Steve L. Monroe, "Mirages of Reform: The Politics of Elite Protectionism in the Arab World" (Cornell UP, 2025)

Aug 19, 2025

Steve L. Monroe, an Assistant Professor of Political Science, explores the deep-rooted issues of elite protectionism in the Arab world. He reveals how geopolitical ties and social networks distort trade policies, leading to ineffective neoliberal reforms. Monroe discusses the deceptive nature of these reforms, particularly in Jordan, where relationships with global powers influence policy changes. He also examines the challenges faced by industrialists in navigating these political dynamics, shedding light on the complex interplay between state power and economic liberalization.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Paper Reforms Often Lack Real Trade Impact

Many industries in the Arab world appear liberalized on paper but do not experience greater trade integration in practice.
Formal neoliberal policies often fail to translate into actual increases in international trade.

INSIGHT

Connected Industries Get Deceptive Reform

Industries with stronger social ties to policymakers receive more extensive trade-policy reform on paper.
Yet those same socially connected industries remain insulated through informal protections that block real competition.

INSIGHT

Neopatrimonial Protection Undermines Liberalization

Informal, illegal protection like tax evasion and noncompetitive procurement shields connected industrialists from competition.
These neopatrimonial practices sustain protectionism despite formal neoliberal policies.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In Mirages of Reform: The Politics of Elite Protectionism in the Arab World (Cornell UP, 2025), Steve L. Monroe argues that geopolitics and social connections between state and capital underpin the Arab world's uneven trade policies. Despite decades of international pressure, neoliberal trade policy reform in the Arab world has been varied, selective, and often ineffective. Neoliberal trade policies have not deepened international trade in many of the region's markets. This book explains why.

When the region's regimes have strong support from global powers and strong social connections to the industrial elite, they engage in extensive but deceptive trade policy reform. Behind an edifice of neoliberal trade policies, neopatrimonial forms of protectionism like tax evasion and noncompetitive procurement shield the socially connected from international competition and obstruct actual trade liberalization. Industrialists are less trustful of regime promises of neopatrimonial protectionism after reform when they have weak social connections to their regime and their regime has low support from global powers. They are more likely to defend existing protectionist policies under these conditions, resulting in less trade policy reform.

Drawing on interviews, firm- and industry-level data, and evidence from Jordan to Morocco, Mirages of Reform reveals how international and domestic factors interact to shape the Arab world's rugged trade policy terrain. Insightful and well researched, this book imparts important lessons and warnings about the repercussions of economic reform in the region.

Steve L. Monroe is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. He is a scholar of development, with a primary focus on the Arab world. Monroe's scholarship examines two of the region's most pressing developmental challenges: limited economic integration, and gender inequality.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics