Description
By (author) Rey, Matthieu
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An essential study of parliamentary politics in postwar Iraq and Syria, before the consolidation of authoritarian rule under the Ba’th Party
When Parliaments Ruled the Middle East explores three main interrelated issues to clarify what happened between 1946 and 1963 in Iraq and Syria: how and why a parliamentary system prevailed in both countries in the aftermath of the Second World War; what social effects this system triggered, and, in turn, how these changes affected the system; and finally, why the elites in both countries were unable to overcome the unrest that brought an end to both a liberal era and to a certain kind of political game.
Drawing on a vast array of sources and rich archival research in French, English, and Arabic, Matthieu Rey highlights the processes of the parliamentary system in the modern era, which are very common to post-independence countries and to any representative regime. He tackles the intersection of multifaceted political phenomena that were present in that moment in Iraq and Syria, including regular elections, the implementation of emergency law, the freedom of the press, the open expression of opinions, the formation of new political parties, frequent military coups, and the joint exercise of power by members of the old classes and reformist newcomers.
Treating this period as neither an epilogue of the liberal order nor a prelude to authoritarianism, and stressing the contingent, improvisatory aspects of political history, Rey fundamentally questions the transitional nature of the period and in doing so proposes new ways and tools of examining it.
Table of contents:
Acknowledgments
Timeline of Key Events
Introduction
The Ottoman and Mandate Roots of the
Parliamentary
System
The Advent of the Parliamentary System in the Ottoman Empire
1908–18:An Imperial Parliamentary System
Inventing New States (1920–46)
Experimenting
with
the
Parliamentary
System,
1946–49
Za‘ama and the Parliamentary System
Establishing Real Sovereignty
The 1947 Elections
1948: Calling into Question the Parliamentary Experiment
Reform
and
Change:
The
Parliamentary System
in
Iraq and Syria,
1949–54
Rearranging the Parliamentary Systems
The Impact of International Relationships
Reforming the Country
Putting theAuthoritarian Pact in Jeopardy
Two
New
Formulas
for
the
Parliamentary
System,
1954–58
The Heydays of the Parliaments
Legislative Enterprises: Reshaping Society and the Economy
Adopting Cold War Vocabulary and the Polarization of the Assemblies
The
Epilogue
to the
Parliamentary
System
Establishing a True Constitutional Order?
The End of the Parliamentary System
The
End
of the
Post-Ottoman Era
Appendices
1: Thematic Discussions in the January 1955 Session
2: Parliamentary Activity
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Review quote:
“This work is fascinating, not only for its thorough review of events and analysis of developments of political systems in Syria and Iraq but also as a potentially valuable approach for examining parliamentary life in other Arab countries.”—
Middle East Journal
“History from a novel angle: the efforts to maintain a constitutional monarchy in Iraq and a parliamentary republic in Syria.”—
Middle East Quarterly
“[A] stimulating study of parliamentary history. . . a unique contribution to the field. Rey’s book
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