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11. Israel Must Rule All of Jerusalem

Author:
David M. Weinberg
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
Cutting Arab neighborhoods in the east and north out of Jerusalem’s municipal jurisdiction is a bad idea; a slippery slope towards a full-scale political division of the city. Either Israel rules effectively, generously and fully in greater Jerusalem, for all residents, or it doesn’t.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Territorial Disputes, Statehood, and Jurisdiction
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

12. The Islamic State (IS): An Exceptional Contested State

Author:
Deon Geldenhuys
Publication Date:
12-2017
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:
Contested states are entities whose claims to statehood are challenged by the international community, resulting in a lack of de jure recognition. In 2014 the Islamic State (IS) became the latest addition to the current clutch of contested states. Its contemporaries included Abkhazia, South Ossetia, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Kosovo and Somaliland. The IS’s recognition deficit was worse than that of most other contested states, but like the rest it too displayed standard features of statehood. These similarities were, however, overshadowed by the profound differences between the IS state and its counterparts.
Topic:
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Islamic State, and Statehood
Political Geography:
Kosovo, Cyprus, and Somaliland

13. ARAB STUDIES JOURNAL VOL. XXIV, NO. 2

Author:
Sherene Seikaly
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Arab Studies Journal
Institution:
Arab Studies Institute
Abstract:
A wedding party walks the shattered streets of Aleppo. A flash mob dances in a public square in occupied Ramallah. These scenes inspire the imaginations of millions as they travel through social media. They are shocking and comforting at once. The Arab world we are accustomed to seeing is one of accumulating catastrophes, multiple wars, occupations, and unprecedented authoritarian and sectarian militarization. By all counts, the conditions of people, as varied as they may be, in places like Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, and Palestine appear to only be getting worse before, and if, they will get any better. These conditions target the very possibility of life. Yet despite these hardships and amidst the varieties of dispossession and injustice we are now witnessing, people continue to live, to create, and to love. It is in the spirit of honoring this will to live that we present this issue of Arab Studies Journal. We are proud to feature articles that explore the history of modern Assyrian and Chaldean appellations, contribute a literary analysis of Cairo in a time of intense political change and upheaval, and present a historical study of Arab nationalism in the “Trucial States.” A special section titled “Love in the Arab World” includes a rich body of ethnographic studies on compatibility and marriage in Jordan; Valentine’s Day in Egypt; and the politics of desire in post-uprising Syrian television drama. As always, we are pleased to accompany our articles with a review section that engages a number of recent contributions to the field. Together these pieces testify to the resilience of the everyday and the significance of untold stories that are perhaps best represented in the words of Mahmoud Darwish, “One day I will be what I wish to be.”
Topic:
Imperialism, Islam, Nationalism, Oil, Religion, Statehood, Ottoman Empire, and Identity
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Syria, and Oman

14. External Authority - Compensation for Limited Statehood in the Provision of Collective Goods?

Author:
Luisa Linke-Behrens and Lisa van Hoof-Maurer
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
The vast majority of areas of limited statehood are subject to the authority of external actors, be it the IMF or regional organizations. These actors typically provide authority structures – institutions and rules – that are complementary or alternative to the state’s domestic authority structures. It is reasonable to assume that these external actors may either deliver collective goods directly, or the authority structures provided by them might work indirectly to that effect. In this paper, we systematically investigate whether external authority compensates for limited statehood with regard to collective goods provision. Our analysis shows that this is not the case. On the contrary, in fragile states with extremely limited or even absent statehood, the presence of external authority in domestic authority structures seems to have the opposite effect and is associated with poor collective goods provision.
Topic:
Fragile States, Political structure, Statehood, and Authority
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. Dysfunctional Institutions, Social Trust, and Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood

Author:
Thomas Risse and Tanja A. Börzel
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Areas of limited statehood where the state is absent or dysfunctional are rarely ungoverned or ungovernable spaces. The provision of rules and regulations as well as of public goods and services – governance – does not necessarily depend on the existence of functioning state institutions. How can this be explained? This article makes two claims. First, we identify functional equivalents to state institutions that fail to govern hierarchically. Second, we focus on informal institutions based on social trust that are endogenous to areas of limited statehood. Personalized social trust among community members enables actors to overcome collective action problems, enhancing the legitimacy of governance actors. The main challenge in areas of limited statehood, which are often characterized by social heterogeneity and deep social and cultural cleavages (particularly in post-conflict societies), is to move from personalized to generalized trust in “imagined communities” despite dysfunctional state institutions. We argue that generalized trust in areas of limited statehood crucially depends on inclusive social identities as an enabling condition for effective and legitimate governance.
Topic:
Governance, Community, Statehood, and Social Identities
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. On the Social Conditions of Governance: Social Capital and Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood

