Citation: Maher, Hamoud (2023) ‘Introduction: The Political Economy of Authoritarianism in the Arab Region’, Rowaq Arabi 28 (1), pp. 1-5, DOI: 10.53833/DGHZ7154
In the field of political economy, opposing scholars on the left and the right agree on the fact that peoples of the Arab region are among the most exploited in the world. On one hand, a Marxist approach would argue that ‘accumulation by dispossession’ is at a peak in historical terms. Ruling elites of the region, whether civilian or military, have honed the practice of accumulating wealth (directly and indirectly) through violent means from the hands of the people, who by the day are becoming increasingly impoverished and deprived of their rights. On the other hand, a ‘free market’ approach, whether classical, neoclassical or neoliberal, would also argue that ‘cronyism’ is at a historical peak. And again in other words, the elites are deeply involved in economic corruption that is both making the poor poorer and harming capitalism itself.