Authoritarian regimes and their perpetuation in the middle. The region of the middle east and north africa mena appears to be an exception when it comes to the persistence of authoritarianism. Request pdf on jan 1, 2005, marsha pripstein posusney and others published. The robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east. Authoritarianism in the middle east university of washington. Looking in depth at two states that have had significantly different outcomes from the uprisings tunisia and bahrain the article analyses the. An introduction to middle east politics engages with questions of democratisation and political reform in the region.
However, this simplistic frame obscures a more significant development. These efforts to bring the middle east back in to the study of political reform and democratic transitions bore fruition, significantly, with the january 2004 publication of a special issue of comparative politics, a leading journal, devoted to the durability of authoritarianism in the middle east. The robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east pomed. Democracy in the middle east iria international relations. Scientific essay from the year 2009 in the subject politics international politics region. As a group, these six books draw the middle east back into a debate within the social sciences about the legacies of political institutions and regime types. Despite persistence of authoritarianism in the region, there is some variation in regime trajectories. Persistence of authoritarianism in the middle east and north africa ralph myers on. Steven heydemann is a nonresident senior fellow in the center for middle east policy and the janet wright ketcham 53 chair of middle east studies at smith college. Exceptionalism in comparative perspective, 36 comp.
Upgrading authoritarianism in the arab world ebook, 2007. Why have the middle east and north africa remained so singularly resistant to democratization. Democracy, authoritarianism and regime change in the arab world. Over the last 40 years, many countries in the world have been democratized. Authoritarian persistence and regime change in the middle. There are a number of different theories of why it has been so hard for democracy to take root in the middle east, with various studies pointing to factors like poverty, lack of education, inequality, interference by colonial powers andor the cold war powers, or a lack of established civil society. A number of authoritarian leaders of the region inaugurated economic and political. The main reason why israel has maintained disputed settlements in gaza and west bank is the need to control water resource in the region. The how and why of authoritarianism the mechanics of authoritarian rule.
He formerly worked as middle east analyst for the international crisis group based in beirut 20022005. Authoritarianism has prevailed and the democracy gap persisted over the past century throughout the arab middle east and north africa mena. All of the readings draw at least in part on ideas as explanations for elite and citizen behavior. Add to this the general poverty and authoritarianism of the middle east and north africa and other islamic countries especially if you leave out oil wealth, the case seems open and shut. Authoritarianism in the middle east addresses this question, focusing on the role of political institutions and the strategic choices made by both rulers and opposition challengers. Does oil sustain authoritarianism in the middle east. Persistence of authoritarianism in the middle east and. Authoritarianism after 2011 in egypt, saudi arabia and iran iai. For example, world war ii with quotes will give more precise results than world war ii without quotes.
While the number of electoral democracies has nearly doubled. Barber professor of political science university of southern indiana britain and france have had huge impacts on the middle east over the past century. Contending aspects of authoritarian survival in the middle east and north. I believe they are all explaining the same phenomenon from a different angle or just measuri. The puzzle posed by the middle east and north africa is not why democracy has failed to consolidate in this. The new authoritarianism in the middle east and north africa indiana series in middle east studies king, stephen j. The concern over issues of democracy in the middle east has been prevalent among academics since the end of the cold war and the subsequent third wave of global democratization, from which the middle east was largely exempt. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Working paper 055 explaining middle eastern authoritarianism. Middle east politics the intrinsic relationship between religion and politics is greatly exposed by the developments in the middle eastern politics and it is widely accepted that religious ideologies have been the basic factors affecting political ideologies in the region. Then, in 2014, the regions leaders were dealt another blow when the price of oil plummeted, threatening the basic model of governance on which their power rested. The new authoritarianism in the middle east and north africa indiana series in middle east studies. The concern over issues of democracy in the middle east has been prevalent.
Events in the middle east warrant going back to that article because. Kuru explores just how it came to pass that the muslim middle east in the modern period experienced a dramatic decline in cultural and political dynamism relative to the societies of western europe. Democracy, authoritarianism and regime change in the arab. Oct 15, 2007 authoritarianism in the arab world is not what it used to be. Authoritarian persistence, democratization theory and the middle east. Why do authoritarian regimes prevail in the middle east, while successful democratic transitions are occurring elsewhere in the developing world. The roots of authoritarianism in the middle east springerlink. This has led us to ask, how can class best be defined and its explanatory value understood in the middle east and, most importantly, how does the overlap between class and.
