The New Authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa

A study of the dynamism and persistence of authoritarian rule and the prospects for democracy in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and Algeria. “[T]his book is important for our understanding of authoritarian persistence, the political economy of economic liberalization and the current breakdown of authoritarian upgrading in the Middle East.” — Perspectives on Politics Stephen J. King considers the reasons that international and domestic efforts toward democratization have failed to take hold in the Arab w