Post on 01-Jan-2016
transcript
Last classStrategies for Consolidating Power
Cases: Turkey, Iran, Egypt
Today Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon in brief
(see readings for comprehensive treatment)
A Typology of Government Systems
Video
Tomorrow – Arab-Israeli Wars
Iraq before Saddam Hashemite Monarchy
Problems in the 1950s
Qasim’s coup in 1958
Baath Party takes power in 1963 Arif brothers Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr Saddam takes power in 1979
Syria before Asad Legacy of French Mandate
Parliamentary system and political parties
Military intrusion
Michel Aflaq and Syrian Ba’athism
Hafez al-Asad takes power in 1970
Jordan after Abdullah Assassination of King Abdullah in 1951
Hussein takes power – coup attempts, assassination attempts, and internal war with the PLO in 1970
Martial Law in 1957
US support under Eisenhower doctrine
Lebanon Liberal economic policies – strong financial sector and cultural expression
Consociationalism (sectarian pluralism) – the institutionalization of religious identities in politics
Za’im system – localized, regional sectarian interests with individual representatitive
Establishment of Regional sectarian organizations the Phalange (Gamayel) Progressive Socialists (Jumblatt)
Muslims calling for new census due to demographic changes
1958 Civil War
Possible Typology
4 groups:
Nationalist Revolutionary RepublicsAlgeria, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia
MonarchiesJordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Gulf States
Conditional DemocraciesTurkey, Israel, Lebanon
Islamic StatesIran, Sudan
Nationalist Revolutionary RepublicsAlgeria, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia• Single-party rule• Exposure to intellectual currents of European state consolidation •Nationalism, some political liberalism, socialism
• Soviet Union as capable model of dealing with challenges• European countries were seen as primary culprits of colonialism, US emphasized anti-communism > support of liberal democracy.• Political left (esp. socialist organizations) were most active at opposing colonialism character of nationalism
•Strong, centralized, bureaucratic state-- Secularization - Western legal systems installed as opposed to indigenous or religious legal codes (shari’a for personal status issues)
Single-party dominance (often masked by multi-partism)
Personalistic Systems - Syria, Libya, Iraq, with dictatorial rulers and legislative bodies
MonarchiesJordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Gulf States
• Government ruled by a single person, power passed down hereditarily, separate from all other members of the state
• ABSOLUTE vs CONSTITUTIONAL (limited)
• More robust after 1950s and 60s when monarchies were not durable
• Economic strength (oil rents) in many of the monarchies allows consolidation of power through patronage and cooption
• All have aligned with the West (Cold War Balance of Power)
• Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman have same ruling family for more than two-hundred years!
• Arab kingship not like Europe – gained legitimacy through capable leadership, few institutionalized succession processes, competition among successors produces strong kings
Conditional DemocraciesTurkey, Israel, Lebanon
• Elected president and legislature• checked by military, religious authorities, or institutionalized confessional appointments
• Turkey• Kurds• Expression restricted
• Israel• Most open political system• Jewish character of the state (confronts balancing secular and religious like other ME states)• No written constitution, but ‘basic laws‘• Arab Israelis
• Lebanon• Parliamentary republic• Confessional system
Islamic StatesIran and Sudan
• Pahlavi regime overthrown by Khomeini• Creation of Islamic Republic
• Shari’a Law and conservative social norms
• Supreme authority in the hands of religious council w/ Supreme Leader (Khamenei) at the very top
• Also secular structures of modern state
• Not a model of religious totalitarian state due to limits of religious authorities’ involvement in governance (esp. over administering public projects and services – division of labor)