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Patrimonial Leaders
1-Traditional Rulers
Resisted change and became its victims
Ex. King Farouq of Egypt, Sultan Said of
Oman, King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud of S. Arabia, King Idris of Libya,
King Mohamed VI of Morocco.
Read and remember: In page 132, there is a
detailed discussion of Sultan Said's reactionary policies. In page
133, there is a discussion of King Abdul Aziz's patrimonial /
patriarchical policies.
2-Modernizing Rulers:
Keep in mind modernization is not equal to
political development or democratization. Ataturk of Turkey, Gamal
Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Bin Billa of Algeria.
Patrimonialism
is a term originated by Max Weber. He used it to
describe a system of rule based on administrative
and military personnel, who were responsible only to
the ruler. Nathan Quimpo defines patrimonialism as
"a type of rule in which the
ruler does not distinguish between personal and
public patrimony and treats matters and resources of
state as his personal affair."
There are innumerable examples of
patrimonial states. Indonesia, under the Suharto
administration, is often cited as being patrimonial
in its political-economy. The Philippines under
Ferdinand Marcos is another oft-cited example.
Others have described the Mafia as having
patrimonial tendencies.
Julia Adams, a sociologist at the
University of Michigan, argues for increased
application of the term. She discusses the origins
and etymology of the term in Max Weber's work:
In
Weber’s Economy and Society, patrimonialism
mainly refers to forms of government that are
based on rulers’ family-households. The ruler’s
authority is personal-familial, and the
mechanics of the household are the model for
political administration.
The concept of
patrimonialism captures a distinctive style
of regulation and administration that contrasts
with Weber’s ideal-typical
rational-legal bureaucracy, a better
known concept... Rational-legal bureaucracies
are manned by impersonal rulers and
substitutable actors; they boast clear-cut
spheres of competence, ordered hierarchies of
personnel and procedures, and an institutional
separation of the 'private' and the
'official'... Weber likens [bureaucracy] to a
'machine' ...
Patrimonialism is more like a
manor house...
with, one would suppose, particularly extensive
grounds. Patrimonial rulers cite 'age-old rules
and powers' – sacred tradition – as the basis of
their political authority. Their power is
discretionary, and the line between persons and
offices notional... ...For Weber... patriarchy
is at the heart of patrimonialism. Their
linguistic connection – 'patrimony' derives from
the Latin patrimonium for paternal estate – is
also conceptual and sociological. 'Patrimonial
domination is thus a special case of patriarchal
domination,' Weber writes, 'domestic authority
decentralized through assignment of land and
sometimes of equipment to sons of the house or
other dependents'...
I-
Ataturk of Turkey
Turkey Profile
a. Ataturk's Road to power:
Crumbling Ottoman Empireè
educated middle-class unsatisfiedè
Sultan Abdul Hamid's constitutional reforms were too little and too
late è Ottomans defeated
in WWI èTurkey was in a
complete chaos è
Ataturk appeared as a hero with his army to unite the country and
force the British, Russians and Greeks outèin
1922-24 abolition of the sultanate, establishment of the republic,
the abolishment of caliphate.
b. Ataturk in power (15 years):
1-
Reforms in administration,
education, and law.
2-
Charismatic leadership.
3-
He strengthened the political role
of the army as the defender of the secularist system. The military
intervened in 1960, 1971, and 1980.
4-
Institutionalization of his
leadership in the Republican People's Party.
5-
Autocrat who put all his opponents
in jail, exile or execution.
6-
Not devout Muslim and suspicious of
the role of religion.
7-
Tried to maintain the class
structure except for undermining ulama and expanding the role of
professional middle class.
8-
He died in 1938.
c. Ataturk's successor: Inonu (35 years):
1-
Was perceived as both autocrat
(like Attaturk) and liberalizer at the same time.
2-
Yet he allowed the Democratic party
to win elections and form government.
d. In 1981: The military intervened
against the Islamist government. The military junta,
institutionalized as the National Security Council (NSC), designed a
"constitution", which came into effect in November 1982. The main
preoccupation of the framers of the 1982 Constitution was to
consolidate the secularist-Kemalist characteristic of the regime and
to narrow the space for political competition and civil society.
Watch this documentary on the political role of the Army.
Another one (just the first two minutes).
The 1982 Constitution strengthened the position of the military
and gave it more prominent institutional role in the political
arena. According to the original article 118:
The National Security Council shall be composed of
the Prime
Minister, the Chief of the General Staff, the Ministers of
National Defense, Internal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, the
Commanders of the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, and the General
Commander of the Gendarmerie, under the chairmanship of the
President of the Republic.
Depending on the particulars of the agenda, Ministers and other
persons concerned may be invited to meetings of the Council and
their views be heard.
The National
Security Council shall submit to the Council of Ministers its
views on taking decisions and ensuring necessary coordination
with regard to the formulation, establishment, and
implementation of the national security policy of the State.
The Council of Ministers shall give priority consideration to
the decisions of the National Security Council concerning
the measures that it deems necessary for the preservation of the
existence and independence of the State, the integrity and
indivisibility of the country, and the peace and security of
society. (Emphasis added)
Under pressure
from the European Union to decrease the political role of the
military the Turkish Parliament amended the constitution to
increase the number of civilians on the council and to emphasize
the advisory role of the Council. Accordingly, deputy prime
ministers and the Minister of Justice became permanent members
of the council, thus increasing the number of civilians to at
least 6 (depending on the number of deputy prime ministers)
compared to the four positions reserved for the military.
Furthermore, the phrase “The
Council of Ministers shall give priority consideration to the
decisions of the National Security Council” was replaced with “The
Council of Ministers shall evaluate decisions of the National
Security Council.”
Changes to the membership of the NSC are not likely to be enough
for decreasing the military’s political role. That goal would
require both the strengthening of civilian institution and the
redefinition of overall civil-military relations.
e. In 2002:
Erdogan, leader of the
Islamist-based Justice and Development Party (AK), became
prime minister several months after his party's landslide election
victory in November 2002.
He
had been barred from standing in those elections because of a
previous criminal conviction for reading an Islamist poem at a
political rally, an action deemed to amount to Islamist sedition and
for which he served several months in jail.
1-
In Turkey the prime minister must
also be a member of parliament. AK deputy leader Abdullah Gul took
on the premiership in the months following the elections, but with
Erdogan playing a prominent role, particularly in foreign visits.
2-
Soon after the elections changes to
the constitution paved the way for Erdogan to run for parliament in
a by-election. He was elected an MP in March 2003. Within days Gul
resigned, leaving the way clear for Erdogan to become prime
minister.
3-
For many poor Turks, he is
something of a working class hero although critics are dismissive of
what they see as his populism. From a poor background, he worked as
a street seller to help pay for an education. He attended Koranic
school before studying economics at university.
4-
As mayor of Istanbul in the mid
1990s he banned alcohol in official municipal buildings and won
popularity for improving services. In 1997 the military became
alarmed over what it saw as a threat to Turkey's secularism.
Erbakan's Welfare Party was banned and he was forced to resign.
5-
Although his new AK party has
Islamist roots Erdogan insists that it is committed to secularism,
something which the military will watch closely.
6-
He has identified EU entry as a top
priority and has promised reforms designed to bring Turkey more
closely into line with entry requirements. Erdogan has predicted
that Turkey could join in 2012 if these reforms are carried through.
In 2007, parliamentary elections brought the
Justice and Development party again to power as in hold of
parliament, government and presidency.
Turkish Pol. System According to
1982 Constitution
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