Democracy and authoritarianism in the middle east deep blue. Pdf authoritarian persistence, democratization theory. This article builds upon the authors previous article, the robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east, comparative politics, 36 january 2004. Sep, 2012 add to this the general poverty and authoritarianism of the middle east and north africa and other islamic countries especially if you leave out oil wealth, the case seems open and shut. Structural conditions and causal processes revisited data sources, descriptive statistics, robustness checks, and quantities of interest james w. Between 1974 and 1990 the number of democratic governments in the world nearly doubled. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Mcguire anne mariel peters department of government wesleyan university 238 church street middletown, ct, 064590019. One of the major themes running through this weeks readings on authoritarianism is the battle between the two explanatory forces of interests and ideas. Where to from here in the study of middle east authoritarianism for much of the past decade, research programs in political science, political economy, sociology, and anthropology have chronicled experiences of authoritarian regression across the middle east, explored. Republics and monarchies, formal and informal participation, patronclient relationships, the social contract in the middle east, populist politics and. His research interests include middle east politics generally and syria, lebanon, and iraq in particular and focus on authoritarian governance, corruption, armed conflict, and refugee issues. Why authoritarianism is collapsing in the middle east.
Middle east centre public lecture democracy, authoritarianism and regime change in the arab world professor lisa anderson provost, american university in cairo london school of economics and political science wednesday july 2011 check against delivery for decadescertainly since the fall of the berlin wall, and for some among the older of. However eva bellins paper the robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east argues that none of those factors seem to adequately explain the situation in the middle east. Middle east and north africa is not why democracy has failed to consolidate in this region failure would be expected but rather why the vast majority of middle eastern and north african states have failed to initiate transition at all. The new authoritarianism in the middle east and north. In which ways can we support the move toward democracy in the region. This is particularly striking given the fact that over the last three decades. Feb 09, 2018 there are different taxonomies of cultures, each proposed by a different thinker, and not neccessarily these classifications should contradict each other. Turkey and iran the middle east in the age of nasser. Cambridge university press 9781107043190 anatomy of authoritarianism in the arab republics joseph sassoon frontmatter. Despite what seemed to be a popular revolution in favor of more democratic politics, there has instead been a slide back toward authoritarian regimes that merely gesture toward notions. Anatomy of authoritarianism in the arab republics by. The independent middle east from the end of world war ii to the 1970s democracy and authoritarianism.
Authoritarianism in the arab world is not what it used to be. Theories of authoritarianism in the middle east and north africa. Pdf authoritarian persistence, democratization theory and. Pdf the roots of authoritarianism in the middle east. The return of authoritarianism is priming the middle east for. There are many versions of why islam is at the root of authoritarianism, backwardness and poverty in. The ministry of social affairs decision refusing registration to the new women research center was based on a.
The new authoritarianism in the middle east and north africa. There are many versions of why islam is at the root of authoritarianism, backwardness and poverty in these countries. Beginning with the ottoman empire and lasting long after the treaty of sevre divided the ottoman empire into the several small states that make up. Phrase searching you can use double quotes to search for a series of words in a particular order. Why have authoritarian regimes in the middle east proven. The robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east exceptionalism in comparative perspective eva bellin why have the middle east and north africa remained so singularly resistant to democratization. Why does authoritarianism tend to persist in the middle east.
In critically examining the scholarly debate about the resilience of arab authoritarianism, it rejects demands requesting both the predictive power of academic analyses and their direct applicability in foreign policymaking. There are different taxonomies of cultures, each proposed by a different thinker, and not neccessarily these classifications should contradict each other. Authoritarian regimes and their perpetuation in the middle east. Whereas most other regions in the world have embarked upon a path of democratisation, trends in the mena appear to be adverse. Before and after the arab uprisings julide karakoc ed, palgrave macmillan, march 2015 why are some middle eastern countries resistant to democratization and what are the reasons for the instability of. The middle east and north africa are the driest regions in the world despite having massive oil resources. My aim during the next third of an hour will be to put their roles into a. Wildcard searching if you want to search for multiple variations of a word, you can substitute a special symbol called a wildcard for one or more letters. Reconsidering the robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east lessons learned from the arab spring by eva bellin 2012 outline. Alterman friday, may 29, 2009 for a part of the world that doesnt have a. Alterman friday, may 29, 2009 for a part of the world that doesnt have a lot of freedom, the middle east certainly has. Jul, 2011 middle east centre public lecture democracy, authoritarianism and regime change in the arab world professor lisa anderson provost, american university in cairo london school of economics and political science wednesday july 2011 check against delivery. He was a senior economist at the council of economic advisers in the executive office of the president of the united states and has held research or teaching. Our teams are looking into this as we speak and we hope to be able to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Indeed, it might well be stronger, more flexible, and more resilient than ever, despite the best efforts of the united states, its. The robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east essay. A history of the modern middle east by cleveland, william l. Middle east is a desert region and thus it receives less than 250 mm of rainfall annually.
