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| Volume XIV, Winter 2007, Number 4 |
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ABSTRACT
The Unchanging Politics of North Africa
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| John P. Entelis |
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Dr. Entelis is professor of political science at Fordham University.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Never has this cliché been more appropriate than when applied to the politics of contemporary North Africa. Despite the use of democratic discourse and select application of pluralistic practices, the reality of power and politics in the Maghreb remains as it has been since independence: domination by state authority at the expense of individual rights and civil liberties. Civil society remains on the defensive, challenged by an ever-manipulative centralized apparatus using its multiple sources of economic, bureaucratic and coercive powers to maintain its hegemony, notwithstanding the transformative character of the post-Cold War era.
While differences in governing styles distinguish each of the four Maghrebi states, the fundamentals of power and the mechanisms of control remain unchanged. The rule of law is virtually nonexistent, separation of powers is a chimera, pluralistic politics is a sham, competitive elections are severely constrained, and individual liberties are continuously under threat of usurpation, compromise or elimination. As much as the United States promotes a uniformly positive image of these states as "moderate" if not "democratic," the reality is that American support, whether through security arrangements, military assistance and/or foreign aid, serves to further ensconce these elite-dominated authoritarian orders at the expense of civil society, a condition that angers an already deeply alienated mass public whose daily frustrations are often directed at the "far enemy" (the United States) as much as the "near enemy" (local authorities).
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