TY - BOOK ID - 78644959 TI - Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco PY - 2018 SN - 0231545010 9780231545013 9780231183581 0231183585 PB - New York, NY DB - UniCat KW - Municipal government KW - Decentralization in government KW - Centralization in government KW - Devolution in government KW - Government centralization KW - Government decentralization KW - Government devolution KW - Political science KW - Central-local government relations KW - Federal government KW - Local government KW - Public administration KW - Cities and towns KW - City government KW - Municipal administration KW - Municipal reform KW - Municipalities KW - Urban politics KW - Metropolitan government KW - Municipal corporations KW - Government KW - Jordan KW - Morocco KW - Politics and government. KW - Politics and government KW - Municipal government - Jordan KW - Decentralization in government - Jordan KW - Municipal government - Morocco KW - Decentralization in government - Morocco KW - Jordan - Politics and government KW - Morocco - Politics and government KW - Political systems KW - Theory of the state UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:78644959 AB - In recent years, authoritarian states in the Middle East and North Africa have faced increasing international pressure to decentralize political power. Decentralization is presented as a panacea that will foster good governance and civil society, helping citizens procure basic services and fight corruption. Two of these states, Jordan and Morocco, are monarchies with elected parliaments and recent experiences of liberalization. Morocco began devolving certain responsibilities to municipal councils decades ago, while Jordan has consistently followed a path of greater centralization. Their experiences test such assumptions about the benefits of localism.Janine A. Clark examines why Morocco decentralized while Jordan did not and evaluates the impact of their divergent paths, ultimately explaining how authoritarian regimes can use decentralization reforms to consolidate power. Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco argues that decentralization is a tactic authoritarian regimes employ based on their coalition strategies to expand their base of support and strengthen patron-client ties. Clark analyzes the opportunities that decentralization presents to local actors to pursue their interests and lays out how municipal-level figures find ways to use reforms to their advantage. In Morocco, decentralization has resulted not in greater political inclusivity or improved services, but rather in the entrenchment of pro-regime elites in power. The main Islamist political party has also taken advantage of these reforms. In Jordan, decentralization would undermine the networks that benefit elites and their supporters. Based on extensive fieldwork, Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco is an important contribution to Middle East studies and political science that challenges our understanding of authoritarian regimes' survival strategies and resilience. ER -