Michael C. Hudson. Arab Politics: The Search for Legitimacy. Pp. xi, 434. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977. $22.50

• Author: Harry N. Howard
• Published date: 01 January 1979
• Date: 01 January 1979
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271627944100123
• Subject Matter: Articles

205

chronological

development

and

they

therefore

seem

minor,

and

unfortunately

so.

The

volume

is

a

very

fine

show-

piece

of the

varieties

of

perspective,

technique,

and

style

that

a

group

of

scholars

can

train

on

a

single

field

of

enquiry-a

useful

pedagogical

tool

if

not

the

perfect

collection

of

essays.

Two

works

on

a

single

theme-the

monograph,

published

by

a

prestigious

press

in

a

dignified

and

lasting

form,

or

the

collection

of

essays,

uneven

and

disparate,

in

its

rather

flimsy

and

slick

trade

edition?

The

essays

have

it,

for

despite

a

lack

of continuity

or

unity,

they

are

an

interesting

and

thought-provoking

group

of

papers.

Their

editors

have

demonstrated,

too,

that

with

little

loss

and

a

good

deal

more

verve,

Mendl’s

s

subject

can

be

condensed

into

a

couple

of

relatively

brief

articles.

R.

KENT

LANCASTER

Goucher

College

Baltimore

MICHAEL

C.

HUDSON.

Arab

Politics:

The

Search

for

Legitimacy.

Pp.

xi,

434.

New

Haven,

CT:

Yale

University

Press,

1977.

$22.50.

There

are

now

many

works

dealing

with

various

aspects

of

the

processes

of

change

and

modernization

in

the

Arab

world.

Professor

Hudson’s

weighty

volume

literally

covers

the

Arab

sea,

air,

and

sand

front

from

beyond

&dquo;the

shores

of

Tripoli&dquo;

to

the

Tigris-Euphrates,

the

Arab

Peninsula

and

the

Persian

Gulf.

This

is

the

first

systematic,

basic,

com-

parative

study

of

political

behavior.

The

author

draws

on

all

the

social

sciences-history,

political

science,

an-

thropology,

religion-to

illustrate

and

deepen

his

analysis.

Part

I

discusses

political

and

social

change

in

the

Arab

world

and

deals

with

the

elements

of

Arab

identity,

cultural

pluralism,

the

crisis

of

authority,

the

legacy

of

im-

perialism,

and

modernization

and

its

consequences.

Part

II

provides

a

series

of

eighteen

case

studies

of

the

politics

of

legitimation

in

the

various

Arab

States-Tunisia,

Libya,

Egypt,

Syria,

Lebanon,

and

Saudi

Arabia.

Professor

Hudson

considers

the

cur-

rent

malaise

in

Arab

politics

the

con-

sequence

of

insufficient

legitimacy

ac-

corded

by

the

people

to

their

ruling

structures,

ideologies,

and

leaders.

In

his

view,

the

basic

requirement

for

legitimacy,

or

meaningful

political

partic-

ipation,

has

not

been

met

anywhere

in

the

Arab

world

and

is

not

likely

to

be

so

in

the

near

future.

He

expects

continued

turbulence

in

Arab

politics

before

the

threshold

of

genuine

structural

legitimacy

is

reached.

But

the

solution

is

clear

enough-the

development

of

meaning-

ful

broad-based

participation

in

the

polit-

ical

process

in

accordance

with

ac-

cepted procedures

&dquo;so

that

government

will

be

more

responsive

and

responsible

to

public

opinion.&dquo;

That

is

a

very

large

order,

indeed.

Beyond

their

volatility,

Professor

Hud-

son

found

two

aspects

of

Arab

politics

both

fascinating

and

puzzling,

and

he

therefore

concentrated

his

attention

on

them.

These

were

&dquo;the

lack

of congruence

between

all-Arab

identifications

and

as-

pirations

and

the

political

realities

of

discrete

political

systems;

and

the

multiple

effects

of

rapid,

uneven

modern-

ization

on

Arab

political

culture

and

subcultures&dquo;

(p.

ix).

All

students

of

the

Middle

East

will

welcome

publication

of

this

volume,

which

should

be

read

and

pondered

by

those

who

deal

with

the

problems

of

the

Arab

world.

It

is

well-organized,

clearly

presented

and

should

help

the

reader

to

understand

Arab

politics

and

come

to

grips

with

the

grave

problems

of

the

Middle

East.

HARRY

N.

HOWARD

Middle

East

Institute

Washington

D.C.

OSCAR

J.

MARTÍNEZ.

Border

Boom

Town:

Ciudad

Juárez

Since

1848.

Pp.

xvi,

.231.

Austin,

TX:

University

of

Texas

Press,

1978.

$12.95.

Border

Boom

Town

is

more

than

a

tale

of

two

cities,

Ciudad

Juirez

and

El

Paso;

it

is

a

story

of

two

societies,

Mexico

and

the

United

States,

and

of

the

1900-mile

border

between

them.

No-