The Struggle for Constitutional Power

Tamir Moustafa is Associate Professor of International Studies and Jarislowsky Chair in Religion and Cultural Change at Simon Fraser University. His research stands at the intersection of comparative law and courts, religion and politics,and state-society relations, all with a regional focus on the Middle East. He was the recipient of the Edward S. Corwin Award for the Best Dissertation in Public Law from the American Political Science Association (2004) and the Best Dissertation Award from the Western Political Science Association (2004).

'The revision of a doctoral dissertation accepted by the University of Washington, Professor Tamir Moustafa's The Struggle for Constitutional Power: Law, Politics and Economic Development in Egypt is a model of outstanding scholarly research. This book deals with an important topic, and Moustafa does it justice. Not only does this volume constitute a comprehensive analysis of political and economic change in Egypt during the past 40 years, but it suggests new directions for scholarly research for students of comparative law and legal systems. No specialist in the fields specified can afford to ignore this important study.' Law and Politics Book Review

• 1. Introduction: law versus the state; 2. The politics of domination: law and resistance in authoritarian states; 3. The establishment of the Supreme Constitutional Court; 4. The emergence of constitutional power (1979–90); 5. The rapid expansion of constitutional power (1991–7); 6. Executive retrenchment and an uncertain future (1998–2005); 7. Law, development, and democracy: a critical appraisal; Appendix A. SCC justices and commissioners; Appendix B. Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Appendix C. Law 49/1979 governing the Supreme Constitutional Court; Appendix D. Figures on Supreme Constitutional Court rulings; Bibliography.