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

by Ellen Lust-Okar

• ISBN13: 9780521032865
• ISBN10: 0521032865
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-02-12
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

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 affects 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 Nasr and Sadat, Jordan under King Husayn and Morocco under King Hasan II.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables

Acknowledgments

A note on the use of language

Abbreviations

Introduction

The manipulation of political opposition

Structures of contestation

Playing by the rules: the inclusion and exclusion of political opposition

Dynamics of opposition in unified SoCs

Opposition dynamics in divided SoCs

Formal SoCs and informal political manipulation

Conclusion

Appendix: political forces in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.