ABSTRACT
How, and in what ways, does the rural–urban divide affect political parties? This chapter analyzes this topic, discussing the histories of numerous political parties across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It centres on party organisation (i.e. party building) and party ideology (i.e. party dogma). First, the chapter presents a theoretical framework, explaining how scholars have hypothesised that the rural–urban divide affects political parties. Second, it illustrates this framework’s strengths, focusing on North Africa’s political parties. The third section shows the framework’s shortcomings. It concentrates on the smaller Gulf sheikhdoms, notably Kuwait. Originally, the rural–urban divide influenced Kuwait’s proto-party system, but these dynamics have waned over time and been subsumed under other political phenomena. By pairing one section explaining the rural–urban theoretical framework with two sections showing how it manifests in the real party politics of MENA countries, this chapter highlights the advantages and limitations of this approach.
