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This book examines how ruling elites manage and manipulate their political opposition in the Middle East. In contrast to discussions of government-opposition relations that focus on how rulers either punish or co-opt opponents, this book focuses on the effect of institutional rules governing the opposition. It argues rules determining who is and is not allowed to participate in the formal political arena affect not only the relationships between opponents and the state, but also between various opposition groups. This affects the dynamics of opposition during prolonged economic crises. It also shapes the informal strategies that ruling elites use toward opponents. The argument is presented using a formal model of government-opposition relations. It is demonstrated in the cases of Egypt under Presidents Nasir, Sadat and Mubarek; Jordan under King Husayn; and Morocco under King Hasan II.
Political participation in authoritarian regimes is usually considered insignificant, or important only insofar as it promotes democracy. Turning this common wisdom on its head, Political Participation in the Middle East demonstrates the vitality, variety, and significance of political activism across the MENA region. Through an in-depth exploration of seven countries, the authors address how formal and informal political institutions create opportunities for participation in venues as varied as trade unions, civic associations, political parties, and elections. And, without losing sight of the fact that authoritarian regimes manipulate participation to reinforce their rule, they reveal ways in which citizens do benefit?by influencing decision-making, for example, or obtaining state resources. An engaging read for scholars and students, this work vividly illustrates how citizens matter in the politics of authoritarian regimes.
Presents historical, comparative, and theoretical perspectives on democratization and legislatures in the Arab world, supported by six case studies. The authors look at the distinctive features of democratization processes in the Arab world, discuss the ability of parliaments to provide linkages between government and citizens, and present a typology of Arab parliaments revolving around the variables of centrality and capacity. The second part of the text consists of case studies in legislative development in Lebanon, Morocco, Kuwait, Yemen, and Egypt. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
In the newly updated Sixteenth Edition of The Middle East, Ellen Lust and contributors comprehensively examine regional trends and offer in-depth country profiles to illuminate this vital region.
Explores the most fundamental challenges to democracy in an era of globalization and addresses universal values, human rights and development, global constitutionalism, institutional complexity and challenges to the Democratic State.
Debunks the simplistic narratives of youth-driven, social media revolutions in the Arab Spring. Taking to the Streets critically examines the conventional wisdom that the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings happened spontaneously and were directed by tech-savvy young revolutionaries. Pairing first-hand observations from activists with the critical perspectives of scholars, the book illuminates the concept of activism as an ongoing process, rather than a sudden burst of defiance. The contributors examine case studies from uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, evaluating the various manifestations of political activism within the context o...
Often dismissed as window-dressing, nominally democratic institutions, such as legislatures and political parties, play an important role in non-democratic regimes. In a comprehensive cross-national study of all non-democratic states from 1946 to 2002 that examines the political uses of these institutions by dictators, Gandhi finds that legislative and partisan institutions are an important component in the operation and survival of authoritarian regimes. She examines how and why these institutions are useful to dictatorships in maintaining power, analyzing the way dictators utilize institutions as a forum in which to organize political concessions to potential opposition in an effort to neutralize threats to their power and to solicit cooperation from groups outside of the ruling elite. The use of legislatures and parties to co-opt opposition results in significant institutional effects on policies and outcomes under dictatorship.
According to conventional wisdom, the national identity of the Jordanian state was defined by the ruling Hashemite family, which has governed the country since the 1920s. But this view overlooks the significant role that the "Arab street"—in this case, ordinary Jordanians and Palestinians—played and continues to play in defining national identity in Jordan and the Fertile Crescent as a whole. Indeed, as this pathfinding study makes clear, "the street" no less than the state has been a major actor in the process of nation building in the Middle East during and after the colonial era. In this book, Betty Anderson examines the activities of the Jordanian National Movement (JNM), a collectio...
Representing a departure from studies of Middle East politics and democratisation, this book employs theories and concepts to the study of democracy and authoritarianism in the Arab world. It examines the role of non-state actors, civil society, in the maintenance of or resistance to the discourse that underpins authoritarian politics.
In recent years as globalization and market liberalization have marched forward unabated, and the global commons continue to be commodified and privatized at a rapid pace. In this global process, the ownership, sale and supply of water is increasingly the flashpoint for debates and conflict over privatization, and nowhere is the debate more advanced or acute than in southern Africa. The Age of Commodity provides an overview on the debates over water privatization including a conceptual overview of water 'privatization', how it relates to human rights, macro-economic policy and GATS and how the debates are shaped by research methodologies. The book then presents case studies of important water privatization initiatives in the region, drawing out crucial themes common to water privatization debates around the world including corruption, gender equity and donor conditionalities. This is book is powerful and necessary reading in our new age of commodity.