Acknowledgments; Abbreviations and Acronyms; Introduction: Changing to Stay the Same; 1. Debating Authoritarianism; 2. The Origins of Executive Authority; 3. Adaptation and Elite Co-optation; 4. Adaptation and Nonelite Co-optation; 5. The 2011 Uprisings and the Future of Autocratic Adaptation; Notes; References; Index
Summary
The decades-long resilience of Middle Eastern regimes meant that few anticipated the 2011 Arab Spring. But from the seemingly rapid leadership turnovers in Tunisia and Egypt to the protracted stalemates in Yemen and Syria, there remains a common outcome: ongoing control of the ruling regimes. While some analysts and media outlets rush to look for democratic breakthroughs, autocratic continuity--not wide-ranging political change--remains the hallmark of the region's upheaval. Contrasting Egypt and Syria, Joshua Stacher examines how executive power is structured in each country to show how these p