Reconsidering the robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east lessons from the arab spring eva bellin the arab spring has proven astonishing and exhilarating to middle east analysts and activists alike. Authoritarianism in the middle east the middle east as a region and as a people have always been subject to authoritarian governing bodies. The return of authoritarianism is priming the middle east for more conflict. Beginning with the ottoman empire and lasting long after the treaty of sevre divided the ottoman empire into the several small states that make up the middle east today. Cambridge core middle east studies anatomy of authoritarianism in the arab republics by joseph sassoon due to high volumes of traffic at this time we are experiencing some slowness on the site. Indeed, regimes largely have used the reintroduction of elections as a tool to tighten their hold on power rather than devolve it. Roots, ramifications, and crisis undertakes this task by addressing not only the mechanisms that allowed middle eastern regimes to survive and adapt for decades, but also the obstacles that certain countries face in their current transition to democracy. Islam, authoritarianism, and underdevelopment by ahmet t. Reconsidering the robustness of authoritarianism in the.
The works collected in the lure of authoritarianism consider the normative appeal of authoritarianism in light of the 2011 popular uprisings in the middle east. Through a unique collection of essays drawn from rich case studies, authoritarianism in the middle east provides important insights into the ongoing instabilities of the middle east, and the authoritarianism and democratisation processes that have led to dramatic sociopolitical transformations. The authoritarian regimes of the middle east proved to be resilient to political. The story is that emergent iranian hegemonic designs in the levant pose a threat to regional peace that needs to be countered. It is overlaying the causes of the arab spring a lack of bread, freedom, social justice and human dignity with new waves of. Islam, authoritarianism and intolerance why nations fail. The return of authoritarianism is priming the middle east. Conclusion 1 introduction about the author 2 summary for the text and its main arguments the thesis and the main. Persistence of authoritarianism in the middle east and north. In the middle east, then, class formations and identities are made by regimes bent on reproducing socioeconomic coalitions sustaining them in power. A history of the modern middle east internet archive. Pdf the new authoritarianism in the middle east and. The remarkable resilience of authoritarian regimes in the region including north africa have stood in contrast to the democratisation that many developing nations have undertaken in the last two decades, much work on regime longevity has thus centred around the idea that the middle east lacks certain political and cultural prerequisites needed for democratisation.
Democracy and authoritarianism in the middle east 22 dec 2009 introduction over the past few decades and especially at the turn of the century, there has been a flurry of reforms proposed and passed by governments in the middle east, seeking to of modernization, as well as promising progress towards a more democratic, politicallyopen society. Authoritarian democracy and democratic authoritarianism jon b. These books explain the longevity of monarchical rule in the middle east as something more than the persistence of traditional islam. The robustness of authoritarianism in the middle east scholars at. Explaining middle eastern authoritarianism marcus noland marcus noland, senior fellow, has been associated with the institute since 1985. The new authoritarianism in the middle east and north africa by stephen j. Excerpted from authoritarianism in the middle east.
There has been a longlasting conflict in the middle eastern politics between the ideology of arab nationalism and the. Autocratic rule is consolidating in saudi arabia, turkey, egypt and iran alike. Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by middle east monitor is licensed under a creative commons attributionnoncommercialsharealike 4. The middle east has undergone enormous change since 911, from the invasion and occupation of iraq to the events of the arab spring. To explain it, it is necessary to look beyond failure.
1630 749 737 1573 480 424 1257 1312 938 466 1159 1377 8 334 549 282 13 1098 431 697 950 111 1046 497 523 576 272 1167 52 1093 1317 286 765 856 595 649 173 725 1016 974