Arab Development Denied


Book Description

Arab Development Denied examines how over the last three decades the Arab world has undergone a process of developmental descent, or de-development. As a result of defeat in wars, the loss of security and sovereignty, and even their own class proclivity, the Arab ruling classes have been transformed into fully compradorial classes that have relinquished autonomy over policy. The neoliberal policies adopted since the early eighties are not developmental policies, but the terms of surrender by which Arab resources, human or otherwise, are stifled or usurped. In this book, Ali Kadri attributes the Arab world’s developmental failure to imperialist hegemony over oil and the rising role of financialisation, which goes hand in hand with the wars of encroachment that strip the Arab world of its sovereignty and resources.




Knowledge Production in the Arab World


Book Description

Over recent decades we have witnessed the globalization of research. However, this has yet to translate into a worldwide scientific network, across which competencies and resources can flow freely. Arab countries have strived to join this globalized world and become a ‘knowledge economy,’ yet little time has been invested in the region’s fragmented scientific institutions; institutions that should provide opportunities for individuals to step out on the global stage. Knowledge Production in the Arab World investigates research practices in the Arab world, using multiple case studies from the region with particular focus on Lebanon and Jordan. It depicts the Janus-like face of Arab research, poised between the negative and the positive and faced with two potentially opposing strands; local relevance alongside its internationalization. The book critically assesses the role and dynamics of research and poses questions that are crucial to further our understanding of the very particular case of knowledge production in the Arab region. The book explores research’s relevance and whom it serves, as well as the methodological flaws behind academic rankings and the meaning and application of key concepts such as knowledge society/economy. Providing a detailed and comprehensive examination of knowledge production in the Arab world, this book is of interest to students, scholars and policy makers working on the issues of research practices and status of science in contemporary developing countries.




US Approaches to the Arab Uprisings


Book Description

From nonviolent protests in Cairo and Manama to the ousting of Libya's Gaddafi and the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, the series of uprisings which swept through the Middle East and North Africa from late 2010 have been burdened with the collective hopes and expectations of the world. Western supporters quickly identified these uprisings as a collective 'awakening' - a move towards democracy - but the continued unrest in these regions defies many of these more optimistic contemporary predictions. As the region remains unstable, the US and their Western allies are faced with the challenging task of modifying their strategic foreign policy goals to suit the currently mercurial Arab World. The 'Arab Spring' and its failure exposed a new set of questions: What motivates American 'democracy promotion'? Does the US really want self-determination in the Middle-East and North Africa? Where did the expectations of the protestors fit into this narrative? U.S. Approaches to the Arab Uprisings provides a comprehensive assessment of Western foreign policy towards the Arab World today. With analysis on subjects as diverse as social media and Islamic centrism, and drawing from examples throughout the MENA region, the book deals with the perception of Arabs and Arab culture in the American psyche and its effect on East-West relations. By analyzing both Western responses to uprisings and the reactions of the protestors themselves, the contributors expose theoretical and practical inconsistencies that suggest a rising tension between those that promote democracy and those who practice it.




A Theory of Forced Labour Migration


Book Description

This book focuses on labour dislocation and migration of Palestinians between 1967 and 1992. In particular, it highlights the social transformations in the occupied Palestinian territory where Palestinian labour was permitted to work in Israel from 1968 onwards. Elaborating on the results of the policy which saw a gradual increase in the number of Palestinian workers commuting daily from a negligible proportion of the actively participating labour force, to 35 percent of all employed persons, and 60 percent of all wage paid workers, the book studies this unique case which embodies characteristics from permanent migration situations not only in the de-jure, but also the de-facto sense; insofar as it embeds higher risks and reallocates resources as if it was a permanent relocation scenario. Illustrated with tables and econometric results, the book identifies the determinants and implications of migrant labour from the West Bank using two broad methodologies: the neoclassical and the historical-structural method. Each of these methods is divided into two branches: the classical divided into price determined and a choice-theoretic framework,and the historical-structural divided into dependency and Marxist theory. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation, all four perspectives are employed in the investigation. In doing so, what emerges is a structure for the book which takes shape along the different lines of migration literature. The book provides new insights into the making of wage labour and labour migration theory.




