Rules and rights in the Middle East

"In a series of essays by an international group of scholars and policy makers, this book provides the first sustained look at democracy and democratic movements in the Middle East. Moving beyond a concern with the growth of Islamicist movements and nationalist states, the authors probe the historical experiences of the last hundred years and the social conflict over the past decade centering on democratic structures and processes from North Africa to Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. The essays explore from theoretical, descriptive, and political perspectives questions of democracy, freedom, and rule of law in a region that is usually thought of as lacking in all of these respects." "Most comparative studies find that the Middle East does not have traits of or prospects for democracy, owing to the absence of autonomous elites, a heritage of despotism, or the nature of Islam. The authors of this book call this assumption into question by taking a more inclusive and dynamic view of democracy, seeing it as an ongoing project that unfolds on two related fronts. One of these is the continuous assertion and exercise of popular sovereignty, and the other is the equally persistent declaration and p