Federalism And Decentralization In The Contemporary Middle East

This volume, the first of its kind in the English language, examines the law and politics of federalism and decentralization in the Middle East and North Africa. Comprised of eleven case studies examining the experience across the region, together with essays by leading scholars providing comparative and theoretical perspectives and a synthetic conclusion by the co-editors, the volume offers a textured portrait of the dilemmas of decentralization during a period of sweeping transition in the region. The collection addresses an important gap in the comparative decentralization literature, which has largely neglected the MENA region. Both retrospective and forward-looking in orientation, the book is a valuable resource not only for scholars of comparative politics, constitutional design, and Middle East studies, but also for policy makers evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of decentralization as a vehicle for improving governance and responding to identity conflict in any part of the world.

This book examines the projects of administrative and territorial reconstruction of Arab countries as an aftermath of the “Arab Spring”. Additionally, it looks into an active rethinking of the former unitary model, linked by its critics with dictatorship and oppression. The book presents decentralization or even federalization as newly emerging major topics of socio-political debate in the Arab world. As the federalist recipes and projects are specific and the struggle for their implementation has a pronounced variation, different case studies are presented. Countries discussed include Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. The book looks into the background and prerequisites of the federalist experiments of the “Arab Spring”, describes their evolution and current state, and assesses the prospects for the future. It is, therefore, a must-read for scholars of political science, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of previous and current developments in the Arab countries.

In most regions of the world, federalism (territorial autonomy) is used as a successful institutional means of dispersing political power and accommodating ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. The Middle East is an exception. Aside from the anomalous case of the U.A.E and Iraq's troubled experiment with federalism, Middle Eastern regimes have largely resisted efforts to decentralize political power. As a result, the norm in the region has been highly centralized, unitary systems that have, more often than not, paved the way for authoritarian rule or played witness to serious internal fragmentation and conflict divided along ethnic or religious lines.Federal Solutions for Fragile States in the Middle East makes an argument for the implementation of federalism in the post-conflict states of the Middle East. The argument operates on two levels: the theoretical and the practical. The theoretical case for federalism is backed by empirical evidence, but to accurately evaluate the practical and logistical feasibility of its implementation in any given case requires detailed knowledge of 'real world' political realities. The book's focus is on four post-conflict states — Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya — though the arguments advanced within have broad regional applicability.

The first book in English on the law and politics of federalism and decentralization in the MENA region.

This book investigates political, economic and social links between top-down decentralisation strategies and neopatrimonial elite networks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Over ten years since 2011, several MENA regimes have initiated decentralisation processes, but empirical observations suggest a gap between the formal layout and the outcome of decentralisation. The authors identify neopatrimonial networks as an explanatory factor in this respect. A comparative study of Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt (1) looks at decentralisation from the perspective of the periphery, (2) examines decentralisation within neopatrimonial contexts, (3) includes fiscal policy and informal financial flows, and (4) analyses the international donor perspective. With contributions by Sylvia I. Bergh, Miriam Bohn, Thomas Demmelhuber, Roland Sturm and Erik Vollmann.

This volume, Minority Self-Government in Europe and theMiddle East: From Theory to Practice, is novel from several perspectives. It combines theory with facts on the ground, going beyond legal perspectives without neglecting existing laws and their implementation.

Based on a decade of research, including in-depth interviews with many leading figures in the story, this edition is essential for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the turmoil engulfing the Middle East, from civil wars to the rise of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.