Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World

by Amaney A. Jamal

Overview

Democracy-building efforts from the early 1990s on have funneled billions of dollars into nongovernmental organizations across the developing world, with the U.S. administration of George W. Bush leading the charge since 2001. But are many such "civil society" initiatives fatally flawed? Focusing on the Palestinian West Bank and the Arab world, Barriers to Democracy mounts a powerful challenge to the core tenet of civil society initiatives: namely, that public participation in private associations necessarily yields the sort of civic engagement that, in turn, sustains effective democratic institutions. Such assertions tend to rely on evidence from states that are democratic to begin with. Here, Amaney Jamal investigates the role of civic associations in promoting democratic attitudes and behavioral patterns in contexts that are less than democratic.


Jamal argues that, in state-centralized environments, associations can just as easily promote civic qualities vital to authoritarian citizenship—such as support for the regime in power. Thus, any assessment of the influence of associational life on civic life must take into account political contexts, including the relationships among associations, their leaders, and political institutions.



Barriers to Democracy both builds on and critiques the multifaceted literature that has emerged since the mid-1990s on associational life and civil society. By critically examining associational life in the West Bank during the height of the Oslo Peace Process (1993-99), and extending her findings to Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan, Jamal provides vital new insights into a timely issue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691140995
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/26/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Amaney A. Jamal is assistant professor of politics at Princeton University. Named a Carnegie Scholar in 2005, she is co-principal investigator of the Arab Global Barometer Project, the first systematic cross-national survey gauging democratic attitudes and behaviors in the Arab world.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xi

Note to the Reader xiii

Chapter One: Introduction: Democratic Outcomes and Associational Life 1

Associations in Western Democratic Contexts 3

Associational Life in Palestine 10

The Associational Puzzle 13

Clientelism and Patronage 14

Chapter Two: Associational Life in the Centralized Authoritarian Context of the West Bank 21

The Failure of Oslo, PNA Corruption, and Democracy 22

Political Contextual Difference and Associational Life 25

The Polarization of Associational Life in the West Bank:
Historical Overview 26

Palestinian Political and Civil Life under Occupation 31

Associational Life Post-Oslo 36

Corruption, Patronage, Clientelism, and the PNA 41

The PNA and the PLC 43

Rule of Law, the Judiciary, and the PNA 45

Associational Life and PNA Corruption 47

Conclusion 49

Chapter Three: The Polarization of Palestinian Associational Life 50

The Palestinian Associational Terrain 51

Factionalism 58

The Peace Process with Israel and the Realities Associated with Oslo 61

Donor Monies 66

Conclusion 74

Chapter Four: Trust, Engagement, and Democracy 77

The Polarization of Palestinian Civil Society 79

Association Membership and Support for the PNA 83

Examining Interpersonal Trust and Civic Engagement 85

The Associational Landscape 89

A Note on Self-selection and Causality 93

Conclusion 94

Chapter Five: Beyond Palestine: Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt 96

Trust and Associational Life in Morocco 98

Consolidating the Moroccan Monarchy: A Historical Overview 101

Solidifying Authoritarianism or Political Liberalization 104

Historical Patterns: The Evolution of Associational Life 107

Associations and the Regime 109

Political Parties and the Moroccan Regime 111

The Media 113

Civic Attitudes and Associational Realities in Morocco 115

Beyond Palestine and Morocco: Jordan and Egypt 115

Associational Life in Jordan and Egypt 119

Civil Society and Polarization 121

Conclusion 125

Chapter Six: Conclusion:Toward a Theory of Democratic Citizenship in State-Centralized Nations 127

Interpersonal Trust and Associational Realities in the West Bank 127

Civic Engagement, Support for Democratic Institutions, and Associational Realities in the West Bank 131

Civic Engagement and Interpersonal Trust among Association Members 133

The Art of Association 135

A Note about Democratization 137

Appendixes 139

Appendix A: Survey Questions and Coding of Association Members 141

Appendix B: Survey Questions and Coding of General Palestinian Population 147

Appendix C: Survey Questions and Coding of General Moroccan Population (World Values Survey Questions) 150

Bibliography 153

Index 165

What People are Saying About This

Mark Tessler

A very impressive and highly original study that is rich in analysis and theoretical insight, not only about Palestinian politics during the Oslo period, but also about the conditions under which civic associations do and do not foster attitudes and behaviors that contribute to democratization in the broader Arab world.
— Mark Tessler, University of Michigan

Brand

Taking as a point of departure the substantial work on civil society, Amaney Jamal engages a set of issues that are critical to understanding the paths of and possibilities for democratic transitions. In an academic and policy atmosphere in which building democracy abroad, especially in the Middle East, has become one of the most commonly discussed goals, her book should appeal to a wide audience.
— Laurie A. Brand, author of "Citizens Abroad: Emigration and the State in the Middle East and North Africa"

Ellis

Jamal's book . . . is an excellent contribution to the literature on democracy and associational life and it serves as an important assessment of the impact of social capital on democratic life.
— Donald G. Ellis, Ph.D., ASMEA (Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa)

