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1342. Youth in the Middle East
- Author:
- Center for International and Regional Studies
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for International and Regional Studies: CIRS
- Abstract:
- During the second half of the twentieth century, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was hit by a demographic wave that saw its youth population grow at an unprecedented rate. This youth bulge spurred national and international debate regarding the challenges and opportunities that the youth cohort brings to the region. The potential that young people have—either as agents of positive change or instability—was illustrated during the Arab uprisings. In the wake of the unrest, there is a need to expand our collective understanding of the lives of young people in the MENA region, and to examine factors that affect their normative transitions to adulthood. The narrative around Middle Eastern youth often centers on their social, political, and economic exclusion and marginalization. Living through decades of authoritarian rule and political instability, youth in the Middle East have struggled to fulfill their aspirations related to citizenship, livelihood, and social and political participation. Given the continued jobs crisis in the Middle East, where youth generally experience high rates of unemployment and where labor market activity, particularly among young women, remains strikingly low, understanding the economic exclusion of youth and the various means by which to redress it remain significant.
- Topic:
- Political Theory, Youth Culture, and Global Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1343. The Game of Camps: Ideological Fault Lines in the Wreckage of the Arab State System
- Author:
- Eran Lerman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
- Abstract:
- This study maps four Arab ideological camps and their interactions: The Iranian camp, Islamic State camp, Muslim Brotherhood camp, and the “counter camp” – which consists of the forces of stability, ranging from Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf states to Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, as well as the Kurds and other non-Arab players. Israel shares the fears and goals of the latter camp, and is joined with it in countering Iran. The US administration’s courtship of Iran, as well as the hope held broadly in the West that the Muslim Brotherhood could play a constructive role, has done little to restore stability or restrain the rise of radicalism.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1344. Implications of US Disengagement from the Middle East
- Author:
- Efraim Inbar
- Publication Date:
- 07-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies (BESA)
- Abstract:
- The United States is retreating from the Middle East. The adverse implications of this policy shift are manifold, including: the acceleration of Tehran’s drive to regional hegemony, the palpable risk of regional nuclear proliferation following the JCPOA, the spread of jihadist Islam, and Russia’s growing penetration of the region. Manifest US weakness is also bound to have ripple effects far beyond the Middle East, as global players question the value of partnership with an irresolute Washington.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Security
- Political Geography:
- America and Middle East
1345. Spring Cleaning How Unexplained Wealth Orders could have helped address the UK’s role in laundering corrupt wealth from Arab Spring states
- Author:
- Transparency International
- Publication Date:
- 11-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Transparency International
- Abstract:
- Spring Cleaning” a new report from Transparency International UK (TI-UK) analyses the role of the UK in providing a safe haven for corrupt wealth from Middle Eastern rulers. In Syria Egypt and Libya, amongst others, corruption played a major role in igniting the “Arab Spring”, with mass protests decrying the misuse of power by political establishments.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Corruption
- Political Geography:
- Britain and Middle East
1346. Migrants and Refugees: Impact and Future Policies. Case Studies of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece
- Author:
- M Shteiwi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
- Abstract:
- For Europe, 2015 was the year of the biggest migration and refugee crisis in the European Union’s history. Around 1.5 million asylum seekers arrived in Europe (0.2% of the combined EU population) in 2015, most of them Syrian refugees. More than 4 million Syrians have fled their country since the onset of the conflict in 2011. According to the Syrian Regional Refugee Response, there are 639,000 UNHCR registered refugees in Jordan (8% of the population), 1 million in Lebanon (17%), 2.7 million in Turkey (3.5%), 246,000 in Iraq (0.7%), and 118,000 in Egypt (0.1%). Many other Syrians living in those countries have not been registered by UNHCR. In addition, 7.5 million are estimated to be internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Syria itself. These are only the numbers directly related to the Syrian conflict. Iraqi, Sudanese, Somali, Palestinian, Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees are also registered in the aforementioned countries. Between 1998 and 2003 unauthorised entries by sea into Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain had stabilised, except for 2011 due to the Arab Spring (Fargues, 2015), but in 2015 the numbers increased dramatically, as shown in this pape
- Topic:
- Diaspora and Refugee Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1347. The Relative Importance of Religion and Region in Explaining Differences in Political Economic and Social Attitudes in Iraq in 2014: Findings from the Arab Transformations Public Opinion Survey
- Author:
- Andrea Teti and Pamela Abbott
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Transformations Project, University of Aberdeen
- Abstract:
- Based on the Arab Transformations survey of Iraq in 2014, this paper examines the relative weight of religious identification and region of residence in several key areas, including main challenges perceived by the population, perceptions of security, of economic conditions, of governance, political mobilisation, corruption, and migration. Contrary to the perception that sectarian identity is the most important factor in understanding contemporary Iraqi politics, this analysis shows that religious identification is often a confounding variable, and that regional location better captures variations in respondents’ perceptions, including in key areas such as security, the economy, and migration.
- Topic:
- International Security and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1348. The EU’s Policy Response to the Uprisings
- Author:
- Andrea Teti
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Transformations Project, University of Aberdeen
- Abstract:
- The EU claimed it would learn the lessons of the Arab Uprisings with a ‘qualitative step forward’ in its approach to development, democracy, and security. However, an examination of the conceptual structure of revised EU Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) suggests EU policy changed little, and that in later incarnations it displayed a retrenchment towards conventional notions of democracy, development, and security, prioritising the latter over the former two. The Union seems to have failed to re-examine its approach to democracy, development, and security, falling back on approaches to all three which have been tried – and have failed – in the past.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Middle East
1349. After the Arab Uprisings: Popular Expectations and the EU’s Response
- Author:
- Andrea Teti and Pamela Abbott
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Transformations Project, University of Aberdeen
- Abstract:
- The Arab Uprisings moved the EU to learn lessons from past mistakes and re-define its approach to development, democracy, and security. Reality, however, has fallen short of this aim. Analysis of the revised Neighbourhood Policy suggests it changed little, falling back on pre-Uprisings conceptions and discarding approaches which were more inclusive, organic, and better suited to long-term EU interests. Conversely, ArabTrans survey data shows MENA populations display precisely the more substantive and holistic approaches to democracy which EU policy discarded. It also shows supporters of the Uprisings were driven by dissatisfaction with the provision of satisfactory socioeconomic conditions and tackling corruption, and that their expectations of improvements remain largely frustrated. This mis-match between policy and popular expectations leaves existing difficulties unaddressed.
- Topic:
- International Security, International Affairs, and Popular Revolt
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1350. ArabTrans Project Framework Paper
- Author:
- Andrea Teti and Pamela Abbott
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Transformations Project, University of Aberdeen
- Abstract:
- The Arab Uprisings represented a series of events unprecedented in the history of the Middle East: mass, popular and largely non-violent uprisings took place starting in December 2010 in Tunisia and reverberating throughout the region. These protests threatened – and in several cases resulted in the overthrow of – apparently stable autocratic regimes. The unprecedented nature and extensive domestic, regional and international impact of the Uprisings in and of itself merits attention, but coming hard on the heels of a global financial crisis and given the resonance of the Arab Uprisings with protest movements beyond the region, these Uprisings appear all the more significant beyond the region itself. The significance of the Uprisings is not just academic, however: the Middle East is one of the most frequently conflictual regions in the world, it is central to the global political economy – e.g. as a source of hydrocarbon fuels, and as a global logistical nexus –, it is a source of and transit point for migratory flows towards Europe, and its autocracies have been supported as key allies by Western governments, both in Europe and North America.
- Topic:
- International Affairs and International Development
- Political Geography:
- Middle East