Exploring the political economy of development and democracy in the Middle East, this book provides new insight into the effects of external initiatives for the support of good governance in Arab states, the impact of transnational Islamist networks on democratization in the Middle East, and the role of new satellite broadcasting in the Arab world.

'Avoiding the pitfalls of Arab exceptionalism on the one hand and democracy promotion as a mere technique of political engineering on the other this volume enables both specialist and non specialist readers to understand how particular constraints and opportunities condition the success of political reform. Drawing on comparative historical analysis the authors illustrate the importance of fitting such strategies to the institutional context which they are supposed to change. Put differently, political strategists act more effectively if they stop ignoring features that inevitably structure their action.'

• Eberhard Kienle, Directeur de recherche au CNRS and Director of IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, France

Autorentext
Dietrich Jung is Head of the Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies at University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark.

Inhalt
Introduction: International Top-Down Democratization of the Middle East?; D.Jung PART I: DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND THEIR INTERNATIONAL AND TRANSNATIONAL CONTEXTS Authoritarian Politics and External Support for Good Governance in the Arab World; O.Schlumberger Transnational Islamist Networks and the Prospects of Democratization in the Middle East; T. Scheffler New Religious Programming: The Impact of Satellite Broadcasting in the Arab World; J.Skovgaard-Petersen PART III: THREE CASE STUDIES ON LIBERALIZATION PROCESSES IN THE MIDDLE EAST Neo-Authoritarianism: Democratization as a Means of Stabilizing Authoritarian Rule in Contemporary Egypt; M.Kassem State-Economy Relations as State-Building: The Politics of Economic Liberalization in Syria; S.Schmidt The Political Economy of Islam and Democracy in Turkey: From the Welfare Party to the AKP; Z.Önish Conclusions: Democratizing the Middle East: Trying to Square the Circle?; D.Jung