Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-335) and index.

Arab authoritarianism : debating the dynamics and durability of nondemocratic regimes / Oliver Schlumberger -- State-society relations and opposition -- Social pacts and the persistence of authoritarianism in the Middle East / Steven Heydemann -- The management of opposition: formal structures of contestation and informal manipulation in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco / Ellen Lust-Okar -- Authoritarian opposition and the politics of challenge in Egypt / Holger Albrecht -- Islamist inclusion and regime persistence : the Moroccan win-win situation / Eva Wegner -- The regimes -- The ozymandias syndrome : questioning the stability of Middle Eastern regimes / Peter Sluglett -- Intraregime dynamics, uncertainty, and the persistence of authoritarianism in the contemporary Arab world / Fred H. Lawson -- The privatization of social services as a regime strategy : the revival of Islamic endowments (Awqaf) in Egypt / Daniela Pioppi -- State-building, liberalization from above, and political legitimacy in the Sultanate of Oman / Marc Valeri -- The economy and the polity -- Linking economic and political reform in the Middle East: the role of the bourgeoisie / Giacomo Luciani -- The political economy of regime maintenance in Egypt : linking external resources and domestic legitimation / Thomas Richter -- From political to economic actors : the changing role of Middle Eastern armies / Philippe Droz-Vincent -- The international arena -- International dimensions of Middle Eastern authoritarianism : the G8 and external efforts at political reform / Mustapha K. Sayyid -- Democracy promotion and the renewal of authoritarian rule / Eberhard Kienle -- The longevity of the House of Saud : looking outside the box / Paul Aarts.

At a March 2004 conference in Montecatini Termi, Italy, US, European, and Arabic political scientists traded views on the dynamics within and the durability of Arab authoritarianism. The 15 papers that emerged from the gathering discuss such topics as the Moroccan solution to reconciling Islamist inclusion with regime persistence, the revival of Islamic endowments (awqaf) as a regime strategy in Egypt, the changing role of Middle Eastern armies, and the longevity of the House of Saud.