Lecture 3: Political Systems

1
Lecture 3 Political Systems Processes

• Lecture Plan
• Key issues in Governance
• Patrimonialism, Legitimacy, Bureaucracies
• Comparative Political Systems
• Monarchies, Republics, (Revolutionary) Islamic
  republic
• Conclusion

2
The Politics of Patrimonialism

• Links between patterns of political economy and
  governance
• Rentier economies Elite monopoly on the
  control of the rent money from oil exploitation
  by foreign companies redistribution occurs
  along the lines of kin, excluding most citizens.
• Generally the main concept used by analysts to
  describe the relationship between the rulers and
  the ruled is patrimonialism.

3
State Authority/Legitimacy

• Derived from Max Webers typology of state
  authority 2 types of traditional leadership
• Patriarchal Leadership
• o bonds are based on kin/faith and are based on
  direct allegiance
• o strategy of power limited mobilisation
• Patrimonial Leadership
• o social bonds between ruler and ruled are
  mediated by a large bureaucracy
• o complex web of relationship of favours, and
  accepted corruption
• o leader maintains loyalty by managing different
  groups seeking his favour for promotion, economic
  advantages or political influence.

4

• Bureaucracies function as the institutionalisation
  of elites power. A large public sector has
  several advantages
• support application of power over society
• provides opportunities to co-opt educated
  civilian middle classes without giving way to
  political aspirations

5
Patrimoniality Role of Military

• In undemocratic settings, however, patrimoniality
  and/or patriarchy are not enough to keep power
  role of military becomes key
• ensures socialisation/co-option of segments of
  the young population provides apparatus for
  repression
• Particularly strong connection between a high
  rank in the military and economic advantages
• Elite must control the means of violence within
  society, and they do fear a military coup détat.

6
Patrimonialism Civil Society

• All non-patronised groups are excluded from
  political activity ? civil societies in the ME
  tend to be weak (systematic repression)
• But
• Since late 1980s, increasing poverty and lack of
  opportunities have heightened the crisis of the
  legitimacy of the state (e.g. Hizbollah)
• After 1967, this slowly lead to a change in the
  symbolic strategies of legitimation, away from
  (Arab) nationalist towards religious symbolism
  (e.g. Egypt!)

7
Comparative Political Systems

• 3 main types of non-democratic political systems
  in the region
• Monarchies (traditional, religious, or combo)
• Authoritarian states (revolutionary republics)
• Revolutionary Islamic Republic
• Monarchies
• traditional Jordan, Morocco
• religious Saudi Arabia
• combo UAE
• usually some patrimonial/rentier element
• little party-based participatory politics

8
Authoritarian states

• Revolutionary republics
• emerge from anti-colonial struggle /
  decolonisation process
• Legitimacy based on ideology
• political aims viz. former colonial powers
• developmental gains
• Often one-party systems
• E.g. Egypt, Algeria

9
Revolutionary Islamic Republic

• guardianship of the jurisprudent
  (vilayat-e-faqih)
• developed by Khomeini while in exile before the
  Revolution
• supreme religious leadership supported by a
  council of major religious figures form key to
  executive and legislative powers
• In theory Semi-presidential system with direct
  election of President Assembly ( Guardian
  Council)
• In reality dual structure with elected reps but
  vetted by the Council, which takes an active
  interest in politics (e.g. last elections).
• System open to women.

10
Conclusion

• Different strategies of legitimisation
• Monarchies vs. Republics
• Different material bases
• bureaucracies role of military/security
• Different forms of power
• Mass mobilisation vs. demobilisation co-option