After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition
How differing forms of repression shape the outcomes of democratic transitions

In the wake of the Arab Spring, newly empowered factions in Tunisia and Egypt vowed to work together to establish democracy. In Tunisia, political elites passed a new constitution, held parliamentary elections, and demonstrated the strength of their democracy with a peaceful transfer of power. Yet in Egypt, unity crumbled due to polarization among elites. Presenting a new theory of polarization under authoritarianism, After Repression reveals how polarization and the legacies of repression led to these substantially divergent political outcomes.

Drawing on original interviews and a wealth of new historical data, Elizabeth Nugent documents polarization among the opposition in Tunisia and Egypt prior to the Arab Spring, tracing how different kinds of repression influenced the bonds between opposition groups. She demonstrates how widespread repression created shared political identities and decreased polarization—such as in Tunisia—while targeted repression like that carried out against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt led opposition groups to build distinct identities that increased polarization among them. This helps explain why elites in Tunisia were able to compromise, cooperate, and continue on the path to democratic consolidation while deeply polarized elites in Egypt contributed to the rapid reentrenchment of authoritarianism.

Providing vital new insights into the ways repression shapes polarization, After Repression helps to explain what happened in the turbulent days following the Arab Spring and illuminates the obstacles to democratic transitions around the world.

"1136580252"
After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition
How differing forms of repression shape the outcomes of democratic transitions

In the wake of the Arab Spring, newly empowered factions in Tunisia and Egypt vowed to work together to establish democracy. In Tunisia, political elites passed a new constitution, held parliamentary elections, and demonstrated the strength of their democracy with a peaceful transfer of power. Yet in Egypt, unity crumbled due to polarization among elites. Presenting a new theory of polarization under authoritarianism, After Repression reveals how polarization and the legacies of repression led to these substantially divergent political outcomes.

Drawing on original interviews and a wealth of new historical data, Elizabeth Nugent documents polarization among the opposition in Tunisia and Egypt prior to the Arab Spring, tracing how different kinds of repression influenced the bonds between opposition groups. She demonstrates how widespread repression created shared political identities and decreased polarization—such as in Tunisia—while targeted repression like that carried out against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt led opposition groups to build distinct identities that increased polarization among them. This helps explain why elites in Tunisia were able to compromise, cooperate, and continue on the path to democratic consolidation while deeply polarized elites in Egypt contributed to the rapid reentrenchment of authoritarianism.

Providing vital new insights into the ways repression shapes polarization, After Repression helps to explain what happened in the turbulent days following the Arab Spring and illuminates the obstacles to democratic transitions around the world.

35.0 In Stock
After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition

After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition

by Elizabeth R. Nugent
After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition

After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition

by Elizabeth R. Nugent

Paperback

$35.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

How differing forms of repression shape the outcomes of democratic transitions

In the wake of the Arab Spring, newly empowered factions in Tunisia and Egypt vowed to work together to establish democracy. In Tunisia, political elites passed a new constitution, held parliamentary elections, and demonstrated the strength of their democracy with a peaceful transfer of power. Yet in Egypt, unity crumbled due to polarization among elites. Presenting a new theory of polarization under authoritarianism, After Repression reveals how polarization and the legacies of repression led to these substantially divergent political outcomes.

Drawing on original interviews and a wealth of new historical data, Elizabeth Nugent documents polarization among the opposition in Tunisia and Egypt prior to the Arab Spring, tracing how different kinds of repression influenced the bonds between opposition groups. She demonstrates how widespread repression created shared political identities and decreased polarization—such as in Tunisia—while targeted repression like that carried out against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt led opposition groups to build distinct identities that increased polarization among them. This helps explain why elites in Tunisia were able to compromise, cooperate, and continue on the path to democratic consolidation while deeply polarized elites in Egypt contributed to the rapid reentrenchment of authoritarianism.

Providing vital new insights into the ways repression shapes polarization, After Repression helps to explain what happened in the turbulent days following the Arab Spring and illuminates the obstacles to democratic transitions around the world.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691203058
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 09/01/2020
Series: Princeton Studies in Political Behavior , #15
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Elizabeth R. Nugent is assistant professor of political science at Yale University. Twitter @ernugent

Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xi

Acknowledgments xiii

A Note on Translation and Transliteration xvii

Part I Theoretical Perspectives

1 Introduction 3

2 A Theory of Polarization in Authoritarian Regimes 36

Part II Repertoires of Repression

3 The Historical Origins of Authoritarian Repression 59

4 Targeted and Widespread Repression in Authoritarian Regimes 91

Part III Repression, Identity, and Polarization

5 Repression and Polarization in Tunisia, 1987-2010 129

6 Repression and Polarization in Egypt, 1981-2011 160

7 Identity and Polarization in the Lab 189

Part IV After Authoritarianism

8 Polarization during Democratic Transitions 207

9 Conclusion 248

Appendix 273

Bibliography 279

Index 293

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In this spectacular book on the psychological legacies of repression, Elizabeth Nugent marshals a breathtaking combination of observational and experimental evidence from North Africa to explain why some fledgling democracies are able to transcend discord and cement participatory politics while in others, pitched ideological battles yield authoritarian renewal. A towering achievement and a vital contribution to the comparative study of democratization."—Tarek Masoud, Harvard University

"Elizabeth Nugent has written an instant classic. Scholars of democratic transitions will no longer be able to downplay the importance of either repressive legacies or psychological mechanisms after reading Nugent's impressive account."—Dan Slater, University of Michigan

"Compelling. Nugent delves deeply into the microfoundations of regime transitions, presenting a novel and important theory about the enduring effects of repression under authoritarian rule on the outcomes of democratic transitions."—Melani Cammett, author of Compassionate Communalism: Welfare and Sectarianism in Lebanon

"After Repression provides an original and persuasive argument about how repressive strategies under dictatorship affect politics and stability after democratic transitions. This excellent book has important big-picture implications for thinking about the stability of new democracies."—Rory Truex, author of Making Autocracy Work: Representation and Responsiveness in Modern China

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews