This Handbook analyzes elections in the Middle East and North Africa and seeks to overcome normative assumptions about the linkage between democracy and elections. Structured around five main themes, contributors provide chapters detailing how their case studies illustrate specific themes within individual country settings. Authors disentangle the various aspects informing elections as a process in the Middle East by taking into account the different contexts where the electoral contest occurs and placing these into a broader comparative context. The findings from this Handbook connect with global electoral developments, empirically demonstrating that there is very little that is “exceptional” about the Middle East and North Africa when it comes to electoral contests. Routledge Handbook on Elections in the Middle East and North Africa is the first book to examine all aspects related to elections in the Middle East and North Africa. Through such comprehensive coverage and systematic analysis, it will be a key resource for students and scholars interested in politics, elections, and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa.

A wide-ranging and systematic analysis of political parties and party politics in the Middle East and North Africa. Empirically grounded chapters that provide novel information on the role of political parties in the region after the Arab uprisings. It looks at political parties beyond the paradigms of authoritarian resilience and democratization.

The transition paradigm has traditionally viewed civil society activism as an essential condition for the establishment of democracy. The democracy promotion strategies of Western policy-makers have, therefore, been based on strengthening civil society in authoritarian settings in order to support the development of social capital -to challenge undemocratic regimes. This book questions the validity of the link between an active associational life and democratization. It examines civil society in the Arab world in order to illustrate how authoritarian constraints structure civil society dynamics in the region in ways that hinder transition to democracy. Building on innovative theoretical work and drawing on empirical data from extensive fieldwork in the region, this study demonstrates how the activism of civil society in five different Arab countries strengthens rather than weakens authoritarian practices and rule. Through an analysis of the specific legal and political constraints on associational life, and the impact of these on relations between different civic groups, and between associations and state authorities, the book demonstrates that the claim that civil society plays a positive role in processes of democratic transformation is highly questionable. Offering a broad and alternative vision of the state of civil society in the region, this book will be an important contribution to studies on Middle Eastern politics, democratization and civil society activism.

The war in Iraq seemed to bring to a head underlying differences between the United States and the vast majority of European countries regarding the best means to maintain international peace and stability. The unilateralism of the United States as opposed to the multilateralism of the European Union is seen as a very significant source of potential rivalry between the two actors. This volume examines in detail whether the policies of the United States and the EU are truly diverging with respect to the most pressing issues facing North Africa, or whether, in fact, they are converging in terms of objectives to be achieved and strategies for their implementation. Through a number of papers that include both comparative and case specific studies, this book enables a better understanding of the differences and similarities in EU and US foreign policies and security strategies for the region, a clearer analysis of their respective democracy promotion policies, and a better examination of their respective approach to the 'Islamist question' in light of the continued success of such movements. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of North African Studies.

A wide-ranging and systematic analysis of political parties and party politics in the Middle East and North Africa. Empirically grounded chapters that provide novel information on the role of political parties in the region after the Arab uprisings. It looks at political parties beyond the paradigms of authoritarian resilience and democratization.

This book examines how civil society actors operate under authoritarian constraints, and examines how this is linked to regime change. This book moves beyond traditional notions of civil society and explains the complexity of state-society relations in authoritarian contexts outside the framework of democratization. Rejecting a wholly normative approach, the contributors focus on the whole range of civic activism under authoritarianism, from resistance to support for the political system in place. They explain how activism under authoritarianism is subject to different structures, and demonstrate how active citizens have tried to claw back powers of expression and contestation, but also sought to create a voice for themselves as privileged interlocutors of authoritarian regimes. With a strong empirical focus on a wide range of countries and authoritarian regimes, this book presents cross-country comparisons on Spain, Portugal, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Cuba, Chile, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Afghanistan and Burma. Civil Society Activism under Authoritarian Rule will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, comparative politics, civil society, authoritarianism and regime change.

The transition paradigm has traditionally viewed civil society activism as an essential condition for the establishment of democracy. The democracy promotion strategies of Western policy-makers have, therefore, been based on strengthening civil society in authoritarian settings in order to support the development of social capital -to challenge undemocratic regimes.

This book questions the validity of the link between an active associational life and democratization. It examines civil society in the Arab world in order to illustrate how authoritarian constraints structure civil society dynamics in the region in ways that hinder transition to democracy. Building on innovative theoretical work and drawing on empirical data from extensive fieldwork in the region, this study demonstrates how the activism of civil society in five different Arab countries strengthens rather than weakens authoritarian practices and rule. Through an analysis of the specific legal and political constraints on associational life, and the impact of these on relations between different civic groups, and between associations and state authorities, the book demonstrates that the claim that civil society plays a positive role in processes of democratic transformation is highly questionable.

