Structuring Conflict in the Arab World: Incumbents, Opponents, and Institutions
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Revised ed., 6/28/2010
EAN 9780521032865, ISBN10: 0521032865
Paperback, 296 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
This book examines how ruling elites manage and manipulate their political opposition in the Middle East. In contrast to discussions of government-opposition relations that focus on how rulers either punish or co-opt opponents, this book focuses on the effect of institutional rules governing the opposition. It argues rules determining who is and is not allowed to participate in the formal political arena affect not only the relationships between opponents and the state, but also between various opposition groups. This affects the dynamics of opposition during prolonged economic crises. It also shapes the informal strategies that ruling elites use toward opponents. The argument is presented using a formal model of government-opposition relations. It is demonstrated in the cases of Egypt under Presidents Nasir, Sadat and Mubarek; Jordan under King Husayn; and Morocco under King Hasan II.
List of figures and tables
Acknowledgments
A note on the use of language
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The manipulation of political opposition
2. Structures of contestation
3. Playing by the rules
the inclusion and exclusion of political oppositions
4. Dynamics of opposition in unified SoCs
5. Opposition dynamics in divided SoCs
6. Formal SoCs and informal political manipulation
Conclusion
Appendix
political forces in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco
Notes
Bibliography
Index.
'For more than a decade, observers have been puzzled by the failure of the opposition in the Arab world to take advantage of timid regime liberalizations to push harder for genuine democratic reform. Now we have the answer. In this remarkable - indeed, almost unique - marriage of thorough field research in the Arab world and rigorous formal modelling, Lust-Okar explains how regimes write rules that discourage opposition groups from mobilization, even when they have the resources to do so. This book is an all too-rare treat, a work that deploys real science to illuminate real politics.' Lisa Anderson, Columbia University