In the Guise of Democracy: Governance in Contemporary Egypt (Hardback)
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|Short Description for In the Guise of Democracy The central issue addressed here is how an authoritarian system of government with unlimited presidential powers is maintained alongside multi-party legislative elections. The argument is that the democratic institutions pose little challenge to, and are instruments of, the president.
Full description- Publisher: Ithaca Press
- Published: 01 November 2000
- Format: Hardback 224 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Political Science & Theory | Comparative Politics | Constitution: Government & The State | Political Leaders & Leadership | Political Structures: Democracy | Political Structures: Totalitarianism & Dictatorship
- ISBN 13: 9780863722547 ISBN 10: 0863722547
Full description for In the Guise of Democracy
The central issue addressed in this book is how an authoritarian system of government with personalised, unlimited presidential powers is maintained alongside multi-party legislative elections. The argument is that the democratic institutions are such that they pose little challenge to the president and are primarily instruments of presidential control. The authoritarian rule which was established in Egypt by Nasser in the early 1950s appears to have been preserved to date, not simply as a result of the immense powers which Nasser vested in the office of the presidency, but, more subtly, as a result of the clientistic co-option strategy adopted by his successors, Sadat and Mubarak. In this study May Kassem examines the functions of the non-competitive party system in contemporary Egypt and raises a number of issues that cast doubt on its durability. Her firsthand fieldwork combined with sound analytical judgement reveals the true nature and likely course of democratisation in the second largest country in the Middle East .
