Structuring Conflict in the Arab World: Incumbents, Opponents, and Institutions / Edition 1

by Ellen Lust-Okar

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521838184
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/10/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

Ellen Lust-Okar is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. She received her M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. She has studied and conducted research in Jordan, Morocco, Israel, Palestine and Syria, and her work examining the relationships between states and oppositions has appeared in Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and other volumes. She is currently working on a second manuscript, Linking Domestic and International Conflict: The Case of Middle East Rivalries, with Paul Huth at the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

"What makes Lust-Okaras book unique is that the author has managed to combine theoretical rigor with case-study analysis to present a sophisticated and intellectually challenging explanation of the failure of political opposition in the Arab world. Highly recommended." CHOICE

From the Publisher