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121. 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

122. Support for the Formation of a Federation of East African States: Citizens’ Attitudes in Kenya and Tanzania

Author:
Samuel Balongo
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Political leaders in the five countries of the East African Community (EAC) – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi – have made concerted efforts to promote the benefits of an East African Federation (EAF). The signing of regional integration treaties is covered extensively in national and regional media. Yet many citizens in the two largest member states are not convinced that integration will lead to promised benefits for their countries. In Afrobarometer public-opinion surveys in 2011-2012, citizens of Kenya and Tanzania were asked about the likely impact of an integrated EAF on the availability of jobs, managing conflict, controlling corruption, strengthening democracy, and controlling prices. On none of these five issues did a majority of Tanzanians say that an EAF would have a positive impact, and on only two issues – availability of jobs and controlling prices – did a majority of Kenyans expect improvement through an EAF.
Topic:
Governance, State Formation, State Building, Federalism, and Bureaucracy
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, and Tanzania

123. Russian Politics in Times of Change: Internal and External Factors of Transformation

Author:
Denis S. Alexeev
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The first few months of 2014 brought an unprecedented collapse of the Russian Federa-tion’s image on the world stage, the worst since the end of the Cold War. The events in Ukraine and the reaction to them by a significant number of countries in the interna-tional community, quickly demoted Russia to that group of countries whose foreign policy provokes harsh condemnation. For the first time in decades, international sanc-tions have been put in place against Russia, adopted by a large number of the world’s largest countries, de facto downgrading Russia to the rank of a rogue state; these sanc-tions are intended to exert pressure on the elite, who are responsible for implementing certain foreign policy decisions. For many experts, the events are associated with a new and sudden sea-change in Russia’s foreign policy. However, it appears to us that the cur-rent stage of cooling relations with the West is a logical consequence of the way in which the Russian state was constructed in recent years; in fact, a different scenario could hardly have been anticipated. This article presents the author’s view of the mecha-nisms and logic that shaped Russia’s foreign policy course, which has evolved through several iterations in the last three years. The below analysis could facilitate a fuller un-derstanding of Russian motives in international relations, and help find opportunities and mechanisms for dialogue between Russia and the West.
Topic:
International Relations, Diplomacy, State Building, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Eastern Europe

124. Fragile States Index 2014: The Book

Author:
J. J. Messner, Nate Haken, Krista Hendry, Patricia Taft, Kendall Lawrence, Laura Brisard, and Felipe Umana
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Fund for Peace
Abstract:
The Fragile States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure. By highlighting pertinent issues in weak and failing states, The Fragile States Index—and the social science framework and software application upon which it is built—makes political risk assessment and early warning of conflict accessible to policy-makers and the public at large. The Fragile States Index is an annual ranking of 178 nations based on their levels of stability and the pressures they face. The Index is based on The Fund for Peace’s proprietary Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST) analytical platform. Based on comprehensive social science methodology, data from three primary sources is triangulated and subjected to critical review to obtain final scores for the Fragile States Index. Millions of documents are analyzed every year, and by applying highly specialized search parameters, scores are apportioned for every country based on twelve key political, social and economic indicators and over 100 sub-indicators that are the result of years of painstaking expert social science research. The 2014 Fragile States Index, the tenth edition of the annual Index, comprises data collected between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 — thus, certain well publicized events that have occurred since January 1, 2014 are not covered by the 2014 Index.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Fragile States, Economy, State Building, and Instability
Political Geography:
Africa, Bosnia, Eastern Europe, Balkans, West Africa, Somalia, South Sudan, and Global Focus

125. External State-Building and Why Norms Matter - The European Union’s Fight against Corruption in the Southern Caucasus

