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Book Cover
E-book
Author Kelly, Ian, 1987- author.

Title Elites and Arab politics : new perspectives on popular protest / Ian Kelly
Published Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020

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Description 1 online resource (pages cm.)
Series Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Democratization and Government Ser
Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Democratization and Government Ser
Contents Regime change in the Middle East and North Africa : moving beyond immediate explanations -- The theory : elites and regime change in the Middle East and North Africa -- Explaining regime change : incorporating elite interests -- Endogenous interest realisation within the Tunisian elite : the narrowing of the regime -- Exogenous interest realisation in Ben Ali's Tunisia -- Endogenous interest realisation within the Egyptian elite : a fragmented regime -- Exogenous tnterest realisation within the Egyptian elite -- Conclusion
Summary "This work explains elite behaviour in authoritarian systems and proposes why elites withdraw their support for the incumbent when faced with popular uprisings. Building upon foundations drawn from institutional authoritarianism and synthesised with local context from the substantial scholarship on the Middle East and North Africa, the book argues that the elite supporting autocrats come from three distinct cadres: the military, the single-party and the personalist. Each of these cadres possesses its own distinct institutional interests and preferences towards regime change. Drawing on these interests, the study constructs a theoretical framework that is assessed through testing it against three variables. Utilising an analytic narrative, the research finds that the withdrawal of elite support is the consequence of long-term processes that see distinct cadres marginalised. First, increased incumbent preference for personalist elements destabilises regimes as the military and single-party cadres reconsider their position. Second, neoliberal economic policies, implement via structural adjustment accelerated this personalisation as the state's withdrawal from the economy. This, in turn, affected the ability of the military and single-party elites to access patronage. Finally, the degree of military involvement in the formal political sphere contributes to shaping the nature of the system that replaced the incumbent regime under examination. Building upon a wide range of literature the book argues that interest realisation determines whether or not elite actors support regime change in authoritarian systems. The volume will be of interest to scholars researching politics, social sciences and the Middle East"--
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Description based on print version record
Subject Legitimacy of government -- Arab countries
Political participation -- Arab countries
Elite (Social sciences) -- Political activity -- Arab countries
Authoritarianism -- Arab countries
Legitimacy of governments -- Arab countries
Authoritarianism
Elite (Social sciences) -- Political activity
Legitimacy of governments
Political participation
Politics and government
SUBJECT Arab countries -- Politics and government -- 21st century
Subject Arab countries
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780429802560 (electronic bk)
0429802560 (electronic bk)
9780429802553
0429802552
9780429802546
0429802544
9780429440281
0429440286