The Determinants of Political Cleavages in Jordan,Tunisia, and Yemen: An Analysis of Political Attitudes Structure in the Arab World

This article investigates the determinants of political cleavages composing the structure of political attitudes in Jordan, Tunisia, and Yemen following the Arab Spring. Further, it tests whether political cleavages carry predictive weight on ordinary citizens’ electoral choices in general elections. Using the Sixth Wave of the World Values Survey, discriminant analysis was conducted to generate the dimensionality, type, and structure of political attitudes in the three nations. Findings suggest that the structure of political attitudes in Jordan, Tunisia, and Yemen is multidimensional: the Islamic‐Secular division, a conflict along economic policy visions and an emerging divisive dimension concerning political reform. Evidence indicates that political cleavages do not possess significant predictive power in determining voters’ choice at elections booths. This research also points to the significance of social transformation processes such as modernization and globalization in causing a shift in values among ordinary citizens in the Arab World. This research argues that in countries where the effects of modernization and globalization are higher, a weakening of the Islamic‐Secular division is witnessed. This research is important since it paves the way for further empirical analysis on political ideology in the Middle East. It shatters conjectures concluding that Arab polities are only divided by a single hierarchical dimension: Islamic‐Secular. It contributes to comparative research on the dimensionality of political ideology by showing that the Arab World is similar to the industrialized world in the dimensionality, nature, and structuration of political ideology.     

The Role of Efficacy,Optimism, and Political Networks in Legislative Elections: The Case of United Arab Emirates

The purpose of the present study on political participation in United Arab Emirates is to examine the factors that motivated people to cast their vote in the legislative elections of 2011. To this end, a special questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1,800 citizens and univariate and multivariate methods were used to analyze their responses. Findings reveal that three factors motivated people to cast their vote, namely 1) their political efficacy about the legislative body, 2) their optimism about the prospects of a newly elected legislature to improve their daily lives and to aid the government's effort to enhance public services, and 3) having political networks. The study recommends further research to find out factors behind the dwindling level of electoral participation in spite of a high level of political optimism and efficacy.     

Political change in the Arab oil monarchies: from liberalization to enfranchisement

The oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf region have typically been portrayed as patriarchal autocracies characterized by traditional tribal rule that have taken on the characteristics of a modern state. The historical debate on these rentier states has centred on how their substantial oil income since the 1970s has allowed them to pacify their citizenry from making demands for enfranchisement. Power was thus firmly able to rest with the elites. Since the end of the Cold War, winds of change flamed the desire for reform and the late 1990s saw significant political changes. The empirical data indicates that this pace has increased, albeit at differential speeds, within the context of the post‐9/11 war on terror. Interestingly, this has been the case despite turmoil in Iraq and a shift to the right in Iranian politics. The fundamental drivers of reform in the Arab oil monarchies continue to be the ruling elites themselves, however. The character of the reforms does appear to be mainly liberalizing rather than democratizing, but developments in some oil monarchies suggest that this process can be viewed as an early or intermediate stage of a wider enfranchisement of civil society.     

Ideology and Television in the Eastern Arab World: 1956–1990

This article deals primarily with the relationship between ideology and television from 1956 to 1990 in the Eastern Arab world. It allows us to see what kinds of ideological ideas circulate through television, why they are constructed, and when they are being challenged. It examines why and how television promotes ideology and disseminates political messages. It takes into account different ideological perspectives. This article is a type of qualitative analysis that focuses on why governments seek to attain hegemony over television and how television has been used successfully as a tool of ideological propaganda and subservience.