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 -- Notes -- Biblography -- Index.