Democracy-building efforts from the early 1990s on have funneled
billions of dollars into nongovernmental organizations across the
developing world, with the U.S. administration of George W. Bush leading
the charge since 2001. But are many such "civil society" initiatives
fatally flawed? Focusing on the Palestinian West Bank and the Arab
world, Barriers to Democracy mounts a powerful challenge to the core
tenet of civil society initiatives: namely, that public participation in
private associations necessarily yields the sort of civic engagement
that, in turn, sustains effective democratic institutions. Such
assertions tend to rely on evidence from states that are democratic to
begin with. Here, Amaney Jamal investigates the role of civic
associations in promoting democratic attitudes and behavioral patterns
in contexts that are less than democratic.
Jamal argues that, in state-centralized environments, associations can
just as easily promote civic qualities vital to authoritarian
citizenship--such as support for the regime in power. Thus, any
assessment of the influence of associational life on civic life must
take into account political contexts, including the relationships among
associations, their leaders, and political institutions.
Barriers to Democracy both builds on and critiques the multifaceted
literature that has emerged since the mid-1990s on associational life
and civil society. By critically examining associational life in the
West Bank during the height of the Oslo Peace Process (1993-99), and
extending her findings to Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan, Jamal provides
vital new insights into a timely issue.