Offering a broad and alternative vision of the state of civil society in the region, this book will be an important contribution to studies on Middle Eastern politics, democratization and civil society activism.

The war in Iraq seemed to bring to a head underlying differences between the United States and the vast majority of European countries regarding the best means to maintain international peace and stability. The unilateralism of the United States as opposed to the multilateralism of the European Union is seen as a very significant source of potential rivalry between the two actors.

This volume examines in detail whether the policies of the United States and the EU are truly diverging with respect to the most pressing issues facing North Africa, or whether, in fact, they are converging in terms of objectives to be achieved and strategies for their implementation. Through a number of papers that include both comparative and case specific studies, this book enables a better understanding of the differences and similarities in EU and US foreign policies and security strategies for the region, a clearer analysis of their respective democracy promotion policies, and a better examination of their respective approach to the ?Islamist question? in light of the continued success of such movements.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of North African Studies.

This book examines the role that political Islam plays in processes of democratization in the Muslim world, detailing the political processes that facilitate the collective learning of democratic ways of solving the practical problems of those polities.

Democratization in the Muslim World represents an important contribution to the debate on democratization and political Islam that emphasises the synergetic effects and global reach of both Islamist and democratic politics. It comes to terms with the problematic relationship between Islam and democracy in the uncertain post-Cold War, post-9/11 world order by highlighting the malleability of Islamic discourses and of its institutional resources, as well as the diversity of the political strategies of incumbent regimes to remain in power. It combines key theoretical issues and country-specific studies of some of the most relevant Muslim polities of the post-Cold War and post-9/11 era.

This text was previously published as a special issue of Democratization and will be of interest to students of Middle East politics, governance, democracy, and human rights.

This book examines the role that political Islam plays in processes of democratization in the Muslim world, detailing the political processes that facilitate the collective learning of democratic ways of solving the practical problems of those polities.

Democratization in the Muslim World represents an important contribution to the debate on democratization and political Islam that emphasises the synergetic effects and global reach of both Islamist and democratic politics. It comes to terms with the problematic relationship between Islam and democracy in the uncertain post-Cold War, post-9/11 world order by highlighting the malleability of Islamic discourses and of its institutional resources, as well as the diversity of the political strategies of incumbent regimes to remain in power. It combines key theoretical issues and country-specific studies of some of the most relevant Muslim polities of the post-Cold War and post-9/11 era.

This text was previously published as a special issue of Democratization and will be of interest to students of Middle East politics, governance, democracy, and human rights.

To the surprise of both academics and policy-makers, religion has not been relegated entirely to the private sphere; quite the contrary. Over the last few decades, religion has begun to play a significant role in public affairs and, in many cases, directly in political systems. This edited volume analyses in detail how religion and religious precepts inform the ideology, strategies and electoral behaviour of political parties. Working with an original and innovative typology of religiously oriented political parties, the book examines cases from different regions of the world and different religious traditions to highlight the significance of religion for party politics. This interest for religiously oriented parties is combined with an interest in processes of democratic change and democratic consolidation. Political parties are central to the success of processes of democratization while religion is seen in many circles as an element that prevents such success because it is perceived to be a polarising factor detrimental to the consensus necessary to build a liberal-democratic system. Through the different case-studies presented here, a much more complex picture emerges, where religiously oriented political parties perform very different and often contradicting roles with respect to democratic change. This book was published as a special issue of Democratization.

The Arab Uprisings were unexpected events of rare intensity in Middle Eastern history - mass, popular and largely non-violent revolts which threatened and in some cases toppled apparently stable autocracies. This volume provides in-depth analyses of how people perceived the socio-economic and political transformations in three case studies epitomising different post-Uprising trajectories - Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt - and drawing on survey data to explore ordinary citizens' perceptions of politics, security, the economy, gender, corruption, and trust. The findings suggest the causes of protest in 2010-2011 were not just political marginalisation and regime repression, but also denial of socio-economic rights and regimes failure to provide social justice. Data also shows these issues remain unresolved, and that populations have little confidence governments will deliver, leaving post-Uprisings regimes neither strong nor stable, but fierce and brittle. This analysis has direct implications both for policy and for scholarship on transformations, democratization, authoritarian resilience and 'hybrid regimes'.

