Modern Middle East Authoritarianism

Noureddine Jebnoun is a faculty member at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies where his teaching interests focus on governance and security challenges of the Arab Middle East and North Africa. He is the author of L'espace méditerranéen: les enjeux de la coopération et de la sécurité entre les rives nord et sud à l'aube du XXIème siècle (2003), as well as many book chapters and articles.

The volume seeks to understand the role of Islamists, among other actors, in challenging authoritarian rule, addressing why they and other opposition forces failed to challenge existing regimes before 2011. Modern Middle East Authoritarianism also discusses how ruling elites adapted to international processes of economic neoliberalism in order to forge close relationships with the West, as well as how Arab autocrats used the United States' and other Western powers' (supposed) passionate support of democracy in the period after September 11 to entrench their rule.

Introduction: Rethinking the Paradigm of "Durable" and "Stable" Authoritarianism in the Middle East -Noureddine Jebnoun Part I: Entrenched Authoritarianism: An Historical Snapshot 1 Bumpy Democratic Routes to Dictatorial Ends? - Nathan J. Brown 2 The Longevity of Arab Regimes: Causes of Oppression - As'ad AbuKhalil 3 The Making of Modern Authoritarianism in Contemporary Iran-Mehrdad Kia Part II: Authoritarianism's Coercive Mechanisms 4 The Vanishing Intermediary Bodies of "Authoritarian" Regimes: Legacies of Algerian Student Revolutionaries - Clement M. Henry 5 Ben Ali's Tunisia: the Authoritarian Path of a Dystopian State - Noureddine Jebnoun 6 Libya's Authoritarian Tradition - Ronald Bruce St John 7 Political Control in Saudi Arabia: the Avoidance of Democratization- Jean-Francois Seznec 8 Constitutional and Ideological Barriers to Reform in Iran: Is Change Possible Within the Existing System?-Shireen Hunter Part III: Islamism in an Age of Authoritarian Crisis 9 Conditioned Participation: The Mubarak State and Egypt's Muslim Brothers-Joshua Stacher 10 Islamism, Authoritarianism and Democracy: A Comparative Study of Egypt and Iraq- Eric Davis 11 The "Islamic Republic of Iran" and the Crisis of Legitimacy - Ali M.Ansari Conclusion 12 After the "Arab Spring": Emergent Democracy vs. Resurgent Authoritarianism - Michael C. Hudson