Lisa Anderson

This is social science at its absolute best. This book uses empirical data from the Arab world to point out flaws in our conventional wisdom about the importance of civil societies in a democracy. Everyone who cares about democratic theory needs to confront these findings, and anyone who wants to understand the failure of American efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East could do no better than start with this book.
— Lisa Anderson, Columbia University

Lust-Okar

This book fills an important gap in the wide literature on civil society. It notably expands upon this literature, both substantively, through unique and important survey data, and theoretically, in an argument that asks us to rethink how regime types affect the connections between participation in civic associations and democratic attitudes. By doing so, it not only contributes to the academic literature—which has largely assumed that lessons drawn from democracies can be applied to authoritarian regimes—but it also prompts rethinking in the policy debates over democratization. Academics and policymakers will find much of value in rethinking politics not only in Palestine and the Arab world, but also in authoritarian regimes elsewhere.
— Ellen M. Lust-Okar, Yale University

From the Publisher

"This is social science at its absolute best. This book uses empirical data from the Arab world to point out flaws in our conventional wisdom about the importance of civil societies in a democracy. Everyone who cares about democratic theory needs to confront these findings, and anyone who wants to understand the failure of American efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East could do no better than start with this book."—Lisa Anderson, Columbia University

"A very impressive and highly original study that is rich in analysis and theoretical insight, not only about Palestinian politics during the Oslo period, but also about the conditions under which civic associations do and do not foster attitudes and behaviors that contribute to democratization in the broader Arab world."—Mark Tessler, University of Michigan

"This book fills an important gap in the wide literature on civil society. It notably expands upon this literature, both substantively, through unique and important survey data, and theoretically, in an argument that asks us to rethink how regime types affect the connections between participation in civic associations and democratic attitudes. By doing so, it not only contributes to the academic literature—which has largely assumed that lessons drawn from democracies can be applied to authoritarian regimes—but it also prompts rethinking in the policy debates over democratization. Academics and policymakers will find much of value in rethinking politics not only in Palestine and the Arab world, but also in authoritarian regimes elsewhere."—Ellen M. Lust-Okar, Yale University

"Taking as a point of departure the substantial work on civil society, Amaney Jamal engages a set of issues that are critical to understanding the paths of and possibilities for democratic transitions. In an academic and policy atmosphere in which building democracy abroad, especially in the Middle East, has become one of the most commonly discussed goals, her book should appeal to a wide audience."—Laurie A. Brand, author of Citizens Abroad: Emigration and the State in the Middle East and North Africa

Editorial Reviews

Amaney Jamal's volume is a welcome addition to the literature on democracy outside Europe and Latin America. . . . A reading of this book will help, by beginning the process of disassembling the various disciplines' multifarious and misleading Orientalist 'idées reçues'.
— Roger Heacock

International Affairs

Jamal's work . . . deserve[s] attention from all of those who are concerned about the troubling quality of politics in the Arab world. . . . Those engaged in democracy promotion, in particular, should read this volume closely and heed its lessons about the uneasy relationship between civil society and democracy in the Arab world.
— Steven Heydemann

Middle East Journal

In the current study, Jamal emphasizes comparisons of associational life in the West with the Arab states. Accepted wisdom links associational life to the growth and maintenance of a healthy democracy. But the author's extensive fieldwork has uncovered a challenge to this conventional linkage, showing that associational life can be used to prop up undemocratic states. This is an important and timely insight.
— M. Slann

Choice

Jamal's field research in the Palestinian West Bank suggests that the posited correlation between civil society and democracy is not quite so straightforward...These sobering findings need not cause those Arabs and outsiders seeking a democratic opening to give up on civil society. They should, however remind both the scholar seeking to understand and the reformer working to change of the need to appreciate how things actually work.
— L. Carl Brown

Foreign Affairs

Winner of the 2008 Best Book Award, Comparative Democratization Section of the American Political Science Association

From the Publisher

Amaney Jamal's volume is a welcome addition to the literature on democracy outside Europe and Latin America. . . . A reading of this book will help, by beginning the process of disassembling the various disciplines' multifarious and misleading Orientalist 'idées reçues'.

International Affairs - Roger Heacock

Jamal's work . . . deserve[s] attention from all of those who are concerned about the troubling quality of politics in the Arab world. . . . Those engaged in democracy promotion, in particular, should read this volume closely and heed its lessons about the uneasy relationship between civil society and democracy in the Arab world.

Middle East Journal - Steven Heydemann

In the current study, Jamal emphasizes comparisons of associational life in the West with the Arab states. Accepted wisdom links associational life to the growth and maintenance of a healthy democracy. But the author's extensive fieldwork has uncovered a challenge to this conventional linkage, showing that associational life can be used to prop up undemocratic states. This is an important and timely insight.

Choice - M. Slann

Jamal's field research in the Palestinian West Bank suggests that the posited correlation between civil society and democracy is not quite so straightforward...These sobering findings need not cause those Arabs and outsiders seeking a democratic opening to give up on civil society. They should, however remind both the scholar seeking to understand and the reformer working to change of the need to appreciate how things actually work.

Foreign Affairs - L. Carl Brown

Jamal's book . . . is an excellent contribution to the literature on democracy and associational life and it serves as an important assessment of the impact of social capital on democratic life.

ald G. Ellis