Democracy without democrats? The renewal of politics in the Muslim world

Description

Ideas of democracy and political liberalization have recently become central to political debate within and about the Middle East. The current focus on the merits of democratic practice in many areas of the world, coupled with the spread of economic liberalism, will inevitably, according to some accounts, bring about a measure of political pluralism. Against this, the persistence of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, together with the fragility of experiments with democracy, have revived an old argument: are Islam and democracy essentially irreconcilable? This text aims to bring together many of the best-known writers on Middle Eastern politics. Challenging the assumption that the Middle East is a unique case, they offer new frameworks within which to analyze the process of democratization. Democracy without democrats? The potential for political liberalization in the Middle East / John Waterbury Democratization in the Arab world: uncertainty, vulnerability and legitimacy: a tentative conceptualization and some hypotheses / Jean Leca Demographic explosion or social upheaval? / Philippe Fargues Introduction: where are the democrats? / Ghassan Salamé Patronage and solidarity groups: survival or reformation? / Olivier Roy Populism contra democracy: recent democratist discourse in the Arab world / Aziz Al-Azmeh Republican trajectories in Iran and Turkey: a Tocquevillian reading / Jean-François Bayart Small is pluralistic: democracy as an instrument of civil peace / Ghassan Salamé Socio-economic change and political implications: the Maghreb / Abdelbaki Hermassi Socio-economic change and political mobilization: the case of Egypt / Roger Owen The integration of the integrists: a comparative study of Egypt, Jordan and Tunesia / Gudrun Krämer The oil rent, the fiscal crisis of the state and democratization / Giacomo Luciani The private sector, economic liberalization, and the prospects of democratization: the case of Syria and some other Arab countries / Volker Perthes