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41. Regards sur l’Eurasie - L’année politique 2015

Author:
Anne De Tinguy, Bayram Balci, Isabelle Facon, Adrien Fauve, Thorniké Gordadze, Sergei Guriev, Raphaël Lefèvre, Gilles Lepesant, and Céline Marangé
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:
"Looking into Eurasia" provides some keys to understand the events and phenomena that have left their imprint on a region that has undergone major mutation since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991: the post-soviet space. With a cross-cutting approach that is no way claims to be exhaustive, this study seeks to identify the key drivers, the regional dynamics and the underlying issues at stake.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, Energy Policy, Migration, Nationalism, Political Economy, Sovereignty, Terrorism, Natural Resources, Europeanization, Political Science, Regional Integration, and State
Political Geography:
Russia, Central Asia, Caucasus, Middle East, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Western Europe, and European Union

42. A Comparative Analysis of Imperial Japan's Predicament in China and U.S. Quagmire in Post-Saddam Iraq: Similarities, Lessons and Implications

Author:
Matsahiro Matsumura
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
This study will first present a series of striking similarities between the imperial Japanese predicament in China and the contemporary U.S. quagmire in post-Saddam Iraq. Second, the study will provide a theoretical perspective on why the two cases share such commonalities. Third, the study will explore the implications of the perspective to international politics, with a focus on the future of the U.S. hegemony. The study is based on the basic understanding that the developing world across regions today has continued to suffer the ongoing single macro-historical process consequent upon the breakdowns of empires as the once-predominant organizational mode of human societies. The analysis argues for the central importance of a stable national identity for modernization and development as well as freedom and democracy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Imperialism, Nationalism, Military Intervention, and Modernization
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia

43. Soccer: Moulding the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
James M Dorsey
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Nowhere in the world has sports in general and soccer in particular played such a key role in the development of a region than in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet, the nexus of sports, politics and society is one area that Middle East studies with few exceptions have ignored. Similarly, sports studies have focused on all parts of the world with one exception: the Middle East and North Africa. Nonetheless, sports and particularly soccer has been in various parts of the Middle East key to nation formation, nation building, regime formation, regime survival and the struggles for human, gender and labour rights. This working paper is an attempt to fill a gap in the literature and contribute to the development of theory on the role of sports in the Middle East and North Africa.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Nationalism, Labor Issues, Sports, and State Building
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and North Africa

44. Post-Colonial States and the Struggle for Identity in the Middle East since World War Two

Author:
Samuel Helfont
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
Abstract:
The term “post-colonial” has presented a seminal problem for historians of the 20th century Middle East. As this essay will detail, debates over the term have provided an important axis around which discussions of political identity revolve. Following World War Two European power in the Middle East crumbled and a number of post-colonial states emerged. These states often justified their existence in terms of ideologies that were tied to specific post-colonial, political identities. Endless debates have occurred over how much emphasis to put on the post-colonial nature of these states and their political identities. In this essay, I will discuss whether a state’s status as post-colonial matters. If so, how? And what are the consequences? Following a general discussion of debates over post-colonialism, will look more closely at three case studies: Egypt, Iraq, and Iran.
Topic:
Development, Islam, Nationalism, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, and Arab Countries

45. Religion and Secularism in the Middle East: A Primer

Author:
Aaron Rock-Singer
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
Abstract:
Religion was a pillar of pre-modern political identity in the Middle East, arising out of Muslims’ understanding of Islam’s foundational moment and state institutions that developed with the spread of Islamic Empire. Beginning at the turn of the 19th century, European colonial powers and indigenous reformers questioned the centrality of religious identity; instead, it was to be the nation that defined the political community. Since then, the nationalist project has permeated 20th century ideological conflicts in the region, equally shaping the claims of secularists and Islamists. Today, advocates of religious change refer back to early Islamic history as they seek to place religious over national identity, yet they, like their competitors, are unmistakably shaped by the secular nationalist project.
Topic:
Islam, Nationalism, Post Colonialism, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Arab Countries

46. Rethinking Nation and Nationalism

Author:
Serhun Al, Senem Aslan, Lisa Blaydes, Laurie Brand, and Kristin Fabbe
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
You couldn’t swing a dead imperialist last summer without hitting an essay about the unraveling of the Sykes-Picot system in the Middle East. The bloody disintegration of Iraq and Syria seemed to have finally ripped apart the borders created by the British and French governments in the aftermath of World War I (even if the borders in question were actually forged at San Remo). It wasn’t just the rise of the so-called Islamic State spanning and erasing the Syrian-Iraqi border. The unprecedented, synchronized popular mobilization across borders during the early Arab uprisings of 2011 gave potent form to the ideals of transnational Arab political community supplanting the limits of nation-states. As the uprisings turned darker and most of the democratic transitions failed, new challengers to nation-states in the Middle East rose to the forefront: the Islamic State; the growing de facto independence of Kurds across Iraq and Syria, with ramifications extending into Turkey and Iran; the rise of sub-regional identities carried by heavily armed militias in failing states such as Yemen and Libya; unprecedented forced displacement moving millions of people within and across borders; and raging sectarianism dividing Sunnis and Shiites. These developments have not had a singular effect on national identities, however. While some states have collapsed, creating space for new subnational identities to challenge national cohesion, most have retrenched into a fiercer form of authoritarianism. Egypt’s military coup, for instance, has been sustained by the heavy-handed promotion of extreme nationalism. Many states in the Gulf have drawn upon sectarianism to consolidate support for their regimes in ways that could have an enduring impact on popular conceptions of national identity. Battles over the proper role of Islam in public life have reshaped political discourse from Egypt and Turkey (see Senem Aslan and Kristin Fabbe in this collection) and Tunisia (Elizabeth Young). Kurds imagine new political possibilities in very different contexts, as Nicole Watts demonstrates from Halabja and Serhun Al demonstrates through the historical experience of Turkey and Iraq.
Topic:
Nationalism, Sectarianism, Displacement, Colonialism, and Political Science
Political Geography:
Iraq, Turkey, Middle East, Syria, and Jordan

