Within the democratisation literature, opposition unity is widely seen as an important requisite to successfully pressure authoritarian rulers into liberalising reforms and in bringing about democratic change. Taking up on this theme, this book examines the myriad ways in which opposition groups across the Arab world have sought to coalesce into broader reform coalitions at the local, national and transnational levels to challenge authoritarian incumbents and their policies. Drawing on original case studies from the region, it sheds light on the diverse nature and objectives of these reform coalitions, and explores the challenges opposition groups face in Arab states in uniting behind a common reform agenda and in driving this agenda forward. Be they electoral pacts, local government coalitions, broader opposition alliances or networks of resistance, this book demonstrates that, although widespread, the record of collective opposition activism in the Arab world is mixed, with many reform coalitions lacking the necessary cohesion and mass appeal to effectively mobilise for change.

This book was originally published as a special issue of British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

Contents

1. Mapping Opposition Cooperation in the Arab World: From Single-Issue Coalitions to Transnational Networks Hendrik Jan Kraetzschmar 2. Left - Islamist Opposition Cooperation in Morocco Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer 3. ‘Will the real Tunisian opposition please stand up? Opposition Coordination Failures under Authoritarianism’ Francesco Cavatorta and Rikke Hostrup Haugbolle 4. The Joint Meeting Parties and the Politics of Opposition in Yemen Vincent Durac 5. Islamist-Secular Cooperation: Accounting for the Syrian Exception Thomas Pierret 6. Political Opposition and Reform Coalitions in Jordan Curtis R. Ryan 7. Contentious Politics in Bahrain: Opposition Cooperation between Regime Manipulation and Youth Radicalisation Marc Valeri 8. Coalitions for Dispossession and Networkistance? Land, Politics and Agrarian Reform in Egypt Ray Bush 9. The Transnational and the Local: Egyptian Activists and Transnational Protest Networks Maha Abdel-Rahman 10. Opposition Cooperation and Uprisings in the Arab World Ellen Lust

Author Bio

Dr. Hendrik Jan Kraetzschmar is Lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Leeds. His current research focuses on the nature of electoral and party politics in the Middle East and North Africa.