A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa

A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Joel Beinin
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2020-12-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1503614484

This book offers the first critical engagement with the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa. Challenging conventional wisdom on the origins and contemporary dynamics of capitalism in the region, these cutting-edge essays demonstrate how critical political economy can illuminate both historical and contemporary dynamics of the region and contribute to wider political economy debates from the vantage point of the Middle East. Leading scholars, representing several disciplines, contribute both thematic and country-specific analyses. Their writings critically examine major issues in political economy—notably, the mutual constitution of states, markets, and classes; the co-constitution of class, race, gender, and other forms of identity; varying modes of capital accumulation and the legal, political, and cultural forms of their regulation; relations among local, national, and global forms of capital, class, and culture; technopolitics; the role of war in the constitution of states and classes; and practices and cultures of domination and resistance. Visit politicaleconomyproject.org for additional media and learning resources.

Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Robert P. Beschel
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815736983

Critical examinations of efforts to make governments more efficient and responsive Political upheavals and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have obscured efforts by many countries in the region to reform their public sectors. Unwieldy, unresponsive—and often corrupt—governments across the region have faced new pressure, not least from their publics, to improve the quality of public services and open up their decisionmaking processes. Some of these reform efforts were under way and at least partly successful before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010. Reform efforts have continued in some countries despite the many upheavals since then. This book offers a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of reform efforts in nine countries. In six cases the reforms targeted core systems of government: Jordan's restructuring of cabinet operations, the Palestinian Authority's revision of public financial management, Morocco's voluntary retirement program, human resource management reforms in Lebanon, an e-governance initiative in Dubai, and attempts to improve transparency in Tunisia. Five other reform efforts tackled line departments of government, among them Egypt's attempt to improve tax collection and Saudi Arabia's work to improve service delivery and bill collection. Some of these reform efforts were more successful than others. This book examines both the good and the bad, looking not only at what each reform accomplished but at how it was implemented. The result is a series of useful lessons on how public sector reforms can be adopted in MENA.

Lebanon’s Jewish Community

Lebanon’s Jewish Community
Author: Franck Salameh
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2018-10-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319996673

This book mines the early history of modern Lebanon, focusing on the country’s Jewish community and examining inter-Lebanese relations. It gives voice to personal testimonies, family archives, private papers, recollections of expatriate and resident Lebanese Jewish communities, as well as rarely tapped archival sources. With unique access to the Jewish communities in Lebanon and the Greater Middle East, the author presents both history and memory of Lebanon’s Jews, considering what, how, and why they choose to remember their Lebanese lives. The work retells the history of Lebanon by placing Lebanese Jews into the country’s narrative from the 1920s to 1970s, including an examination of the role they played in the construction of Lebanon’s multi-sectarian system.

Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa

Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Sean Yom
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 550
Release: 2019-10-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0429756399

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.

Corruption and Informal Practices in the Middle East and North Africa

Corruption and Informal Practices in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Ina Kubbe
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2019-11-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000760618

This book investigates the pervasive problem of corruption across the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on the specifics of the local context, the book explores how corruption in the region is actuated through informal practices that coexist and work in parallel to formal institutions. When informal practices become vehicles for corruption, they can have negative ripple effects across many aspects of society, but on the other hand, informal practices could also have the potential to be leveraged to reinforce formal institutions to help fight corruption. Drawing on a range of cases including Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia or Israel the book first explores the mechanisms and dynamics of corruption and informal practices in the region, before looking at the successes and failures of anti-corruption initiatives. The final section focuses on gender perspectives on corruption, which are often overlooked in corruption literature, and the role of women in the Middle East. With insights drawn from a range of disciplines, this book will be of interest to researchers and students across political science, philosophy, socio-legal studies, public administration, and Middle Eastern studies, as well as to policy makers and practitioners working in the region.

The Cinema of North Africa and the Middle East

The Cinema of North Africa and the Middle East
Author: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Publisher: Wallflower Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781905674107

"Twenty-four essays on individual selected films, many by scholars and writers based in the region. It explores established film cultures such as those of Turkey and Iran, and also nascent cinemas such as those of Israel, Palestine and Syria. ... Selected films include Cairo Station (Egypt, 1958), Umat (Turkey, 1970), The Runner (Iran, 1989) ... Once upon a time, Beriut (Lebanon, 1994), Chronicle of a disappearance (Palestine, 1996), Circle of dreams (Israel, 2000), Ten (Iran, 2002) and Uzak (Turkey, 2003)."--Page 4 of cover.

Arab Worlds Beyond the Middle East and North Africa

Arab Worlds Beyond the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Mariam F. Alkazemi
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2021-06-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1793617678

Just like people around the world have done for generations, Arab people from the Middle East and North African (MENA) region have immigrated to various nations around the world. A number of ‘push’ factors account for why groups have left their homeland and ‘pulled’ to another nation to settle. The history and patterns of Arab migration out of the MENA illustrates the wide array of reasons for these patterns, primarily illustrating that mass emigration and settlement are highly linked to a number of factors, including social, political, economic, familial climates of each nation-state and its policies. If it is one takeaway that this edited volume brings to light, it is that the Arab MENA does not only include a diverse population within each nation-state it also illustrates the ways in which their settlement in new nations have contributed to their own identity development patterns, their communities, and that of their new nation-state. This book celebrates the achievements and acknowledges the challenges of the new communities that Arabs have built around the world. It shows examples of societies that have embraced the Arab diaspora as well as examples of sidelining these communities. These examples come from a number of subject areas, from music to international affairs. The examples are both contemporary and historical, authored by individuals with a diverse set of disciplinary lenses and professional training. This book is meant to fill a gap in the literature as it expands on the understanding of Arab communities to inform and inspire a more nuanced, inclusive approach to the study of the Arab diaspora. It does so by revealing untold stories that challenge stereotypes to push for more inclusive media representation of Arab identity and its development in various regions of the world.