Abstract
In response to the recent local and regional uprisings (such as the 2009 Green Movement in Iran, Arab uprisings of 2011, and the 2013 Gezi Protests in Turkey), Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries have refashioned 'established' authoritarian practices (such as repressive laws, imprisonment of dissidents and extra-judicial killings) and added new authoritarian practices (such as internet and spyware surveillance) to stifle dissent, neutralize opponents and prevent social mobilization. The chapter shows that MENA regimes are using a mix of historically-established practices and new authoritarian practices in conjunction with one another to form what Topak (2019; 2022) calls an "authoritarian assemblage". A case in point is the brutal murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi where Pegasus spyware surveillance is combined with extra-judicial killing. This introductory chapter draws on this and other cases from the book which involves analysis of seventeen MENA countries. Sub-headings of the chapter includes: Established Authoritarian Practices; Protests and Policing; Legalizing Authoritarian Practices; Digital Surveillance; Authoritarian Learning and Alliances; Gender and the Double-authoritarian Burden; Resistance.
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