Description
Book SynopsisConsiders 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, this book suggests that a complex set of variables characterizes authoritarian rule and helps to explain both its dynamism and its persistence.
Trade ReviewThrows a new cast on Arab political systems and particularly on democratization and privatization.
-- I. William Zartman * Johns Hopkins University *
This is another, very worthwhile, study in a slowly growing field of work trying to explain the persistence of authoritarian rule in the Arab world . . .86:5, 2010
* International Affairs *
This book sets itself apart from other political science research by adopting a critical, evidence-based and systematic approach in analyzing how economic reforms have made authoritarianism stronger in the region, counter to popular beliefs.
* Journal of International Affairs *
[T]his book is important for our understanding of authoritarian persistence, the political economy of economic liberalization and the current breakdown of authoritarian upgrading in the Middle East.June 2012
* Perspectives on Politics *
The book is well written, well-researched and ably constructed. It reads well, follows a clear and consistently logical structure, and draws on a rich variety of sources. . . . In general, the author's arguments are fair, responsible and balanced—no mean feat when dealing with issues as complex and sensitive as authoritarianism versus democracy in the Arab world. 2011
* Bustan: Middle East Book Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
1. Political Openings and the Transformation of Authoritarian Rule in the Middle East and North Africa
2. Sustaining Authoritarianism during the Third Wave of Democracy
3. The Old Authoritarianism
4. The New Authoritarianism
5. Political Openings without Patronage-Based Privatization and Single-Party Institutional Legacies
6. Transitions from the New MENA Authoritarianism to Democracy?
Notes
Bibliography
Index