Author:
Johannes Kode
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Unlike what Hobbesian theories argue, the provision of governance is not necessarily undermined by a lack of statehood. Empirical findings show that – contrary to many voices in current debates on weak, failing, or failed states – various (non-state) actors provide governance even when statehood is limited. This paper addresses the puzzle of how to account for cases where governance exists although the state cannot or does not provide it. Transferring insights from political sociology to the analysis of such “gov- ernance without the state,” the paper holds that the way societies manage their affairs critically depends on social conditions, which are captured here following social capital theory. Working toward a political sociology of “governance without a state,” this paper links social capital, resulting in interpersonal trust, to social coordination underlying the provision of governance. In this context, governance is interpreted as a collective action game (“governance game”), in which socially embedded (collective) actors are seen as players whose behavior (in particular their decisions to cooperate) depends critically on their social capital endowments. The main argument is that specific types of social capital endowments facilitate – and, thus, explain – specific modes of social coordination in areas of limited statehood. Explorative in nature, con- ceptual and theoretical arguments will be developed that offer new perspectives to explain the variance and mechanisms of governance outside the OECD world.
Topic:
Non State Actors, Governance, Social Capital, and Statehood
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. A Turn to Non-State Actors: Inducing Compliance with International Humanitarian Law in War-Torn Areas of Limited Statehood

Author:
Heike Krieger
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
Many of the perpetuated armed conflicts in the Great Lakes Region in Africa take place in war- torn areas of limited statehood. These conflicts are characterized by a high number of civilian victims, often resulting from utter disregard for international humanitarian law. Here, the rise of armed, violent non-state actors collides with the State-centric traditional nature of public international law. Thus, (classical) compliance structures seem to lose their significance, as they predominantly rely on the State for law enforcement and therefore mainly accommodate States’ interests when inducing compliance. The working paper suggests that the international com- munity responds to these challenges by allocating competences to other actors than the State. Particularly, international organizations increasingly contribute to enforcing international hu- manitarian law. However, since these organizations are dependent on their member States’ political willingness to support measures for inducing compliance effectively, a proliferation of humanitarian non-state actors can be observed that step in where third States and international organizations are reluctant to act. The paper investigates reasons for compliance and arrives at the conclusion that traditional motives rooted in a logic of consequences, as well as appropriate- ness are still valid and must therefore be addressed by the corresponding compliance mecha- nisms. These compliance mechanisms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Persuasion and incentives work more effectively if they are used under a shadow of hierarchy thrown by coercive legal enforcement instruments, such as international criminal justice and UN targeted sanctions. These instruments are in turn more effective if they are part of a concerted effort.
Topic:
Non State Actors, Governance, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Statehood, and Compliance
Political Geography:
Africa

18. Information and Communication Technologies in Areas of Limited Statehood

Author:
Gregor Walter-Drop and Steven Livingston
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on governance where the state‘s ability to authoritatively implement and enforce political decisions is weak or functionally absent – areas of limited statehood (AoLS). How do ICTs influence the provision of collective goods in AoLS, especially in policy fields such as security, welfare and the environment? In addressing this question we focus on the emergence of ICT-enabled forms of steering. Virtual organizations such as Ushahidi and FrontlineSMS enable the coordination of collective goods without the same level of hierarchical structure historically associated with traditional forms of governance. The focus lies on quasi-organizational forms that rely on mass collaborative action across electronic networks. The consideration of these questions is supported by fieldwork in Africa in 2011, and on previous research in Afghanistan and various African countries in 2010. The paper concludes with some tentative hypotheses on the interconnection between ICT, statehood and governance.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Communications, Governance, Internet, and Statehood
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Africa

19. New Method, Different War? Evaluating Supervised Machine Learning by Coding Armed Conflict

Author:
Christian Ickler and John Wiesel
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on governance where the state‘s ability to authoritatively implement and enforce political decisions is weak or functionally absent – areas of limited statehood (AoLS). How do ICTs influence the provision of collective goods in AoLS, especially in policy fields such as security, welfare and the environment? In addressing this question we focus on the emergence of ICT-enabled forms of steering. Virtual organizations such as Ushahidi and FrontlineSMS enable the coordination of collective goods without the same level of hierarchical structure historically associated with traditional forms of governance. The focus lies on quasi-organizational forms that rely on mass collaborative action across electronic networks. The consideration of these questions is supported by fieldwork in Africa in 2011, and on previous research in Afghanistan and various African countries in 2010. The paper concludes with some tentative hypotheses on the interconnection between ICT, statehood and governance.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Governance, Statehood, Armed Conflict, and Machine Learning
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Africa