Absolutism and the Resilience of Monarchy in the Middle East
Author(s)
Anderson, Lisa
Abstract
Existing monarchies in the Middle East are the historical result of British imperial policy and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Their resilience in the 20th century is due to the monarchy’s functional role in the early stages of state formation, similar to the roles played by the European monarchies in European nation-building in the age of absolutism. Since each monarchy was formed in the 20th century, cultural explanations for their resilience are false because their lineages are not long enough nor are they traditional by Middle Eastern standards.
