Political Change in the Middle East and North Africa

Download Political Change in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Edinburgh University Press
ISBN 13 : 1474415296
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (744 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Political Change in the Middle East and North Africa by : Inmaculada Szmolka

Download or read book Political Change in the Middle East and North Africa written by Inmaculada Szmolka and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2017-06-29 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking a comparative approach, this book considers the ways in which political regimes have changed since the Arab Spring. It addresses a series of questions about political change in the context of the revolutions, upheavals and protests that have taken place in North Africa and the Arab Middle East since December 2010, and looks at the various processes have been underway in the region: democratisation (Tunisia), failed democratic transitions (Egypt, Libya and Yemen), political liberalisation (Morocco) and increased authoritarianism (Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria). In other countries, in contrast to these changes, the authoritarian regimes remain intact (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Arab United Emirates.

Politics of Social Change

Download Politics of Social Change PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 140087534X
Total Pages : 461 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Politics of Social Change by : Manfred Halpern

Download or read book Politics of Social Change written by Manfred Halpern and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-08 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author, analyzing major social groups in this area, treats particularly the "new middle class," a group socially isolated from the traditional life of Islam and committed to a wide-ranging modernizing impulse. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Political Narratives in the Middle East and North Africa

Download Political Narratives in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 303035217X
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (33 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Political Narratives in the Middle East and North Africa by : Wolfgang Mühlberger

Download or read book Political Narratives in the Middle East and North Africa written by Wolfgang Mühlberger and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-13 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses the role of political narratives in shaping perceptions of instability and conceptions of order in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The authors illustrate how, in times of socio-political turmoil and outbursts of discontent such as the Arab Spring, political entrepreneurs explain and justify their political agendas by complementing hard power solutions with attractive ideas and discursive constructions that appeal to domestic constituencies and geopolitical allies. The book is divided into two parts. The first focuses on non-state actors, such as confessional communities and ideological movements, who aim to develop narratives that are convincing to their respective polities. It also studies regional powers that seek to determine their positions in a competitive environment via distinctive narrations of order. In part two, the authors investigate the narratives of global players that aim to explain and justify their role in an evolving international order.

Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa

Download Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429756399
Total Pages : 550 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (297 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa by : Sean Yom

Download or read book Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa written by Sean Yom and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-10-30 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The latest edition of this renowned textbook explores the states and regimes of the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting heavily revised, fully updated chapters contributed by the world’s leading experts, it analyzes the historical trajectory, political institutions, economic development, and foreign policies of the region’s nearly two dozen countries. The volume can be used in conjunction with its sister volume, The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa, for a comprehensive overview of the region. Chapters are organized and structured identically, giving insightful windows into the nuances of each country’s domestic politics and foreign relations. Data tables and extensive annotated bibliographies orient readers towards further research. Whether used in conjunction with its sister volume or on its own, this book provides the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the region’s varied politics. Five new experts cover the critical country cases of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. All chapters cover the latest events, including trends that have remarkably changed in just a few years like the gradual end of the Syrian civil war. As such, this textbook is invaluable to students of Middle Eastern politics.. The ninth edition brings substantial changes. All chapters also have a uniform, streamlined structure that explores the historical context, social and economic environment, political institutions, regime dynamics, and foreign policy of each country. Fact boxes and political maps are now far more extensive, and photographs and images also help illustrate key points. Annotated bibliographies are vastly expanded, providing nothing short of the best list of research references for each country.

North African Politics

Download North African Politics PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317412095
Total Pages : 414 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (174 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis North African Politics by : Yahia H. Zoubir

