This book is a revised and updated version of the Ph.D. thesis which I submitted in October 2006 and defended in June 2007 at the Department of Political Science of the Humboldt University in Berlin. It is based on insights gained as a result of my participation in the research project on ‘Elite Change in the Arab World’ directed by Volker Perthes at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) from January 2001 until December 2003. Data obtained during five field research trips played a particularly important role. Research has been made possible thanks to two research grants received from the Thyssen Foundation (from January 2001 until June 2003) and the Forum Ebenhausen (from July 2003 until February 2004). I would like to use this opportunity to offer them my warmest thanks for their generous support.