Clientelism and Patronage in the Middle East and North Africa: Networks of Dependency (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Democratization and Government)

One common demand in the 2011 uprisings in the MENA region was the call for ‘freedom, dignity, and social justice.’ Citizens rallied against corruption and clientelism, which for many protesters were deeply linked to political tyranny. This book takes the phenomenon of the 2011 uprisings as a point of departure for reassessing clientelism and patronage across the entire MENA region. Using case studies covering Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies, it looks at how the relationships within and between clientelist and patronage networks changed before 2011. The book assesses how these changes contributed to the destabilization of the established political and social order, and how they affected less visible political processes. It then turns to look at how the political transformations since 2011 have in turn reconfigured these networks in terms of strategies and dynamics, and concomitantly, what implications this has had for the inclusion or exclusion of new actors. Are specific networks expanding or shrinking in the post-2011 contexts? Do these networks reproduce established forms of patron-client relations or do they translate into new modes and mechanisms? As the first book to systematically discuss clientelism, patronage and corruption against the background of the 2011 uprisings, it will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Middle Eastern Studies. The book also addresses major debates in comparative politics and political sociology by offering ‘networks of dependency’ as an interdisciplinary conceptual approach that can ‘travel’ across place and time. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of illustrations 8 Acknowledgements 9 List of contributors 11 Introduction: Networks of dependency, a research perspective 14 Recent literature on clientelism and patronage in the MENA region 16 Networks of dependency as a research perspective 20 Outline of the book 24 Conclusion 26 Bibliography 26 PART I: Conceptualising privilege and dependency in the MENA region 30 1. Multi-layered dependency: Understanding the transnational dimension of favouritism in the Middle East 32 Introduction 32 From inter-personal to transnational relations: The challenge of upscaling clientelism 34 A brief recapitulation of the illicit triad: Clientelism, patronage, and corruption 35 Initial moves beyond the micro-level: Brokers, networks, and pyramids 38 Upscaling by transfer: States as patrons and clients 40 Upscaling by layering: Neopatrimonialism and rentier states 42 Clientelism’s implicit normativity: ‘Othering’ and justifications for intervention 45 Conclusion: Hybridity and power in the study of transnational networks of dependency 49 Notes 51 Bibliography 53 2. Theorising politics, patronage, and corruption in the Arab monarchies of the Gulf 60 Introduction 60 The profile and characteristics of corruption in the Gulf 61 The nature of corruption, patronage and privilege in the Gulf 63 Regime durability in the Gulf monarchies 66 The constraints on corruption and patronage in the Gulf 74 Conclusion 76 Notes 77 Bibliography 78 PART II: Patron–client relations in the Neoliberal Era 82 3. Redistributive politics, clientelism, and political patronage under the AKP 84 Introduction 84 Electoral success of the AKP: The European Union, economic voting, political patronage, and political Islam 86 Legal and institutional pillars of the new dependency networks 89 TOKİ: The supreme government apparatus that fuels the construction sector 91 Municipalities: Intermediary actors of government business relations and social policy at the local level 92 Data and methodology 94 Analysis results: Networks of dependencies and perceived indebtedness 96 TOKI . and municipal procurements as tools for consolidating electoral support: The carrot-and-stick policy 97 Conclusion 104 Notes 105 Bibliography 108 4. Cairo’s new old faces: Redrawing the map of patron–client networks against the background of the January 25 revolution and the 2015 elections 111 Introduction 111 The lesser notables strike back? 114 The mixed impact of January 25 on socio-political mobilisation 115 Electoral politics from 2011 to 2013: An overview 116 The resurgence of the ancien régime post-June 30, 2013: The case of the 2015 parliamentary elections 119 Old wine in new vessels: The post-2015 scene 121 The new ‘state’ and Mostaqbal Watan 121 Misr al-Qadima: A glimpse 123 Misr Qadima: Notables in action 125 Conclusions 126 Notes 128 Bibliography 130 5. Neoliberal reforms, protests, and enforced patron–client relations in Tunisia and Egypt 131 Patron–client relations 132 Changes in patron–client relations in Tunisia 136 Changes in patron–client relations in Egypt 143 Conclusion 150 Note 150 Bibliography 150 6. The reconfiguration of clientelism and the failure of vote buying in Lebanon 156 Conventional patron–client relations 157 Challenges to the patronage system 165 Reconfiguring patronage and new Sunni leadership after Taef 170 Conclusion 175 Notes 176 Bibliography 177 PART III: The role of brokers for networks of dependency 180 7. Centre–periphery relations and the reconfiguration of the state’s patronage networks in the Rif 182 Introduction 182 Addressing the Rif as a periphery: Patterns of interaction and resilience against the centre 184 Between dissidence and oblivion: The Rif and its elites after independence 185 The Rif in the politics of the new Makhzen: The renewal of elites from the ‘islands of reform’ 188 Popular protest in the Rif (2011–2017): A return to the centre–periphery tensions 191 Resilience and pitfalls of the state’s patronage networks in the Rif 194 Conclusion 197 Notes 197 Bibliography 200 8. Networks of dependency and governmentality in Southern Lebanon: Development and reconstruction as tools for Hezbollah’s clientelist strategies 205 Introduction 205 The reconstruction apparatus in South Lebanon: Reproducing neoliberal development and governmentality mechanisms 207 Reconstructing South Lebanon and the daily manifestation of expert intermediations 209 Reproducing power and patron–client relations: Co-opting aid for electoral gain 215 Conclusion: Clientelism as a form of governmentality? 218 Notes 219 Bibliography 220 9. Patronage and clientelism in Jordan: The monarchy and the tribes in the wake of the ‘Arab Spring’ 224 Introduction 224 Tribes and the monarchy 226 The ‘Arab Spring’ and its effects in Jordan 232 Conclusion: The tribal system and change after the ‘Arab Spring’ 236 Notes 239 Bibliography 240 Index 244