Economic and Political change in Tunisia: From Bourguiba to Ben Ali

by E. Murphy

Overview

This book examines the processes of economic and political reform in Tunisia, placing the current policies of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali within their historical context. The book develops a theoretical understanding of the relationship between economic liberalisation and political change in the Arab world, developing the concept of the disarticulation of the corporatist state and concluding that, despite efforts at democratization, an authoritarian political system is a more likely successor in the era of economic transformation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349408221
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	05/12/1999
Series:	From Bourguiba to Ben Ali
Edition description:	1st ed. 1999
Pages:	285
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

EMMA MURPHY is Lecturer in Middle Eastern Politics at the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham. She gained her PhD from the University of Exeter in 1991 with a thesis on the political economy of Israeli - Palestinian relations and has also worked as a research fellow at Exeter's Research Unit for the Study of Economic Liberalisation (RUSEL). Her publication include Economic and Political Liberalization in the Middle East (edited with T.N. Blah).

Table of Contents

List of Tables List of Abbreviations Introduction Economic Liberalization and the State in the Developing World: from Corporatism to Authoritarianism Rise and Fall of the Corporatist State in Tunisia, 1956-1987 The Roots of Crisis: Economic Policy under Bourguiba, 1956-1987 Macroeconomic Stabilization and Early Economic Reform: the Seventh Development Plan, 1987-1991 The Consolidation of Structural Adjustment: the Eighth Development Plan, 1992-1996 The Politics of Reconciliation and Reform, 1987-1990 The Reassertion of the State, 1990-1997 The Disarticulation of Multi-party Corporatism: State and Society under Ben Ali Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

Emma Murphy's book is a particularly welcome addition to the small group of up-to-date studies of Tunisia. It provides an accessible introduction to Tunisia's modern poltical economy, focusing on the relationship between economic restructuring and political change since independence. Journal of North African Studies

From the Publisher

Taking Tunisia since its independence as a case study, Murphy (Middle East politics, U. of Durham) examines the relationship between economic liberalization and political reform and develops a theoretical approach to understanding the dysfunction of the corporatist state in the Arab world and the apparent retreat into authoritarian rather than democratic political systems. She contrasts the political system developed by Habib Bourguiba, the father of the post-independence state, with that of his successor, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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