Title The rise and fall of Arab presidents for life / Roger Owen

Published Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2012

Click on the following:
ProQuest Ebook Central

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xi, 248 pages) : illustrations, map Contents The search for sovereignty in an insecure world -- The origins of the presidential security state -- Basic components of the regimes -- Centralized state systems in Tunisia, Syria, Egypt, and Algeria -- Presidents as managers in Sudan, Libya, and Yemen -- Constrained presidencies in Lebanon and Iraq after Hussein -- The monarchical security states of Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, and Oman -- The politics of succession -- The question of Arab exceptionalism -- The sudden fall Summary Monarchical presidential regimes in the Arab world looked as though they would last indefinitely--until events in Tunisia and Egypt made clear their time was up. This is the first book to lay bare the dynamics of a governmental system that largely defined the Arab Middle East in the twentieth century, and the popular opposition they engendered The monarchical presidential regimes that prevailed in the Arab world for so long looked as though they would last indefinitely--until events in Tunisia and Egypt made clear their time was up. The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life exposes for the first time the origins and dynamics of a governmental system that largely defined the Arab Middle East in the twentieth century. Presidents who rule for life have been a feature of the Arab world since independence. In the 1980s their regimes increasingly resembled monarchies as presidents took up residence in palaces and made every effort to ensure their sons would succeed them. Roger Owen explores the main features of the prototypical Arab monarchical regime: its household; its inner circle of corrupt cronies; and its attempts to create a popular legitimacy based on economic success, a manipulated constitution, managed elections, and information suppression. Why has the Arab world suffered such a concentration of permanent presidential government? Though post-Soviet Central Asia has also known monarchical presidencies, Owen argues that a significant reason is the "Arab demonstration effect," whereby close ties across the Arab world have enabled ruling families to share management strategies and assistance. But this effect also explains why these presidencies all came under the same pressure to reform or go. Owen discusses the huge popular opposition the presidential systems engendered during the Arab Spring, and the political change that ensued, while also delineating the challenges the Arab revolutions face across the Middle East and North Africa Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes English Print version record Subject Presidents -- Arab countries -- History Presidents -- Middle East -- History Monarchy -- Arab countries Monarchy -- Middle East Authoritarianism -- Arab countries Authoritarianism -- Middle East POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Process -- Leadership. HISTORY -- Middle East -- General. Authoritarianism Kings and rulers Monarchy Politics and government Presidents SUBJECT Arab countries -- Politics and government -- 1945- http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85006286 Middle East -- Politics and government -- 1945- http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85090513 Arab countries -- Kings and rulers Middle East -- Kings and rulers Subject Arab countries Middle East Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780674069817 0674069811 9780674065413 0674065417

  Permalink