Download or read book North African Politics written by Yahia H. Zoubir and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-09-16 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the aftermath of the turmoil that shook North Africa in late 2010 and early 2011, commentators and analysts have sought explanations to the factors that triggered the uprisings and to understand why a region, seemingly characterized by relative stability for decades, would suddenly erupt in convulsions. Had an underlying dynamism in the region overwhelmed what were ostensibly stable authoritarian regimes? What were the connections to events and dynamics beyond the region, such as countries in the Middle East, international commodity markets, and environmental factors, amongst others? Why had allies abetted authoritarianism for so long, and what were the implications for such alliances? North African Politics: Change and continuity brings together experts to explore these questions, providing in-depth analyses of important developments in the region, which build upon and complement the 2008 companion volume, North Africa: Politics, Region and the Limits of Transformation. This 21-chapter volume is a key contribution that responds to the need in the Anglo-American sphere for sustained, critical studies on North Africa and examines political, economic, security, social and military aspects of the region. Focused studies on individual countries allow detailed discussion of regional factors. The book also examines extrinsic, trans-regional dynamics, such as North Africa’s influential interdependencies with the Levant and the Gulf, Europe, Sahelian and sub-Saharan Africa, and North America. Its innovative approach provides new perspectives on North Africa, extending its research scope to include Egypt and exploring China’s evolving role in the region. Providing an important contribution in the assessment of the ever-shifting political and social tectonics within and beyond North Africa, North African Politics is an essential resource for students, scholars and policy makers in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and beyond.

The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa

Download The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351783483
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (517 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa by : David Ramin Jalilvand

Download or read book The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa written by David Ramin Jalilvand and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are in disarray, and shifts in the field of energy have the potential to drastically affect the course of political and economic developments in the region. Declining oil prices, skyrocketing domestic demand, the rise of unconventional oil and natural gas production in North America, as well as shifting patterns of global energy trade all put severe pressures on both producing and importing countries in the MENA region. Policy-makers are facing fundamental challenges in light of the duality of grand transformations in (geo)politics and energy. Changes in the field of energy require substantial political and economic reforms, affecting the very fabric of sociopolitical arrangements. At the same time, the MENA region’s geopolitical volatility makes any such reforms extremely risky. Including contributions by academics and analysts from both inside and outside the MENA region, this volume explores the changes in global and regional energy, the impact of changing international energy dynamics on politics and economies in the MENA region, and the challenges that will result. This is essential reading for researchers, postgraduates, and professionals in Middle Eastern and North African politics, global energy governance and regionalism.

Political Economies of the Middle East and North Africa

Download Political Economies of the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1509535616
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (95 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Political Economies of the Middle East and North Africa by : Robert Springborg

Download or read book Political Economies of the Middle East and North Africa written by Robert Springborg and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-03-16 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite its oil wealth, the Middle East and North Africa is economically stagnating. Growth rates are comparatively unfavorable and insufficient to substantially improve citizens’ lives. Whether this economic inertia can be overcome or will continue into the indefinite future is a vital question that confronts both the region and the world. In this book leading Middle East scholar Robert Springborg discusses the economic future of this region by examining the national and regional political causes of its contemporary underperformance. Overgrown, weak MENA states, he explains, have been unable to escape their unfavorable historical legacies. “Limited access orders” and the deep states based in the means of coercion that underpin them undermine state capacities and constrain beneficial, autonomous political and economic activity. Increasingly challenged by their populations, MENA states face the daunting and so far unmet challenge of diversifying non-sustainable, rentier political economies away from direct or indirect dependence on oil and gas revenues. Stagnation of those revenues and failure to generate alternative income sources, combined with rapid population growth, presents the region with an economic challenge that can only be overcome by profound political change.

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa

Download Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
ISBN 13 : 9781589062290
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (622 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa by : Mr.Hamid R Davoodi

Download or read book Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa written by Mr.Hamid R Davoodi and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2003-09-05 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa

Download Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351661671
Total Pages : 129 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (516 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa by : Yasemin Akbaba

Download or read book Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa written by Yasemin Akbaba and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since December 2010, a series of uprisings, revolutions, coups and civil wars have shaken up the Middle East and North Africa region. In this chaotic political environment, several countries have been trying to influence this regional transformation. The implications of this transformation are of great importance for the region, its people and global politics. Using a rich combination of primary and secondary sources, elite interviews and content analysis, Yasemin Akbaba and Özgür Özdamar apply role theory to analyze ideational (e.g. identity, religion) and material (e.g. security, economy) sources of national role conceptions in Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The authors take a closer look at the transformation of these four powers’ foreign policies since the beginning of Arab uprisings, with a specific focus on religion. Each case study is written to a common template allowing for clear comparative analyses. Written in a clear and accessible style, Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa offers a thought provoking and pioneering insight into the usefulness of role theory in foreign policy making in the developing world. The perfect combination of theoretically oriented and empirically rich analysis make this volume an ideal resource for scholars and researchers of International Relations, Foreign Policy, Middle East Politics and International Security.

