Description
Book SynopsisInvestigates the role of civic associations in promoting democratic attitudes and behavioral patterns in contexts that are less than democratic. This work argues that, in state-centralized environments, associations can just as easily promote civic qualities vital to authoritarian citizenship - such as support for the regime in power.
Trade ReviewWinner of the 2008 Best Book Award, Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association "Jamal's field research in the Palestinian West Bank suggests that the posited correlation between civil society and democracy is not quite so straightforward...These sobering findings need not cause those Arabs and outsiders seeking a democratic opening to give up on civil society. They should, however remind both the scholar seeking to understand and the reformer working to change of the need to appreciate how things actually work."--L. Carl Brown, Foreign Affairs "In the current study, Jamal emphasizes comparisons of associational life in the West with the Arab states. Accepted wisdom links associational life to the growth and maintenance of a healthy democracy. But the author's extensive fieldwork has uncovered a challenge to this conventional linkage, showing that associational life can be used to prop up undemocratic states. This is an important and timely insight."--M. Slann, Choice "Jamal's book ... is an excellent contribution to the literature on democracy and associational life and it serves as an important assessment of the impact of social capital on democratic life."--Donald G. Ellis, Ph.D., ASMEA (Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa) "Jamal's work ... deserve[s] attention from all of those who are concerned about the troubling quality of politics in the Arab world... Those engaged in democracy promotion, in particular, should read this volume closely and heed its lessons about the uneasy relationship between civil society and democracy in the Arab world."--Steven Heydemann, Middle East Journal "Amaney Jamal's volume is a welcome addition to the literature on democracy outside Europe and Latin America... A reading of this book will help, by beginning the process of disassembling the various disciplines' multifarious and misleading Orientalist 'idees recues'."--Roger Heacock, International Affairs
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Preface xi Note to the Reader xiii Chapter One: Introduction: Democratic Outcomes and Associational Life 1 Associations in Western Democratic Contexts 3 Associational Life in Palestine 10 The Associational Puzzle 13 Clientelism and Patronage 14 Chapter Two: Associational Life in the Centralized Authoritarian Context of the West Bank 21 The Failure of Oslo, PNA Corruption, and Democracy 22 Political Contextual Difference and Associational Life 25 The Polarization of Associational Life in the West Bank: Historical Overview 26 Palestinian Political and Civil Life under Occupation 31 Associational Life Post-Oslo 36 Corruption, Patronage, Clientelism, and the PNA 41 The PNA and the PLC 43 Rule of Law, the Judiciary, and the PNA 45 Associational Life and PNA Corruption 47 Conclusion 49 Chapter Three: The Polarization of Palestinian Associational Life 50 The Palestinian Associational Terrain 51 Factionalism 58 The Peace Process with Israel and the Realities Associated with Oslo 61 Donor Monies 66 Conclusion 74 Chapter Four: Trust, Engagement, and Democracy 77 The Polarization of Palestinian Civil Society 79 Association Membership and Support for the PNA 83 Examining Interpersonal Trust and Civic Engagement 85 The Associational Landscape 89 A Note on Self-selection and Causality 93 Conclusion 94 Chapter Five: Beyond Palestine: Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt 96 Trust and Associational Life in Morocco 98 Consolidating the Moroccan Monarchy: A Historical Overview 101 Solidifying Authoritarianism or Political Liberalization 104 Historical Patterns: The Evolution of Associational Life 107 Associations and the Regime 109 Political Parties and the Moroccan Regime 111 The Media 113 Civic Attitudes and Associational Realities in Morocco 115 Beyond Palestine and Morocco: Jordan and Egypt 115 Associational Life in Jordan and Egypt 119 Civil Society and Polarization 121 Conclusion 125 Chapter Six: Conclusion:Toward a Theory of Democratic Citizenship in State-Centralized Nations 127 Interpersonal Trust and Associational Realities in the West Bank 127 Civic Engagement, Support for Democratic Institutions, and Associational Realities in the West Bank 131 Civic Engagement and Interpersonal Trust among Association Members 133 The Art of Association 135 A Note about Democratization 137 Appendixes 139 Appendix A: Survey Questions and Coding of Association Members 141 Appendix B: Survey Questions and Coding of General Palestinian Population 147 Appendix C: Survey Questions and Coding of General Moroccan Population (World Values Survey Questions) 150 Bibliography 153 Index 165
