Last class

Strategies 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 Republics

Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia

Monarchies

Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Gulf States

Conditional Democracies

Turkey, Israel, Lebanon

Islamic States

Iran, Sudan

Nationalist Revolutionary Republics

• •

Algeria, 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

Monarchies

Jordan, 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 Democracies

Turkey, 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 States

Iran 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)