Table Of ContentROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK ON ELECTIONS
IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
This Handbook analyzes elections in the Middle East and North Africa and seeks to overcome
normative assumptions about the linkage between democracy and elections.
Structured around five main themes, contributors provide chapters detailing how their case
studies illustrate specific themes within individual country settings. Authors disentangle the
various aspects informing elections as a process in the Middle East by taking into account the
different contexts where the electoral contest occurs and placing these into a broader comparative
context. The findings from this Handbook connect with global electoral developments, empirically
demonstrating that there is very little that is “exceptional” about the Middle East and North
Africa when it comes to electoral contests.
Routledge Handbook on Elections in the Middle East and North Africa is the first book to examine
all aspects related to elections in the Middle East and North Africa. Through such comprehensive
coverage and systematic analysis, it will be a key resource for students and scholars interested in
politics, elections, and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa.
Francesco Cavatorta is Professor in the Department of Political Science, Université Laval,
Québec, Canada. He is currently working on a collaborative project examining political parties
and coalition governments in the Middle East and North Africa.
Valeria Resta is Guest Lecturer in the Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi
University, Milan, Italy. She is currently working on a collaborative project examining political
parties and coalition governments in the Middle East and North Africa.
ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK ON
ELECTIONS IN THE MIDDLE
EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Edited by Francesco Cavatorta and Valeria Resta
Designed cover image: Majid
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Francesco Cavatorta & Valeria
Resta; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Francesco Cavatorta & Valeria Resta to be identified as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-1-032-02874-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-02884-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-18562-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003185628
Typeset in Bembo
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
CONTENTS
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Notes on Contributors xiv
1 Elections in the Middle East and North Africa 1
Francesco Cavatorta and Valeria Resta
PART 1
Elections in authoritarian settings 11
2 The functions of authoritarian elections: Symbolism, safety valves, and
clientelism 13
Matt Buehler and Calista Boyd
3 Elections and the bureaucratic management of plurality in Algeria 26
Thomas Serres
4 Parliamentary elections under Mohammed VI’s reign (2002–2021) 39
Inmaculada Szmolka
5 Electoral districts in Jordan: An analytical study 54
Mohammed Torki Bani Salameh
6 Elections in Mauritania: The role of the military 66
Raquel Ojeda-Garcia and Samara López-Ruiz
v
Contents
7 “Only me”: Repression, legal engineering, and
state-managed elections in Sisi’s Egypt 78
Hesham Sallam
PART 2
Elections in democratic and quasi-democratic settings 95
8 Israel’s electoral system and political instability: Electoral fragmentation,
party unity, and the prime minister’s political leadership 97
Maoz Rosenthal
9 When free and fair elections are not enough: Party fragmentation and
unaccountability in Tunisia 109
Ester Sigillò
10 Pre-electoral coalitions in Iraq: The case of the Communist–Sadrist alliance 121
Paride Turlione
11 Elections and democratic backsliding in Turkey 134
Sebnem Gumuscu
12 From one-sect one-vote to one-man one-vote? Demands for reforming
the electoral system in Lebanon 147
Rosita Di Peri
13 Competition under systemic religious constraints: Presidential elections
in Iran 160
Pejman Abdolmohammadi
PART 3
Rules, institutions, and the infrastructure of elections 173
14 The management of elections in Tunisia: The Independent High
Authority for Elections 175
Mohamed Chafik Sarsar and Nidhal Mekki
15 Partial and non-partisan: The municipal council elections in Saudi Arabia 187
Hendrik Kraetzschmar
16 Elections in the Arab World: International monitoring and assistance 201
Pietro Marzo
vi
Contents
17 The independence referendum in Kurdistan 214
Sara Dilzar Mustafa
18 Gender quotas, constituency service, and women’s empowerment:
Lessons from Algeria 222
Meriem Aissa
PART 4
Elections and campaigning 235
19 A minority goes to the polls: Arab voters in Israel 237
Arik Rudnitzky
20 Elections in Occupied Palestine: Control, resistance and contention 251
Francesco Saverio Leopardi
21 Electoral campaigns in post–Ben Ali’s Tunisia: Electoral expertise and
renewed clientelism 263
Déborah Perez-Galan
22 Digital strategies of Tunisian political parties: The case of the 2018
municipal elections 277
Bader Ben Mansour
23 The role of media in electoral campaigns in the pandemic era: the case
of Kuwait 292
Geoffrey Martin
24 Opposition coordination under a competitive authoritarian regime: the
case of the 2019 local elections in Turkey 310
Berk Esen and Hakan Yavuzyılmaz
25 Polarisation and elections under competitive authoritarianism: The case
of Turkey after 2013 329
Şebnem Yardımcı Geyikçi
26 From ballots to bullets: Libyan 2012 elections as the origin of the
unachieved transition 342
Chiara Loschi
vii
Contents
PART 5
Voting behaviour 353
27 The rationality of Arab voters: why and how people vote in non-
democratic regimes across the MENA region 355
Valeria Resta
28 Clientelism in MENA elections 366
Miquel Pellicer and Eva Wegner
29 The consequences of Arab parties’ divide and quest for power in Israeli
politics on Arab voters 378
Sawsan Khalife
30 Class and religious cleavages: the case of Lebanon 387
Joseph Daher
31 Ideology and Electoral Choices in Arab Elections 401
Enea Fiore
32 The Arab Generation Z: From Disillusionment to Pragmatism 412
Dina Shehata and Abdalmajeed Abualela
Index 429
viii
FIGURES
1.1 V-Dem Electoral Component Index, 2021 3
4.1 Perception of Electoral Integrity (PEI) in Middle East and North
African countries 44
4.2 Electoral and parliamentary parties/coalitions in Morocco 45
4.3 Electoral participation in the election of the Moroccan House of
Representatives (2002–2021) 46
4.4 Parliamentary representation of the main Moroccan political parties
(percentage of seats) 47
8.1 Effective number of parliamentary parties, 1948–2021 102
11.1 Electoral and liberal democracy in Turkey, 2000–2021 139
11.2 Electoral fairness in Turkey, 2000–2021 142
19.1 Breakdown of the Arab vote in Knesset elections, 1949–1973 241
19.2 Breakdown of the Arab vote in Knesset elections, 1977–1999 245
19.3 Breakdown of the Arab vote in Knesset elections, 2003–2021 248
22.1 Strategic objectives assigned to digital campaigns (inspired by Giasson
et al., 2018, 2019) 281
22.2 Distribution of strategic objectives by political parties 282
23.1 Media sample topics 298
23.2 What is the role of government media in elections? 298
23.3 What is the most important medium for campaigning? 299
23.4 Was the quality of media content by candidates better than in previous
elections? 300
23.5 Overall, how would you rate the quality of media content in 2020? 301
23.6 How would you rate the quality of candidates? 301
23.7 What were the most important topics in the election? 302
23.8 What are the most important topics concerning corruption? 303
23.9 Does media influence your voting preferences? 304
23.10 What does influence your voting preferences? 304
ix
