Title More freedom, less terror? : liberalization and political violence in the Arab world / Dalia Dassa Kaye [and others]

Published Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corp., ©2008 ©2008

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Description 1 online resource (xxx, 195 pages) : color illustrations Contents Preface -- Figures -- Table -- Summary -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- "Democracy" and terrorism in the Arab world: a framework for analysis -- Introduction -- Democracy in the Middle East: "liberalized autocracies" or genuine democratization? -- Understanding terrorism -- The democracy-terrorism debate -- Post 9/11 "draining the swamp" logic -- The democracy backlash -- Democracy-terrorism hypotheses -- Empirical application to the Arab world: case selection and methods -- Egypt -- Introduction -- Liberalization in the Mubarak era -- Trends in violent activity -- Comparing levels of freedom and terrorism -- Assessing effects -- Repression and destabilization -- Conclusion -- Jordan -- Liberalization trends -- Trends in violent activity -- Comparing levels of freedom and terrorism -- Assessing effects -- Normative effects -- Institutional effects -- Legitimacy -- Conclusion -- Bahrain -- Introduction -- Liberalization trends -- Trends in violent activity -- Comparing levels of freedom and terrorism -- Assessing effects -- Perceptions of regime legitimacy -- Norms of tolerance and pluralism -- Institutional logic -- Conclusions and implications -- Saudi Arabia -- Introduction -- Liberalization trends -- Trends in violent activity -- Comparing levels of freedom and terrorism -- Assessing effects -- Regime legitimacy -- Normative and institutional effects: the municipal council elections -- Conclusion -- Algeria -- Trends in liberalization -- Trends in violent activity -- Comparing levels of freedom and terrorism -- Assessing effects -- Institutional effects -- Normative effects -- The effects of state actions on perceptions of regime legitimacy -- Summary and implications -- Morocco -- Introduction -- Trends in liberalization -- Trends in violent activity -- Comparing levels of freedom and terrorism -- Assessing effects -- Institutional effects -- Normative effects -- Legitimacy -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Liberalization in the Arab world can both contain and exacerbate political violence -- Policy implications: a return to realism or realistic democracy promotion? -- Policy recommendations -- Bibliography Summary In the wake of September 11 through the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a key tenet of U.S. foreign policy has been that promoting democracy in the Arab world is an important strategy in reducing terrorism; at the same time, some policymakers and analysts have held that democracy has nothing to do with terrorism -- or even that the growth of democracy in the Middle East may exacerbate political violence. However, scant empirical evidence links democracy to terrorism, positively or negatively. This study examines whether such links exist by exploring the effects of liberalization processes on political violence in Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco from 1991 to 2006. Drawing on data on the incidence of terrorist violence, extensive fieldwork and interviews in each of the six countries, and primary and secondary literature from and about each country, Kaye et al. find that political reforms have, in some instances, helped to marginalize and undercut extremist actors, but that these effects tend to be short-lived if reforms fail to produce tangible results. Moreover, when regimes backtrack on even limited openings, the risks of instability and violence increase Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-195) Notes Print version record Subject Democratization -- Arab countries -- Case studies Political violence -- Arab countries -- Case studies Terrorism -- Arab countries POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Freedom & Security -- Terrorism. POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Security (National & International) Democratization Politics and government Political violence Terrorism SUBJECT Arab countries -- Politics and government. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85006285 Subject Arab countries Middle East -- regional politics. Genre/Form Case studies Case studies. Études de cas. Form Electronic book Author Kaye, Dalia Dassa ISBN 9780833046451 0833046454 1282033301 9781282033306

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