Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco

Janine A. Clark is an associate professor of political science at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Her publications include Islam, Social Welfare, and the Middle Class: Networks, Activism, and Charity in Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.Janine A. Clark is associate professor of political science at the University of Guelph. She is the author of Islam, Charity, and Activism: Middle-Class Networks and Social Welfare in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen (2004) and coeditor of Economic Liberalization, Democratization, and Civil Society in the Developing World (2000).

Steven Heydemann, Smith College:
In this carefully designed and beautifully executed investigation into trajectories of centralization and decentralization in the Middle East, Clark provides a masterful account of why Morocco and Jordan diverged in their approach to municipal politics. Her book fills a gap in research literature between accounts of authoritarian politics at the level of regimes and the far sparser literature on local-level politics. It will be of interest to scholars and students of the Middle East, comparative authoritarianism, and municipal politics. Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco is a welcome and significant contribution.

Diane Singerman, American University:
Clark’s pioneering study of municipal politics, decentralization, and democratization in Morocco and Jordan finally concentrates on the massively understudied yet critical arena of local politics. She explores whether decentralization reinforces state control, leads to elite capture, offloads social welfare costs, or allows new opposition forces to grow. The picture of Middle East politics is greatly enhanced by this exhaustively researched book.