Oliver Schlumberger is a Senior Researcher at the German Development Institute (DIE), Bonn, Germany. His research focuses on Middle East politics and political economy as well as on nondemocratic regimes and democracy promotion.

• Contents Acknowledgements Contributors 1Arab Authoritarianism: Debating the Dynamics and Durability of Nondemocratic Regimes Oliver Schlumberger Part I: State-Society Relations and Opposition 2Social Pacts and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in the Middle East Steven Heydemann 3The Management of Opposition: Comparing Formal Contestation and Informal Manipulation in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco Ellen Lust-Okar 4Authoritarian Opposition and the Politics of Challenge in Egypt Holger Albrecht 5Islamist Inclusion and Regime Persistence: The Moroccan Win-Win Situation Eva Wegner Part 2The Regimes 6The Ozymandias Syndrome: Questioning the Stability of Middle Eastern Regimes Peter Sluglett 7Intra-Regime Dynamics, Uncertainty, and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in the Contemporary Arab World Fred H. Lawson 8The Privatization of Social Services as a Regime Strategy: Islamic Endowments (Awqaf) in Egypt Daniela Pioppi 9State-Building, Liberalization From Above, and Political Legitimacy in the Sultanate of Oman Marc Valeri Part 3The Economy and the Polity 10Linking Economic and Political Reform in the Middle East: The Role of the Bourgeoisie Giacomo Luciani 11The Political Economy of Regime Maintenance in Egypt: Linking External Resources and Domestic Legitimation Thomas Richter 12From Political to Economic Actors: The Changing Role of Middle Eastern Armies Philippe Droz-Vincent Part 4The International Arena 13International Dimensions of Middle Eastern Authoritarianism: The G8 and External Efforts at Political Reform Mustapha K. Sayyid 14Democracy Promotion and the Renewal of Authoritarian Rule Eberhard Kienle 15The Longevity of the House of Saud: Looking Outside the Box Paul Aarts Notes Biblography Index

"This book provides revealing insights into despotic governance in the Arab countries." - Nader Fergany "In contrast to the democratic deficit literature that purports to explain the absence of democracy in the Middle East, this superb collection of essays provides a theoretically sophisticated account of the origins andnature of authoritarian persistence and durability. The contributors bring a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives, and their endeavors are animated by a common research agenda that gives analytical coherence to this illuminating volume." - Daniel Brumberg (Georgetown University) "...Debating Arab Authoritarianism is a worthy collection that elucidates the logic of authoritarian resilience. It is an important contribution that makes clear what trips up democratization in the Arab world and beyond." - Eva Bellin (Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, Contemporary Islam) "By speaking from various disciplines, the contributors offer intriguing and complementary analyses that range from the management of opposition using the formal and informal rules of competition, to the contradictory roles of the reforms that often reconfigure authoritarianism rather than promote democracy. The book strikes a nice balance between empirical data analysis and conceptual discussion and makes a substantial contribution to the debates not only on Arab authoritarianism but authoritarianism in general." - CHOICE "An outstanding collection of essays concerning one of the most important questions facing present-day political analysis of the Middle East.This book sheds fresh light on the history of the region's authoritarian regimes, their persistence, and their possible futures." - Roger Owen "The analysis of Arab authoritarianism offered in this volume is truly excellent, with all contributors shedding light on the workings of Arab regimes and treating them as "stable" political systems rather than transitional ones. The book is a must-read for all those interested in political authoritarianism, the Middle East, and international relations." - Politics & Religion