This textbook offers a systematic and up-to-date introduction to politics and society in the Middle East. Taking a thematic approach that engages with core theory as well as a wide range of research, it examines postcolonial political, social and economic developments in the region, while also scrutinising the domestic and international factors that have played a central role in these developments. Topics covered include the role of religion in political life, gender and politics, the Israel-Palestine conflict, civil war in Syria, the ongoing threat posed by Islamist groups such as Islamic State as well as the effects of increasing globalisation across the MENA. Following the ongoing legacy of the Arab Spring, it pays particular attention to the tension between processes of democratization and the persistence of authoritarian rule in the region. This new edition offers: - Coverage of the latest developments, with expanded coverage of the military and security apparatus, regional conflict and the Arab uprisings - Textboxes linking key themes to specific historical events, figures and concepts - Comparative spotlight features focusing on the politics and governance of individual countries. This is an ideal resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students approaching Middle Eastern politics for the first time.

This book examines how civil society actors operate under authoritarian constraints, and examines how this is linked to regime change. This book moves beyond traditional notions of civil society and explains the complexity of state-society relations in authoritarian contexts outside the framework of democratization. Rejecting a wholly normative approach, the contributors focus on the whole range of civic activism under authoritarianism, from resistance to support for the political system in place. They explain how activism under authoritarianism is subject to different structures, and demonstrate how active citizens have tried to claw back powers of expression and contestation, but also sought to create a voice for themselves as privileged interlocutors of authoritarian regimes. With a strong empirical focus on a wide range of countries and authoritarian regimes, this book presents cross-country comparisons on Spain, Portugal, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Cuba, Chile, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Afghanistan and Burma. Civil Society Activism under Authoritarian Rule will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, comparative politics, civil society, authoritarianism and regime change.

This collection examines new authoritarian practices that 16 MENA countries have developed in the aftermath of major uprisings across the region. These span new forms of digital surveillance, new protest policing practices, new forms of control over the judiciary, civil society and media, through to new security and communication laws and state of emergencies. The book also emphasises continuities with past authoritarian practices such as intimidation, imprisonment, torture, extrajudicial killing and ill treatment of dissidents, as well as other practices to suppress dissents and control activists, opposition parties, the judiciary and the media. By focusing on micro-practices of repression, New Authoritarian Practices in the Middle East and North Africa balances macro-structural explanations of authoritarian persistence alongside widespread social discontent and opposition.

The Arab Uprisings were unexpected events of rare intensity in Middle Eastern history - mass, popular and largely non-violent revolts which threatened and in some cases toppled apparently stable autocracies. This volume provides in-depth analyses of how people perceived the socio-economic and political transformations in three case studies epitomising different post-Uprising trajectories - Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt - and drawing on survey data to explore ordinary citizens' perceptions of politics, security, the economy, gender, corruption, and trust. The findings suggest the causes of protest in 2010-2011 were not just political marginalisation and regime repression, but also denial of socio-economic rights and regimes failure to provide social justice. Data also shows these issues remain unresolved, and that populations have little confidence governments will deliver, leaving post-Uprisings regimes neither strong nor stable, but fierce and brittle. This analysis has direct implications both for policy and for scholarship on transformations, democratization, authoritarian resilience and 'hybrid regimes'.

The aim of this volume is to adopt an original analytical approach in explaining various dynamics at work behind the Arab Spring, through giving voice to local dynamics and legacies rather than concentrating on debates about paradigms. It highlights micro-perspectives of change and resistance as well of contentious politics that are often marginalised and left unexplored in favour of macro-analyses. First, the story of the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Morocco and Algeria is told through diverse and novel perspectives, looking at factors that have not yet been sufficiently underlined, but carry explanatory power for what has occurred. Second, rather than focusing on macro-comparative regional trends - however useful they might be - the contributors to the book focus on the particularities of each country, highlighting distinctive micro-dynamics of change and continuity. The essays collected here are contributions from renowned writers and researchers from the Middle East and North Africa, along with Western experts, thus allowing the formation of a sophisticated dialogic exchange.

Analyses political parties and party politics in the contemporary Arab worldThe Middle East is a region notorious for political systems traditionally built around absolutist monarchs and military-dependent presidents. What is the role of political parties in such a context? How do they support or undermine such authoritarian forms of rule? What part have they played in the survival and transformation of political systems after the Arab uprisings? What are the policy preferences of party elites and how do they connect with citizens' expectations? How do parties challenge and reflect the main social cleavages? Finally, what is the genuine significance of parties and party politics in a region struggling for some sort of democratic future? This book attempts to answer these questions through a thorough theoretical and empirical examination and analysis of the most important aspects and traits of political parties and party politics in the Arab world, exploring cases from across the region.Key FeaturesSets out an innovative research agenda on a under-studied topicProvides a comparative perspective on political parties across the regionAnalyses the ways in which political parties in the Arab world matter and develop Offers a more systematic understanding of the functioning of Arab regimes by incorporating the role political parties play in themIncludes case studies of Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon and PalestineContributorsLarissa Alles, University of St. Andrews Aurelie Daher, Universite Paris-Dauphine Loes Debuysere, Ghent UniversitySophie A Edwards, Independent ResearcherAnass El Kyak, Universite LavalManal A. Jamal, James Madison University Amir Magdy Kamel, King's College London