Rebel populism


Book Description

Workers from the Syrian diaspora have maintained a presence in Lebanon for decades, building multimillion-dollar apartment complexes, toiling for backbreaking hours in grocery stores. From the mid-2000s, liberalising reforms saw accelerating levels of poverty among workers, often paid as low as $20 per day. Instead of ‘opportunity’, workers faced the prospect of indefinite economic exile, the unending drudgery of hard labour, and a constant struggle to make ends meet. But in 2011, revolution came to Syria. Rural towns and villages exploded in revolt, but even those workers who remained in Beirut found means to protest at a distance. Their movement, which this book identifies as ‘rebel populism,’ represents an early instance of an increasingly common global contentious political formation, a form of mass politics that emerges not via a charismatic orator or developed ideological convictions, but through the weaving together of grievances aimed at the ruling class.




Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War


Book Description

This edited collection aims to analytically reconceptualise the Syrian crisis by examining how and why the country has moved from a stable to a war-torn society. It is written by scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, all of whom make no attempt to speculate on the future trajectory of the conflict, but aim instead to examine the historical background that has laid the objective conditions for Syria’s descent to its current situation. Their work represents an attempt to dissect the multi-layered foundation of the Syrian conflict and to make understanding its complex inner workings accessible to a broader readership. The book is divided into four parts, each of which elaborates on the origins and dynamics of today’s crisis from the perspective of a different discipline. When put together, the four parts provide a holistic picture of Syria’s developmental trajectory from the early twentieth century through to the present day. Themes addressed include Syria’s postcolonial development efforts, its leap into socialism and then into neoliberalism in the late twentieth century, its politics within the resistance front, and finally its food and health security concerns.




The Arab Nationalist Advisor


Book Description

Shaykh Yusuf Yassin (18921962) marked the contemporary history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in his capacity as a favorite advisor who was the founder monarchs confidential secretary, relentless envoy and chief foreign policy consultant. Born in Latakiyyah, Syria, Yassin earned the confidence of King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, and moved to Riyadh even before the Third Saudi Kingdom was inaugurated in 1932. After obtaining citizenship he participated in critical decisions reached by the ruler as regional and international actors honed in on the wealth of the Arabian Peninsula. Over the course of several decades Yusuf Yassin met with and negotiated on behalf of three monarchs, Abdul Aziz and his two successors, Saud and Faysal, with Arab and global leaders. He was present at the creation of the country and suggested that al-Saudiyyah be added to its very nameAl-Mamlakah al-Arabiyyah al-Saudiyyahwhich reflected his personality and political outlook as an Arab nationalist who cherished the founder. Joseph Kechichian has written the first political biography of the statesman, based on original documents [the Yassin Papers] as well as Western diplomatic correspondence. Kechichian provides insights into the Nationalist Al Saud Advisor who left his mark on Saudi Arabia. The volume provides essential background on a man who rose from humble origins in Syria to espouse Arabian values, and walks the reader through nearly five decades of Arab history, including the repercussions of the infamous 1916 SykesPicot Agreement, the creation of the League of Arab States, and various Arab crises. These events, experienced and engaged with by Shaykh Yusuf Yassin at the highest political and diplomatic levels, set the stage that empowered Saudi Arabia, along with other Arab States, with the wherewithal to succeed for their respective peoples.




Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya


Book Description

Treating the everyday as central to the study of regional and international politics, this book reconstructs the last two decades of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, leading up to the 2011 events that sanctioned its fall. It provides a unique and vivid look into the political dynamics that characterized the everyday lives of Libyans, offering a compelling counterargument to those who insist on framing the history of the country as a stateless, authoritarian, and rogue state. Based on the collection of oral histories, what sets the tempo of this journey is an extensive collection of personal anecdotes, moods and emotions, popular jokes and rumors. In weaving the threads that link these quotidian lives to Libya’s interaction with wider international and geopolitical dynamics, the book offers a unique and timely analysis of the 2011 events that witnessed the fall of the regime reaching the current state of violence, war, and hope.




China's Path to Development


Book Description

This book is a treatise against neoliberalism illuminated by the path of China. China is a model to be mimicked, but more so theoretically than by replication. If anything, nations of the global South must rid themselves of neoliberally imposed ‘one-size-fits all’ models, instrumentalised to shift value to US empire. Neoliberal models, robbing nations of their histories and resources, are negative ‘best practice’ serving the interests of the hegemon. Developing nations need to search for the theory that corresponds to their own conditions and development strategies. China’s experience, anchored in labour as the historical agent, offers numerous theoretical cues as to how to build comparable home-grown paths. Thinking development with a subject voids reductionist politics in favour of sober class analysis. The study concludes by restating the age-old wisdom that there is no development without the rule of labour.