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Elite conflict, colonialism and democracy in the Middle East

Hosted by the Department of Economic History

In-person and online public event (Old Theatre, Old Building)

Speaker

Dr Mohamed Saleh

Chair

Professor Eric Schneider

Why has democracy struggled to thrive in the Global South?

Mohamed Saleh develops a new economic history of the Middle East that explains the economic roots of authoritarianism in the region. He theoretically and empirically investigates how demands for democratisation emerge from intra-elite conflicts in an agrarian economy, despite the lack of an industrial bourgeoisie that was crucial in the Global North, and how elite politics shift with colonialism, the intrusion of industrial capital, and postcolonial nationalist military coups.

Meet our speaker and chair

Mohamed Saleh is Associate Professor in the Department of Economic History at LSE. He is also a Research Affiliate in Economic History at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Dr Saleh is a British Academy Mid-Career Fellow in 2024-25. His primary fields of interest lie at the intersection of economic history, political economy, and development economics. Dr Saleh's research has been published in leading economics and economic history journals, such as Econometrica, Journal of Economic History, and Explorations in Economic History.

Eric Schneider (@ericbschneider) is Professor of Economic History in the Department of Economic History at LSE. He is currently conducting research on three broad topics in the history of health and historical economic demography.

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This public event is free and open to all. This event will be a hybrid event, with an in-person audience and an online audience.

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For the online event: Registration for this event via LSE Live will open in mid April.

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