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Studying Authoritarianism and Change in the Middle East and North Africa
December 8, 2023 | | Leave a Comment
Understanding authoritarianism and change in MENA is a complex topic that scholars in comparative politics and political science have attempted to understand for decades. Ultimately, there is not one distinguishing factor that sets MENA apart, but rather a combination of them. MENA is unique given the high presence of resource endowments, which have crucial links to authoritarianism. The repression effect and spending effect explain that resource-rich countries rely on less taxation and use oil rents to fund coercive apparatuses that allow authoritarian leaders unprecedented power. This allows them to focus less on legitimacy to demonstrate power and instead use repression and violence against the population. Additionally, the labor capacity of each state in comparison to resource wealth explains some of the deprivation of rights of civilians and the frustration that culminated in the uprisings in 2011. The thematic study of these economic factors is covered in depth in Cammet, Diwan, Richards, and Waterbury, and is important to understanding the region as a whole.
However, looking at specific cases, through the Khatib and Lust book as well as Lisa Wedeen’s book on Syria can help to explain more specific case studies. Through this analysis, the differentiation between regime type and colonial history demonstrates some of the institutional and structural barriers that prevent the spread of democracy in the region, and also the intense repression used by regimes. Personalist regimes foster an environment in which one individual retains power and creates a system of repression and refusal to abstain from power, as seen in Libya and Syria. Military regimes are often less functional and highly repressive, yet hold on to their power less tightly, resulting in different turnovers, such as Egypt. Monarchies are prevalent in the GCC and generate power through their traditionalist patterns, often thriving on patronage and crony capitalism. Additionally, MENA stems from colonial history after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, resulting in struggles for nationalism and national divisions in many countries, such as Libya which is currently at civil war as a result.
Ultimately, looking at the region through just one lens does a disservice to the complexity of the authoritarian systems in place and the region’s general resistance to democratization. Looking at the region from both an economic and political standpoint is perhaps the most important tool for understanding the region, provided how intertwined those elements are in these resource-rich countries. Yet to understand one country is not to understand them all, so more specific case studies remain necessary when viewing the authoritarianism and uprisings of these states.