Businessmen in Arms: How the Military and Other Armed Groups Profit in the MENA Region

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Description

The Arab Uprisings have brought renewed attention to the role of the military in the MENA region, where they are either the backbone of regime power or a crucial part of patronage networks in political systems. This collection of essays from international experts examines the economic interests of armed actors ranging from military businesses in Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen to retired military officers economic endeavors and the web of funding of non-state armed groups in Syria and Libya. Due to the combined power of business and arms, the military often manages to incorporate or quell competing groups and thus, to revert achievements of revolutionary movements.

Reviews

The first truly comparative analysis of the political economy of armed forces in the MENA, this fine collection reveals militarizations widespread, profound and devastating consequences for the regions development. -- Robert Springborg, professor (ret.) of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School
Armed forces in the Middle East and North Africa have become industrial, agricultural and commercial enterprises as much as they are instruments of political coercion and national defense, yet we know very little about the dynamics and mechanics of military-run businesses across the region. This collection of conceptually informed, up-to-date surveys raises the bar for scholarship on the economics of military governance from Libya to Pakistan, Turkey to Yemen. Recognized experts who have undertaken path-breaking fieldwork offer factual information and interpretive insights that can be found nowhere else. -- Fred H. Lawson, author of Global Security Watch Syria

Author Bio

Elke Grawert is a political scientist and senior researcher at Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC). She teaches at the Institute of Political Science and Sociology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, Bonn, Germany. Zeinab Abul-Magd is an associate professor of Middle Eastern history at Oberlin College and the American University in Cairo. Contributors: smet Aka, assistant professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Yldz Technical University, Turkey. Atta El-Battahani, professor of political science, University of Khartoum, Sudan, and Senior Advisor for International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in Sudan. Philippe Droz-Vincent, professor of political science and international relations, Sciences-Po Grenoble, France. Kevan Harris, sociologist and associate director at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, Princeton University. Shana Marshall, associate director of the Institute for Middle East Studies, George Washington University. Adam C. Seitz, senior research associate for Middle East Studies at the Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA. Ayesha Siddiqa, independent social scientist based in Pakistan. The first Pakistan fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, she also served with the Pakistan Navy as Director of Naval Research. Sherifa Zuhur, senior analyst at the Middle East Desk for Wikistrat and associate editor of the Review of Middle East Studies for Contemporary Conflicts and Systems.