The Economic Roots of Political Underdevelopment in the Middle East: A Historical Perspective

Key institutions of the pre-modern Middle Eastern economy, all grounded in Islamic law, blocked the development of democratic institutions. This talk identifies three mechanisms that played critical roles. Islam's original tax system failed to produce lasting and credible constraints on governa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Southern economic journal 2012-04, Vol.78 (4), p.1086-1095
Main Author: Kuran, Timur
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
2011 AD
Association Lecture
Civil society
Common law
Corporations
Democracy
Economic conditions
Economic history
Evaluation
Governance
Islamic law
Koran
Rule of law
Taxation
Zakat
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Key institutions of the pre-modern Middle Eastern economy, all grounded in Islamic law, blocked the development of democratic institutions. This talk identifies three mechanisms that played critical roles. Islam's original tax system failed to produce lasting and credible constraints on governance. The waqfs (Islamic trusts) founded to provide social services to designated constituencies were politically powerless. Profit-making private enterprises remained small and ephemeral, hindering the formation of stable coalitions capable of bargaining with the state. The last two mechanisms jointly delayed the rise of a civil society able to provide the checks and balances essential to democratic rule.
ISSN:0038-4038
DOI:10.4284/0038-4038-78.4.1086