Mirages of Reform: The Politics of Elite Protectionism in the Arab World

by Steve L. Monroe

Overview

In Mirages of Reform, Steve L. Monroe argues that geopolitics and social connections between state and capital underpin the Arab world's uneven trade policies. Despite decades of international pressure, neoliberal trade policy reform in the Arab world has been varied, selective, and often ineffective. Neoliberal trade policies have not deepened international trade in many of the region's markets. This book explains why.

When the region's regimes have strong support from global powers and strong social connections to the industrial elite, they engage in extensive but deceptive trade policy reform. Behind an edifice of neoliberal trade policies, neopatrimonial forms of protectionism like tax evasion and noncompetitive procurement shield the socially connected from international competition and obstruct actual trade liberalization. Industrialists are less trustful of regime promises of neopatrimonial protectionism after reform when they have weak social connections to their regime and their regime has low support from global powers. They are more likely to defend existing protectionist policies under these conditions, resulting in less trade policy reform.

Drawing on interviews, firm- and industry-level data, and evidence from Jordan to Morocco, Mirages of Reform reveals how international and domestic factors interact to shape the Arab world's rugged trade policy terrain. Insightful and well researched, this book imparts important lessons and warnings about the repercussions of economic reform in the region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501780622
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	252
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Steve L. Monroe is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. He is a scholar of development, with a primary focus on the Arab world. Monroe's scholarship examines two of the region's most pressing developmental challenges: limited economic integration, and gender inequality.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Connections,Geopolitics,and Varieties of Protectionism
2. Jordan before Reform
3. Neoliberal Reform under King Hussein and King Abdullah II (1990–2010)
4. Social Connections, Geopolitics, and Tariff Liberalization
5. How Social Connections Shape Trade Policy Reform
6. Neoliberal Reform in Five Arab States
Conclusion

What People are Saying About This

Ishac Diwan

If you have ever wondered how economic privileges bestowed on politically connected firms help them beat not only domestic, but also international, competition, this book is a must-read. Monroe convincingly shows how Arab countries liberalizing under Western pressure replaced de jure trade protection for all with de facto protection for the few.

Melani Cammett

A fresh take on longstanding debates about the persistence of trade protectionism in the Arab world. Through an in-depth study of Jordan and regional extensions, Steven L. Monroe traces how domestic and international factors enable governments to maintain protectionist policies while ostensibly undertaking trade policy reform. This is a must-read for anyone interested in economic underdevelopment in the Arab world.

Ellen Lust

Based on a carefully researched and nuanced understanding of social ties and geopolitics in Jordan, Mirages of Reform provides important lessons for students of political economy and the region, and cautionary notes for policymakers seeking to use liberal trade policies as tools of peace and prosperity.

Steffen Hertog

Mirages of Reform develops an original and ambitious argument about trade reforms and cronyism in the Arab world through a combination of deep case knowledge and advanced quantitative methods. The book's theoretical framing will be of interest to political economists beyond the MENA region.

Pete Moore

Mirages of Reform delivers a unique and persuasive investigation into the politics of trade reform and protection in Jordan and elsewhere. Based on multiple levels of evidence linking geopolitical pressures to policy implementation, the book advances broader understandings of political variation in trade across the Middle East and North Africa.