Federal Solutions for Fragile States in the Middle East

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.Contents: About the AuthorsAcknowledgmentsList of TablesIntroductionTheory:The State and the Problem of Legitimate Order in the Middle EastWhy Federalism?Practice:Syria: Not If, But WhenIraq: A Work in ProgressYemen: In Search of StabilityLibya: Back to the Future?ConclusionBibliographyIndex
Readership: Academics and students in the discplines of political science and middle eastern studies. It is relevant for courses which include dealing with the Middle East (introductory and beyond); political institutions; comparative politics (introductory and beyond); federalism; and ethnic conflict.Federalism;Ethnofederalism;Ethnic Conflict;Sectarianism;Middle East;Institutional Design;Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria;Civil Wars;Comparative Institutions;Decentralization;Fragile States;Ethnic Minorities;Managing Ethnic Diversity0Key Features:The first book-length analysis of the relevance of federalism to the problems of governance in the Middle East. Prior to this book, the only scholarly analyses of the issue have been country-specific journal articles and book chapters that lack a comparative perspectiveBridges the divide between area/country specialists and political scientistsThe two authors of this book are trained as political scientists but are also area/country specialists with detailed knowledge of the cases examined