The Power of Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa

Download The Power of Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429560028
Total Pages : 239 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (295 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Power of Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa by : Ibrahim Natil

Download or read book The Power of Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa written by Ibrahim Natil and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-24 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the power of civil society in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), in the context of the post-Arab Spring era, as well as more long-standing challenges and constraints in the region. In recent years, local civil society actors have faced significant challenges from social conservatism, conflict, violence, and the absence of democracy and exclusive political systems. Over the course of the book, the authors investigate how the sector has succeeded in achieving its own objectives despite these shifting conditions, the restrictive political environment and the complexity of the socio-cultural and economic context. Structured around the three themes of peace-building, development, and change, the book also addresses challenges faced by civil society organizations linked to ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversities as well as religious salient differences that are crucial markers of social and political identity. Case studies are drawn from the Palestinian Occupied Territories, Jordan, Iran, Nigeria, Niger, Egypt, and Morocco, and particular effort has been made to showcase original research from contributors who are from the region . This book will be of particular interest to researchers working on development, peace-building, conflict resolution, civil society, and politics within the MENA region.

Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Download Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
ISBN 13 : 0815736983
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (157 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa by : Robert P. Beschel

Download or read book Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa written by Robert P. Beschel and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical examinations of efforts to make governments more efficient and responsive Political upheavals and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have obscured efforts by many countries in the region to reform their public sectors. Unwieldy, unresponsive—and often corrupt—governments across the region have faced new pressure, not least from their publics, to improve the quality of public services and open up their decisionmaking processes. Some of these reform efforts were under way and at least partly successful before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010. Reform efforts have continued in some countries despite the many upheavals since then. This book offers a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of reform efforts in nine countries. In six cases the reforms targeted core systems of government: Jordan's restructuring of cabinet operations, the Palestinian Authority's revision of public financial management, Morocco's voluntary retirement program, human resource management reforms in Lebanon, an e-governance initiative in Dubai, and attempts to improve transparency in Tunisia. Five other reform efforts tackled line departments of government, among them Egypt's attempt to improve tax collection and Saudi Arabia's work to improve service delivery and bill collection. Some of these reform efforts were more successful than others. This book examines both the good and the bad, looking not only at what each reform accomplished but at how it was implemented. The result is a series of useful lessons on how public sector reforms can be adopted in MENA.

The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform

Download The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 111908234X
Total Pages : 539 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform by : Kenneth J. Saltman

Download or read book The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform written by Kenneth J. Saltman and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-08-30 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform examines educational reform from a global perspective. Comprised of approximately 25 original and specially commissioned essays, which together interrogate educational reform from a critical global and transnational perspective, this volume explores a range of topics and themes that fully investigate global convergences in educational reform policies, ideologies, and practices. The Handbook probes the history, ideology, organization, and institutional foundations of global educational reform movements; actors, institutions, and agendas; and local, national, and global education reform trends. It further examines the “new managerialism” in global educational reform, including the standardization of national systems of educational governance, curriculum, teaching, and learning through the rise of new systems of privatization, accountability, audit, big-data, learning analytics, biometrics, and new technology-driven adaptive learning models. Finally, it takes on the subjective and intersubjective experiential dimensions of the new educational reforms and alternative paths for educational reform tied to the ethical imperative to reimagine education for human flourishing, justice, and equality. An authoritative, definitive volume and the first global take on a subject that is grabbing headlines as well as preoccupying policy makers, scholars, and teachers around the world Edited by distinguished leaders in the field Features contributions from an illustrious list of experts and scholars The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform will be of great interest to scholars and graduate students of education throughout the world as well as the policy makers who can institute change.

Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Download Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1442203978
Total Pages : 606 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa by : Sanja Kelly

Download or read book Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa written by Sanja Kelly and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2010-07-16 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Freedom HouseOs innovative publication WomenOs Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance analyzes the status of women in the region, with a special focus on the gains and setbacks for womenOs rights since the first edition was released in 2005. The study presents a comparative evaluation of conditions for women in 17 countries and one territory: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine (Palestinian Authority and Israeli-Occupied Territories), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The publication identifies the causes and consequences of gender inequality in the Middle East, and provides concrete recommendations for national and international policymakers and implementers. Freedom House is an independent nongovernmental organization that supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights. The project has been embraced as a resource not only by international players like the United Nations and the World Bank, but also by regional womenOs rights organizations, individual activists, scholars, and governments worldwide. WomenOs rights in each country are assessed in five key areas: (1) Nondiscrimination and Access to Justice; (2) Autonomy, Security, and Freedom of the Person; (3) Economic Rights and Equal Opportunity; (4) Political Rights and Civic Voice; and (5) Social and Cultural Rights. The methodology is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the study results are presented through a set of numerical scores and analytical narrative reports.

Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa

Download Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351169785
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (511 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa by : Silvia Colombo

Download or read book Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa written by Silvia Colombo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-13 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year 2011 will go down in history as a turning point for the Arab world. The popular unrest that swept across the region and led to the toppling of the Ben Ali, Mubarak, and Qaddhafi regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya has fundamentally altered the social, economic, and political outlooks of these countries and the region as a whole. This book assesses the transition processes unleashed by the uprisings that took place in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011. The wave of unrest and popular mobilisation that swept through these countries is treated as the point of departure of long and complex processes of change, manipulation, restructuring, and entrenchment of the institutional structures and logics that defined politics. The book explores the constitutive elements of institutional development, namely processes of constitution making, electoral politics, the changing status and power of the judiciary, and the interplay between the civilian and the military apparatuses in Egypt and Tunisia. It also considers the extent to which these two countries have become more democratic, as a result of their institutions being more legitimate, accountable, and responsive, at the beginning of 2014 and from a comparative perspective. The impact of temporal factors in shaping transition paths is highlighted throughout the book. The book provides a comprehensive assessment of political and institutional transition processes in two key countries in North Africa and its conclusions shed light on similar processes that have taken place throughout the region since 2011. It will be a valuable resource for anyone studying Middle Eastern and North African politics, area studies, comparative institutional development and democratisation.

Values, Political Action, and Change in the Middle East and the Arab Spring

Download Values, Political Action, and Change in the Middle East and the Arab Spring PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019026909X
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Values, Political Action, and Change in the Middle East and the Arab Spring by : Mansoor Moaddel

Download or read book Values, Political Action, and Change in the Middle East and the Arab Spring written by Mansoor Moaddel and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With 'change' serving as the central theme of this edited volume, contributing authors have advanced new and insightful frameworks to analyze vast empirical data in order to explain the dynamics of cross-national variation, values, political engagement, morality, and development in the Middle East and North Africa in light of the Arab Spring. Methodological issues in survey research are also addressed in this volume.

Protest and Mass Mobilization

Download Protest and Mass Mobilization PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 131707422X
Total Pages : 156 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (17 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Protest and Mass Mobilization by : Merouan Mekouar

Download or read book Protest and Mass Mobilization written by Merouan Mekouar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-02 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why and how do some acts of protest trigger mass mobilization while others do not? Using the cases of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, Mekouar argues that successful mass mobilization is the result of a surprise factor, whose impact and exceptionality is amplified by the presence of influential political agents during the early phase of protest, as well as by regime violence and unusual media coverage. Together this study argues that these factors create a perception of exceptionality, which breaks the locally available cognitive heuristic originally in favor of the regime, and thus creates the necessary conditions for mobilization to occur. This book provides a unique dialectical picture of mobilization in North Africa by focusing both on the perspective of those who mobilized against their local regimes and members of the security forces who were responsible for stopping them. Moreover, it offers a first-hand account of the tumultuous days preceding authoritarian collapse and explains the mechanisms through which political change occurs.

The New Authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa

Download The New Authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253004004
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The New Authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa by : Stephen J. King

Download or read book The New Authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa written by Stephen J. King and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2009-10-28 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stephen J. King considers the reasons that international and domestic efforts toward democratization have failed to take hold in the Arab world. Focusing on Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and Algeria, he suggests that a complex set of variables characterizes authoritarian rule and helps to explain both its dynamism and its persistence. King addresses, but moves beyond, how religion and the strongly patriarchal culture influence state structure, policy configuration, ruling coalitions, and legitimization and privatization strategies. He shows how the transformation of authoritarianism has taken place amid shifting social relations and political institutions and how these changes have affected the lives of millions. Ultimately, King's forward-thinking analysis offers a way to enhance the prospects for democracy in the Middle East and North Africa.