Contentious Politics in the Middle East [electronic resource] : Political Opposition under Authoritarianism /
Albrecht, Holger,1972-
Gainesville : University Press of Florida,
c2010.
Scholarship examining the governments in the Middle East and North Africa rarely focuses on opposition movements, since those countries tend to be ruled by a centralized, often authoritarian government. However, even in an oppressive state, there are civil society and oppositional forces at work. The contributors to Contentious Politics in the Middle East reveal how such forces emerge and are manifested in nondemocratic states across the region. In most cases, the essays offer a comparative perspective, highlighting similarities across political borders. Providing historical context for current events, they examine the sociopolitical situations in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Algeria and analyze the role of Islam in Arab statesʹ governments and in the opposition movements to them. They also demonstrate that not all opposition forces propose the overthrow of authority and point out the various forms opposition takes in societies that leave little room for political activism. The contributors to the volume are drawn from countries across three continents and bring backgrounds in political science, conflict resolution, and history. Challenging the assertion that state-society relations are limited to coercive top-down arrangements in authoritarian regimes, the book will inspire debate on the topic of contentious political participation within the region as well as in similar settings throughout the world. -- Publisher description.
Introduction: Contentious Politics, Political Opposition, and Authoritarianism ---- PART I. Approaching Contentious Politics under Authoritarianism. 1. Political Opposition and Arab Authoritarianism: Some Conceptual Remarks --- 2. The Discreet Appeal of Authoritarianism: Political Bargains and Stability of Liberal Authoritarian Regimes in the Middle East --- 3. Political Opposition in the Islamic Tradition: A Historical Perspective ---- PART II. Political Opposition in Civil Society. 4. Show Me the Money! Opposition, Western Funding, and Civil Society in Jordan and Lebanon --- 5. Opposition Alliances under Electoral Authoritarianism: The United National Front for Change in Egypt's 2005 Parliamentary Elections --- PART III. The Islamist Quest: Between Opposition, Resistance, and Inclusion. 6. Questioning Power, Mobilization, and Strategies of the Islamist Opposition: How Strong is the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan? --- 7. Explaining Shifts in Syria's Islamist Opposition --- 8. Islamist Engagement in Contentious Politics: Kuwait and Bahrain ---- PART IV. Contention and Opposition within Authoritarian Regimes. 9. Opposition within the State: Governance in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia --- 10. Remaking Lebanon after Syria: The Rise and Fall of Proxy Authoritarianism ---- Concluding Remarks: Opposition in Support of the Arab State, Revisited.
Scholarship examining the governments in the Middle East and North Africa rarely focuses on opposition movements, since those countries tend to be ruled by a centralized, often authoritarian government. However, even in an oppressive state, there are civil society and oppositional forces at work. The contributors to Contentious Politics in the Middle East reveal how such forces emerge and are manifested in nondemocratic states across the region. In most cases, the essays offer a comparative perspective, highlighting similarities across political borders. Providing historical context for current events, they examine the sociopolitical situations in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Algeria and analyze the role of Islam in Arab statesʹ governments and in the opposition movements to them. They also demonstrate that not all opposition forces propose the overthrow of authority and point out the various forms opposition takes in societies that leave little room for political activism. The contributors to the volume are drawn from countries across three continents and bring backgrounds in political science, conflict resolution, and history. Challenging the assertion that state-society relations are limited to coercive top-down arrangements in authoritarian regimes, the book will inspire debate on the topic of contentious political participation within the region as well as in similar settings throughout the world. -- Publisher description.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on print version record.
Authoritarianism
Opposition (Political science)