This textbook offers a systematic and up-to-date introduction to politics and society in the Middle East. Taking a thematic approach that engages with core theory as well as a wide range of research, it examines postcolonial political, social and economic developments in the region, while also scrutinising the domestic and international factors that have played a central role in these developments. Topics covered include the role of religion in political life, gender and politics, the Israel-Palestine conflict, civil war in Syria, the ongoing threat posed by Islamist groups such as Islamic State as well as the effects of increasing globalisation across the MENA. Following the ongoing legacy of the Arab Spring, it pays particular attention to the tension between processes of democratization and the persistence of authoritarian rule in the region. This new edition offers: - Coverage of the latest developments, with expanded coverage of the military and security apparatus, regional conflict and the Arab uprisings - Textboxes linking key themes to specific historical events, figures and concepts - Comparative spotlight features focusing on the politics and governance of individual countries. This is an ideal resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students approaching Middle Eastern politics for the first time.

One of the most interesting consequences of the Arab awakening has been the central role of Salafists in a number of countries. In particular, there seems to have been a move away from traditional quietism towards an increasing degree of politicisation. The arrival on the political scene of Salafist parties in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, as well as the seemingly growing desire of Salafists in other Arab countries to enter institutional politics through the creation of political parties, high- lights quite clearly the debates and divisions on how to react to the awakening within Salafist circles. This book examines in detail how Salafism, both theologically and politically, is contending with the Arab uprisings across a number of countries. The focus is primarily on what kind of politicisation, if any, has taken place and what forms it has adopted. As some of the contributions make clear, politicisation does not necessarily diminish the role of jihad or the influence of quietism, revealing tensions and struggles within the complex world of Salafism.

The 2011 eruptions of popular discontent across the Arab world, popularly dubbed the Arab Spring, were local manifestations of a regional mass movement for democracy, freedom, and human dignity. Authoritarian regimes were either overthrown or put on notice that the old ways of oppressing their subjects would no longer be tolerated. These essays from Middle East Report-the leading source of timely reporting and insightful analysis of the region-cover events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen. Written for a broad audience of students, policymakers, media analysts, and general readers, the collection reveals the underlying causes of the revolts by identifying key trends during the last two decades leading up to the recent insurrections. -- Indiana University Press

The 2011 eruptions of popular discontent across the Arab world, popularly dubbed the Arab Spring, were local manifestations of a regional mass movement for democracy, freedom, and human dignity. Authoritarian regimes were either overthrown or put on notice that the old ways of oppressing their subjects would no longer be tolerated. These essays from Middle East Report the leading source of timely reporting and insightful analysis of the region cover events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen. Written for a broad audience of students, policymakers, media analysts, and general readers, the collection reveals the underlying causes of the revolts by identifying key trends during the last two decades leading up to the recent insurrections."

Analyses political parties and party politics in the contemporary Arab worldThe Middle East is a region notorious for political systems traditionally built around absolutist monarchs and military-dependent presidents. What is the role of political parties in such a context? How do they support or undermine such authoritarian forms of rule? What part have they played in the survival and transformation of political systems after the Arab uprisings? What are the policy preferences of party elites and how do they connect with citizens' expectations? How do parties challenge and reflect the main social cleavages? Finally, what is the genuine significance of parties and party politics in a region struggling for some sort of democratic future? This book attempts to answer these questions through a thorough theoretical and empirical examination and analysis of the most important aspects and traits of political parties and party politics in the Arab world, exploring cases from across the region.Key FeaturesSets out an innovative research agenda on a under-studied topicProvides a comparative perspective on political parties across the regionAnalyses the ways in which political parties in the Arab world matter and develop Offers a more systematic understanding of the functioning of Arab regimes by incorporating the role political parties play in themIncludes case studies of Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon and PalestineContributorsLarissa Alles, University of St. Andrews Aurelie Daher, Universite Paris-Dauphine Loes Debuysere, Ghent UniversitySophie A Edwards, Independent ResearcherAnass El Kyak, Universite LavalManal A. Jamal, James Madison University Amir Magdy Kamel, King's College London