ABSTRACT
The Arab world is home to a distinct and sophisticated political tradition that is coming to terms with the huge degree of political, economic and social change that has swept through the region since the demise of the Ottoman Empire. This book has examined one aspect of this tradition, namely the widespread phenomenon of dynastic succession in Arab political systems. Increasingly, the process of political succession is being played out in the context of the growing importance of national constitutions and governments’ attempts to embody succession in those instruments. Succession is a major concern for both republican and monarchic forms of government and the issue raises a number of significant areas of common ground that underlie the two types of system. A starting premise is that, as in political systems elsewhere, political succession in the Arab world is ultimately a political act and, while subject to intense public speculation, is decided largely along informal lines behind closed doors. A distinctive feature of the Arab system is, however, that the groups making the decisions about who is to rule tend to regard the issue as a family matter. There is a limited connection to or input from the populations of the various countries. Normally, popular input is limited to the opportunity to endorse the decisions, either in the traditional tribal manner according to the Saudi Basic Law or by means of a tightly scripted election as occurs in countries like Syria and Egypt.
