Author: Henner Fürtig
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443809047
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
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Book Description
Economic and/or political liberalisation became a symbol of Arab authoritarian regimes since the initial phase of the “third wave of democratisation” in the early 1990s. Arab rulers found out that liberalisation could help strengthening their authoritarian rule; it diminishes both internal and external pressure and increases their legitimacy. While the regimes soon figured out that the West finally preferred stability and the containment of Islamic militancy to uncertainty caused by democratic “experiments”, 9/11 proved the failure of this unwritten agreement. Based on the experience that democracies do not wage wars against each other, the U.S. government came to the conclusion that only a sincere advancement of human rights and democracy in the Islamic world would – in the long run – avoid a repetition of 9/11-like events. The book analyses in detail how selected Arab regimes from Morocco in the West via Egypt in the centre to Syria and Palestine in the East reacted to this new, unprecedented challenge. Most of them promised a substantial intensification of the liberalisation process. Therefore, the book had to answer the question whether the current reforms are still rhetorical and cosmetic or real and radical, i.e. whether they once again rather foster the authoritarian regimes or lean towards the promotion of democratisation this time. Although a certain surplus of freedom for the ruled could be measured, the book resumed that the liberalisation process is still opposed to democratisation insofar as the authoritarian elite continues to use it as a tool to avoid democracy. Nevertheless, the authors did not stop here. They stated that under the complex circumstances of the modern world even rational actors such as Arab regimes cannot assess all the long-term consequences of their actions. Therefore, they cannot definitely be sure whether a specific measure contributes to the strengthening or to the weakening of their rule. Unintended, the reforms may result in long-term developments which are detrimental to the interests of the authoritarian elite. In other words, if certain liberalisation policies increase the legitimacy of the authoritarian rule in the short run, it still cannot be excluded that they may destabilise the system in the long run, i.e. democracy may come “by accident”.
Author: Oliver Schlumberger
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 368
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Book Description
Examines how political rule in Arab countries is effectuated, organized, and executed, and how authoritarianism works in practice and how it can be grasped conceptually.
Author: Omar Safi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838605738
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345
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Book Description
For most Arab regimes, intelligence, security apparatus and the secret services, are central to their domestic politics. Yet despite this, very little scholarly attention has been paid to the relationship between intelligence and politics in any Arab state. This book examines how security apparatus and intelligence influenced the domestic politics of Tunisia, from the implementation of French Protectorate in 1881 to the aftermath of the independence up to 1965. Based on unprecedented access to the sources of the Ministry of Interior and the First Ministry during Bourguiba's regime, as well as the national, diplomatic and military archives of France, Italy and the United Kingdom, the book is the first to trace the evolution of the Tunisian security community. Omar Safi argues that from an apparatus designed to maintain colonial control, intelligence became an instrument to drive the political agendas of the ruling elite. The book sheds new light on the influence of intelligence, presenting it as the fundamental, and generally ignored, 'missing dimension' of North African domestic politics.
Author: Rex Brynen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781588268532
Category : Arab countries
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
For years the authoritarian regimes of the Arab world displayed remarkable persistence. Then, beginning in December 2010, much of the region underwent rapid and remarkable political change. This volume explores the precursors, nature, and trajectory of the dynamics unleashed by the Arab Spring.
Author: Piotr H. Kosicki
Publisher: Central European University Press
ISBN: 9633862841
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296
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Book Description
The fall of communism in Europe is now the frame of reference for any mass mobilization, from the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement to Brexit. Even thirty years on, 1989 still figures as a guide and motivation for political change. It is now a platitude to call 1989 a "world event," but the chapters in this volume show how it actually became one. The authors of these nine essays consider how revolutionary events in Europe resonated years later and thousands of miles away: in China and South Africa, Chile and Afghanistan, Turkey and the USA. They trace the circulation of people, practices, and concepts that linked these countries, turning local developments into a global phenomenon. At the same time, they examine the many shifts that revolution underwent in transit. All nine chapters detail the process of mutation, adaptation, and appropriation through which foreign affairs found new meanings on the ground. They interrogate the uses and understandings of 1989 in particular national contexts, often many years after the fact. Taken together, this volume asks how the fall of communism in Europe became the basis for revolutionary action around the world, proposing a paradigm shift in global thinking about revolution and protest.
Author: Steven Heydemann
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801429323
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
State expansion caused the reorganization of social conflict, promoting intense polarization between radicals and conservatives, high levels of popular mobilization, and a shift in the preferences of the Ba'th from an accommodationist to a radically populist strategy for consolidating its system of rule."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Stephen J. King
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253004004
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
Stephen J. King considers the reasons that international and domestic efforts toward democratization have failed to take hold in the Arab world. Focusing on Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and Algeria, he suggests that a complex set of variables characterizes authoritarian rule and helps to explain both its dynamism and its persistence. King addresses, but moves beyond, how religion and the strongly patriarchal culture influence state structure, policy configuration, ruling coalitions, and legitimization and privatization strategies. He shows how the transformation of authoritarianism has taken place amid shifting social relations and political institutions and how these changes have affected the lives of millions. Ultimately, King's forward-thinking analysis offers a way to enhance the prospects for democracy in the Middle East and North Africa.
Author: Steven Heydemann
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804784353
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313
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Book Description
The developments of early 2011 changes the political landscape of the Middle East. But even as urgent struggles continue, it remains clear that authoritarianism will survive this transformational moment. The study of authoritarian governance, therefore, remains essential for our understanding of the political dynamics and inner workings of regimes across the region. This volume considers the Syrian and Iranian regimes—what they share in common and what distinguishes them. Too frequently, authoritarianism has been assumed to be a generic descriptor of the region and differences among regimes have been overlooked. But as the political trajectories of Middle Eastern states diverge in years ahead, with some perhaps consolidating democratic gains while others remaining under distinct and resilient forms of authoritarian rule, understanding variations in modes of authoritarian governance and the attributes that promote regime resilience becomes an increasingly urgent priority.
Author: Matteo Legrenzi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317174577
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
Regional cooperation, regionalism and regionalization in the Middle East are usually considered to be weak and rather ceremonial. However, since September 11, 2001, a new regional order is emerging and the impact of geostrategic changes in the international environment has yet to be satisfactorily studied. With older regional organizations suffering from weaknesses, new forms appear to be developing and flourishing, due either to European support or growing sub-regional identities. This volume offers refined theoretical models and approaches which are attuned to the new dynamics and contradictions of a wide range of regionalist projects in the contemporary Middle East. Case studies of the most important regional organizations in different policy fields offer comprehensive overviews of the main actors, institutions, historical development and current issues.
Author: Ozgun Topak
Publisher: EUP
ISBN: 9781474489416
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Examines new authoritarian practices and state control in MENA countries to target and neutralise dissidents
