Despite its authoritarian political structure, Egypt's government has held competitive, multi-party parliamentary elections for more than 30 years. This book argues that, rather than undermining the durability of the Mubarak regime, competitive parliamentary elections ease important forms of distributional conflict, particularly conflict over access to spoils. In a comprehensive examination of the distributive consequences of authoritarian elections in Egypt, Lisa Blaydes examines the triadic relationship between Egypt's ruling regime, the rent-seeking elite that supports the regime, and the ordinary citizens who participate in these elections. She describes why parliamentary candidates finance campaigns to win seats in a legislature that lacks policymaking power, as well as why citizens engage in the costly act of voting in such a context.

This book examines the meaning of elections in authoritarian Egypt.

About the Author
Lisa Blaydes is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stanford University. Her work has appeared previously in International Organization, the Middle East Journal, World Politics and other journals. The dissertation on which this book is based received the 2009 Gabriel Almond Award for best dissertation in the field of comparative politics from the American Political Science Association. Blaydes received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2008. From 2008 to 2010 she was an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies.

Reviews
'... the book is well written, thought provoking and insightful ... [it] provides the reader with a framework through which to analyse the 2011/12 Egyptian parliamentary elections and is a building block for assessing Egypt without Mubrak.' Rebecca Young Greven, Political Studies Review



Book Information
ISBN 9781107617018
Author Lisa Blaydes
Format Paperback
Page Count 294
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 450g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 153mm * 20mm