Towards a Better Life: How to Improve the State of Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa

Towards a Better Life: How to Improve the State of Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author:
Publisher: GPoT
ISBN: 6054233211
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa

Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Sean Yom
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429756399
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
The latest edition of this renowned textbook explores the states and regimes of the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting heavily revised, fully updated chapters contributed by the world’s leading experts, it analyzes the historical trajectory, political institutions, economic development, and foreign policies of the region’s nearly two dozen countries. The volume can be used in conjunction with its sister volume, The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa, for a comprehensive overview of the region. Chapters are organized and structured identically, giving insightful windows into the nuances of each country’s domestic politics and foreign relations. Data tables and extensive annotated bibliographies orient readers towards further research. Whether used in conjunction with its sister volume or on its own, this book provides the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the region’s varied politics. Five new experts cover the critical country cases of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. All chapters cover the latest events, including trends that have remarkably changed in just a few years like the gradual end of the Syrian civil war. As such, this textbook is invaluable to students of Middle Eastern politics.. The ninth edition brings substantial changes. All chapters also have a uniform, streamlined structure that explores the historical context, social and economic environment, political institutions, regime dynamics, and foreign policy of each country. Fact boxes and political maps are now far more extensive, and photographs and images also help illustrate key points. Annotated bibliographies are vastly expanded, providing nothing short of the best list of research references for each country.

Religion and Civil Society in the Arab World

Religion and Civil Society in the Arab World PDF Author: Tania Haddad
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 0429871171
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
This book examines the links between civil society, religion and politics in the Middle East and North Africa region. The chapters in the volume explore the role of religion in shaping and changing the public sphere in regions that are developing and/or in conflict. They also discuss how these relations are reflected on civil society organizations and the role they are expected to play in transitional periods. This volume: investigates the conceptual dilemmas regarding what is ‘civil society’ in the Arab world today examines the dynamic roles of civil society organizations and religion in the Middle East and North Africa explores the future of the Arab civil society post-‘Arab Spring’ events, and how the latter continues to reshape the demand for democracy in the region. A comprehensive study of how the Arab civil society has come into being and its changing roles, this eclectic work will be of interest to scholars and researchers of politics, especially political Islam, international relations, Middle East Studies, African Studies, sociology and social anthropology.

Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa

Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa PDF Author: Jasmina Brankovic
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319704176
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
This edited volume examines the role of local civil society in shaping understandings and processes of transitional justice in Africa – a nursery of transitional justice ideas for well over two decades. It brings together practitioners and scholars with intimate knowledge of these processes to evaluate the agendas and strategies of local civil society, and offers an opportunity to reflect on ‘lessons learnt’ along the way. The contributors focus on the evolution and effectiveness of transitional justice interventions, providing a glimpse into the motivations and inner workings of major civil society actors. The book presents an African perspective on transitional justice through a compilation of country-specific and thematic analyses of agenda setting and lobbying efforts. It offers insights into state–civil society relations on the continent, which shape these agendas. The chapters present case studies from Southern, Central, East, West and North Africa, and a range of moments and types of transition. In addition to historical perspective, the chapters provide fresh and up-to- date analyses of ongoing transitional justice efforts that are key to defining the future of how the field is understood globally, in theory and in practice Endorsements: "This great volume of written work – Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa: The Role of Civil Society – does what virtually no other labor of the intellect has done heretofore. Authored by movement activists and thinkers in the fields of human rights and transitional justice, the volume wrestles with the complex place and roles of transitional justice in the project of societal reconstruction in Africa. ... This volume will serve as a timely and thought-provoking guide for activists, thinkers, and policy makers – as well as students of transitional justice – interested in the tension between the universal and the particular in the arduous struggle for liberation. Often, civil society actors in Africa have been accused of consuming the ideas of others, but not producing enough, if any, of their own. This volume makes clear the spuriousness of this claim and firmly plants an African flag in the field of ideas." Makau Mutua

Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco

Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco PDF Author: Janine A. Clark
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231545010
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
In recent years, authoritarian states in the Middle East and North Africa have faced increasing international pressure to decentralize political power. Decentralization is presented as a panacea that will foster good governance and civil society, helping citizens procure basic services and fight corruption. Two of these states, Jordan and Morocco, are monarchies with elected parliaments and recent experiences of liberalization. Morocco began devolving certain responsibilities to municipal councils decades ago, while Jordan has consistently followed a path of greater centralization. Their experiences test such assumptions about the benefits of localism. Janine A. Clark examines why Morocco decentralized while Jordan did not and evaluates the impact of their divergent paths, ultimately explaining how authoritarian regimes can use decentralization reforms to consolidate power. Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco argues that decentralization is a tactic authoritarian regimes employ based on their coalition strategies to expand their base of support and strengthen patron-client ties. Clark analyzes the opportunities that decentralization presents to local actors to pursue their interests and lays out how municipal-level figures find ways to use reforms to their advantage. In Morocco, decentralization has resulted not in greater political inclusivity or improved services, but rather in the entrenchment of pro-regime elites in power. The main Islamist political party has also taken advantage of these reforms. In Jordan, decentralization would undermine the networks that benefit elites and their supporters. Based on extensive fieldwork, Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco is an important contribution to Middle East studies and political science that challenges our understanding of authoritarian regimes’ survival strategies and resilience.

Demography and Democracy

Demography and Democracy PDF Author: Elhum Haghighat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110860742X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The Middle East and North Africa have recently experienced one of the highest population growth rates in the world, something which has profoundly affected the wider region and its institutions. In addition, the recent period of unprecedented political turbulence has further complicated the picture, resulting in uprisings and resistance movements that have coincided with intense shifts in socio-cultural norms, as well as economic and political change. Through highlighting the links between population dynamics and the social and political transitions, this book provides a new view of these recent regional changes. The complexity of the changes is further explained in the context of demographic transitions (mortality, fertility, migration) that work hand in hand with development (economic and social modernization) and ultimately, democratization (political modernization). These three Ds (Demographic, Development and Democratic transitions) are central to Elhum Haghighat's analysis of the Middle East and North Africa at this crucial time.

The War on Terrorism

The War on Terrorism PDF Author: Thomas A. Johnson
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 104008219X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
In order to eradicate terrorism, our nation must go beyond merely shoring up military strength. It must also effectively confront the fundamentalist ideology that fuels and supports the terrorists. The War on Terrorism: A Collision of Values, Strategies, and Societies operates on the premise that the violent rejection of globalization at the root o

National Security Issues in Science, Law, and Technology

National Security Issues in Science, Law, and Technology PDF Author: Thomas A. Johnson
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040080774
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
Using the best scientific decision-making practices, this book introduces the concept of risk management and its application in the structure of national security decisions. It examines the acquisition and utilization of all-source intelligence and addresses reaction and prevention strategies applicable to chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; agricultural terrorism; cyberterrorism; and other potential threats to our critical infrastructure. It discusses legal issues and illustrates the dispassionate analysis of our intelligence, law enforcement, and military operations and actions. The book also considers the redirection of our national research and laboratory system to investigate weapons we have yet to confront.

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Mr.Hamid R Davoodi
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 9781589062290
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

Terrorism: Documents of International and Local Control

Terrorism: Documents of International and Local Control PDF Author: Oceana
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195338774
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 876

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Book Description
Terrorism: Documents of International and Local Control is a hardbound series that provides primary-source documents on the worldwide counter-terrorism effort. Chief among the documents collected are transcripts of Congressional testimony, reports by such federal government bodies as the Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office, and case law covering issues related to terrorism. Most volumes carry a single theme, and inside each volume the documents appear within topic-based categories. The series also includes a subject index and other indices that guide the user through this complex area of the law. Volume 86 constitutes the innaugural edition of the enhanced version of Terrorism: 1st Series. With this new volume, Oxford Law introduces the expert commentary and editing of Professor Douglas C. Lovelace, Director of the Strategic Studies Institute at the Army War College. Professor Lovelace's high-raninking experience in authoring national securities directives makes him the perfect addition to this Terrorism project. Lovelace's expansive background offers readers access to invaluable commentatary which has been sensibly organizated to aid research. Volume 86 explores the large body of national security and military strategies currently in effect for the U.S. The topical organization of these "National Strategies"and the expert introductions provided for these documents, validates Lovelaces' expertise in this area as well as his extensive inside knowledge of U.S. security policy .For readers and researchers in need of a thorough but concise guide to current government plans in the war on terror, Volume 86 will prove indispensible.