47. Israel's internal frontier: the enduring power of ethno-nationalism

Author:
Cathrine Thorleifsson
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
This policy brief examines the paradox of Mizrahim (Arab Jews) supporting right-wing Israeli policies through a case study of the border town of Kiryat Shemona. Based on ethnographic research, it illuminates the enduring power of ethno-nationalism and demonstrates how it affects Mizrahi lives. Mizrahim became trapped by Israeli nation-building on the geographic and socioeconomic margins of the state positioned between the dominant Ashkenazi elite and the Palestinian population. Factors such as Mizrahim's partial inclusion in the nation; tensions between Jews and Arabs, and between the secular and the religious; the decline of the welfare state; and a shared perception of threats and dangers informed everyday nationalism in the town. Mizrahim contested Ashkenazi Israeliness through ethnic and transnational identifications and practices. Simultaneously, their support for the nation-in-arms and identification as "strong"and "civilised" reinforced the dominant logic of ethno-nationalism. Mizrahi support for right-wing militarism is likely to persist as long as national unity is used as a colonial practice by the centre. The inclusion of Mizrahim as equals together with other marginalised citizens would necessarily entail an Israeli Spring.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Nationalism, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel

48. Kürt ve Beluci Ulusçuluklarının Benzeşen ve Ayrışan Yönleri | Resembling And Diverging Aspects Of Kurdish Nationalism And Baloch Nationalism

Author:
Göktürk Tüysüzoğlu
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
Kendi kimliklerine eklemlenmiş birer ulus devlete sahip olmayan Kürtler ve Beluciler, konumlandıkları coğrafyalar itibarıyla bölgesel dengeleri derinden etkileme kapasitesine sahip iki halk olarak görülmelidir. Toplumsal yapıları, bağlı bulundukları ülkelerin ulusal kimlik vurgularını reddetmeleri, siyasal/yönetimsel vurgularının sınır aşan bir nitelik taşıması ve ulusçuluk girişimini yönlendiren iki ayrı çizginin bulunması gibi hususlar, bu iki halkın ulusçuluk girişimlerini benzer kalıplar içerisinde değerlendirmeyi kolaylaştıran en önemli unsurlardır. Diaspora etkinliği, medya unsuru, uluslararası farkındalık ve konjonktürel vurgu ise iki ulusçuluk girişimi arasındaki farklılıklar olarak betimlenebilir. Toplumsal altyapıya vurgu yapan geleneksel aktörler ile seküler eksende ele alınması gereken örgütler arasında süregelen rekabet ise, ulusçuluk girişimlerinin yekvücut ve daha etkin bir şekilde ortaya konmasını zorlaştırmaktadır. Kürt ulusçuluğunun son dönemde elde ettiği kazanımlar ve bu halkın geleceğine dair gelecek öngörüleri, oldukça benzer bir toplumsal/siyasal/tarihsel altyapıya sahip olan Beluciler için de bir emsal teşkil edebilecektir. | Kurds and Balochis do not have a state that could be articulated into their own identities. Also they would be seen as nations that have the capacity to affect the regional outlook which they are located. Factors like societal structure, denial of the national identity formation of the states that they live, transboundary character of their societal/ administrative demands are the most important elements that ease to evaluate the nationalist motives of Kurds and Balochis within similar pattern. Efficiency of diaspora, use of media, international awareness and conjuncture could be portrayed as the differences between these nationalist initiatives. Rivalry that continues between the traditional actors that stresses the societal base and the organizations which must be dealt as secular nationalist obstructs the effectiveness and concreteness of the nationalist demands of Kurds and Balochis. Acquisitions that the Kurdish nationalist movement achieves recently and the foresights that oriented towards the future of Kurds could constitute a precedent for the Balochis, who own a similar societal/ historical/political substructure.
Topic:
Nationalism, Political Parties, and PKK
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, Turkey, Middle East, and Kurdistan

49. Means to What End? Policymaking and State-Building in Afghanistan

Author:
Sarah Parkinson
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
Afghanistan has been in “state-building” mode since 2001, and formal policymaking has been an important tool for focusing and coordinating the efforts of the Afghan government and its international supporters. This synthesis paper considers the role that high-level policymaking has actually played, through a comparative analysis of five different recent examples of policymaking including the drafting of the Afghan National Development Strategy and the controversial Shiite personal status law. It highlights both the high level of donor influence on shaping policy, and the limited effectiveness of policies themselves.
Topic:
Development, Nationalism, Governance, State Building, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

50. Preventing Conflict Over Kurdistan

Author:
Henri J. Barkey
Publication Date:
02-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
The consequences of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq will doubtless be debated for years to come. One result, however, is already clear: the long suppressed nationalist aspirations of the Kurdish people now dispersed across four states—Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria—have been aroused, perhaps irrevocably, by the war. Already in Iraq, Kurdish regions, which have benefited from Saddam Hussein's overthrow, have consolidated themselves into a federal region. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is a reality and a force for further Kurdish empowerment as it seeks to incorporate other Kurdish-majority areas and the oil-rich Kirkuk province in particular into its domain. The KRG's existence and demands have already alarmed all of Iraq's neighbors and the Baghdad government. The issues are far from being settled. If ignored or badly handled, Kurdish aspirations have the potential to cause considerable instability and violence in Iraq and beyond at a particularly delicate time.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Nationalism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
Iraq, Turkey, Middle East, and Kurdistan