorism.

The militant political group Hezbollah and its allies forced the collapse of Lebanon’s government while its prime minister sat in the White House, dealing a blow to Washington in its battle with Iran and Syria for influence in the Mideast. Farnaz Fassihi has details from Beirut.

Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Mrs. Clinton’s speech was an “effort to seize the moment” of turmoil in the region. “We haven’t heard anything like this from a principal in the administration until now,” he said.

Aaron David Miller, a State Department adviser on the Middle East for six secretaries of state of both parties, said Mrs. Clinton’s remarks represented a return to the rhetoric of the Bush administration.

Mr. Miller, now a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, said the new approach is likely to suffer from the same problem that bedeviled the previous administration: an inability to force changes that matched such words.

“The gap between what she’s articulating and what it is we can actually change and achieve is enormous,” he said. “And what’s going to fall into that gap is our credibility.”

In the early years of Mr. Bush’s presidency, the White House made democracy promotion the cornerstone of U.S. policy in the Middle East, rattling many of the region’s strongmen. That campaign lost steam during Mr. Bush’s second term.

Mr. Obama, in a 2009 speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, broached the issue of democracy tentatively, saying “no system of government can or should be imposed on one nation by any other.”

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European Pressphoto AgencyTunisians celebrate after President Ben Ali promised political reforms.

During a trip to China in his first year, Mr. Obama put democracy and human rights on a back burner, emphasizing open Internet access as a first step toward greater freedom.

The impact of Mrs. Clinton’s shift in tone is uncertain. Despite increasing qualms about their domestic political problems, the U.S. still counts Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria as close allies in the fight against al Qaeda.

This week in Yemen—another key counterterrorism ally—Mrs. Clinton reminded President Ali Abdullah Saleh of the need for political and economic change, while reaffirming U.S. military and developmental support.

Mrs. Clinton’s push drew mixed responses during public events and television appearances in the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Oman. Arab leaders acknowledged their governments need greater domestic political participation and media freedoms. They also expressed a refrain that democratic change can be initiated only gradually.

“If there’s a downside, it’s: How is this society taking the change?” Bahrain Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said during the Forum for the Future. “The resistance is there. The hiccups are there. But it’s never a screeching halt. It’s never a U-turn.”

Mrs. Clinton was repeatedly reminded during her five-day mission of the turmoil embroiling many of Washington’s closest allies in the region.

She spent much of Wednesday addressing the collapse of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s unity government, after the withdrawal of militant group Hezbollah and its allies.

Washington viewed the emergence of Mr. Hariri’s government in 2005 as a possible harbinger of a broader democratic change in the Middle East. Mr. Hariri now faces an uphill battle to regain the premiership.

The State Department last week called in Tunisia’s ambassador to Washington to express concern that his government’s security forces were employing inappropriate force against protestors and blocking access to the Internet.

The Tunisian president on Thursday offered compromises to stem public frustration.

The Obama administration has also been concerned by recent elections in Egypt dominated by President Hosni Mubarak’s ruling party. Opposition political leaders charge the vote was fraudulent. The Egyptian government has denied the elections were flawed. A government official this week rejected the idea of a “Tunisia scenario” of rising protests forcing political change in Egypt.

Democracy and women’s-rights activists warmly greeted Mrs. Clinton’s call during a number of the so-called “town halls” that were convened.

But they also expressed skepticism of the depth of U.S. commitment because of Washington’s continuing support for Mr. Mubarak and Yemeni President Saleh. Both leaders receive substantial American financial aid, despite overseeing political systems that allow only limited dissent.

There is “no doubt that support exists…however, the political stance and economic interests and trade interests [of the U.S.] sometimes take the upper hand,” Tunisian political activist Slaheddine Jourchi said at an event with Mrs. Clinton. “We do believe pragmatism can contradict principles.”

Mrs. Clinton said the onus for progress shouldn’t be placed solely on Washington’s shoulders. “If a leadership won’t pursue such a path towards development, it’s very hard for anyone on the outside to make this happen,” she said.

—Jonathan Weisman in Washington contributed to this article.Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com