Author:
Tanja A. Börzel and Vera van Hüllen
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
This paper asks under which conditions the state-building efforts of external actors in areas of limited statehood are likely to be effective. We argue that the legitimacy of the specific norms promoted by external actors among local actors is crucial for their success in strengthening state capacities. International norms need to resonate with the dominant domestic discourse on political reforms. To substantiate our argument, we focus on the European Union’s (EU) anti-corruption programs and their implementation in one of the most corrupt regions in the world, the Southern Caucasus. We show that legitimacy can explain why the EU’s fight against corruption helped reduce corruption in Georgia but not in Armenia. In both countries, political elites could selectively use anti-corruption programs as an instrument against political opponents using enhanced state capacities to stabilize the incumbent regime. Only in Georgia, however, the fight against corruption was facilitated by sustained domestic mobilization for anti-corruption policies that added pressure on political elites ‘from below.’
Topic:
Corruption, European Union, State Building, and Norms
Political Geography:
Europe, Armenia, Georgia, and South Caucasus

126. Building a State without the Nation? «Peace-through-Statebuilding» in Southern Sudan, 2005-2011

Author:
Aleksi Ylönen
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
In January 2005 the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) brought Africa’s longest-running war in Southern Sudan to its formal end. Essentially a two-party power-sharing treaty between the Government of Sudan and the largest rebel organization in Southern Sudan, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), the CPA, which provided a roadmap for peace between the main warring parties and facilitated the secession of Southern Sudan in July 2011, faced a number of challenges due to being imposed over a complex landscape of local political actors. This article analyzes the external intervention during the CPA implementation in Southern Sudan in 2005-2011. It treats state-building and nation-building as separate in order to demonstrate the limits of the current intervention aimed at building a legitimate and authoritative state. The article argues that the external intervention in Southern Sudan, characterized by “peace-through-state-building” approach, was unable to ensure peace during the period examined due to its lack of focus on nation building.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Conflict, Peace, and State Building
Political Geography:
Africa and South Sudan

127. After Qaddafi: Building Peace in Libya

Author:
Muzaffer Ercan Yilmaz
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bilgi
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
After the overthrown of Qaddafi, Libya has a historic opportunity to become a democratic country in the Western sense if peace building process is successfully completed in the country in the post-conflict period. This article aims to outline the basic steps of the peace building process, involving transitional justice, forming a representative government, strengthening security, making a new constitution, economic reconstruction, and national reconciliation, in that order. The study also emphasizes that since post-conflict situations usually require outside help due to institutional weaknesses, as well as limited human and financial resources, the assistance of the international community to Libya is crucial in the process of peace building.
Topic:
Civil War, Social Movement, Arab Spring, Peace, and State Building
Political Geography:
Africa and Libya

128. The Role of the Military in the Constitution-making Process as a part of Democratic Transition: The Comparative Cases of Turkey and Egypt

Author:
Merve Ince
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bilgi
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
The role of the military in the politics in the developing or socalled “Third World” countries has always been fundamental in order to comprehend the historical process of democratization movements in these countries. To be able to fully grasp the politics, particularly democratic transitions, in the Middle East, it is indispensable to look at the role of the military within the transition process. However, because the democratic transition processes involves different practices, in my research paper, I will focus on the role of military within the constitution-making processes in order to narrow down my research. I have chosen the constitution-making process because, as argued by Özbudun, constitution-making, especially during democratic transitions, is an excellent opportunity to build political institutions that will enjoy broad support from society and its political elites. Both the constitution-making process and its outcome are crucial aspects of the transition to and consolidation of democracy. In this regard, in this study, I have chosen to study Egypt and Turkey comparatively in terms of their military involvement in the constitution making process. It should be noted that in both Turkey and Egypt, previous constitutions were made directly by the military or under military influence through various means, which I will evaluate in my research paper in detailed way. I have chosen these two countries due to two reasons. My initial inspiration is derived from that currently, these two significant countries of the region are in the constitution-making process. When we look at current situation of Turkey, it can be argued that Turkey is in constitution-making process, which is supposed to be totally civilian without the influence of the military. On the other hand, in terms of Egypt, it is argued that following to the Arab Spring, Egypt’s new constitution will be the roadmap to a second republic that most Egyptians hope will be free from the tyranny, corruption, and nepotism, which were the trademarks of Egypt’s political life. The second reason is that despite the fact that Egypt and Turkey differ from each other in terms of longevity of their democratic experiences, the militaries of two countries demonstrate some core similarities, which is noteworthy in terms of comparing the two. Considering all of these, the aim of this study is to see how the military can be a part of the political system, especially in the making of constitution, and to understand the current situation and changing position of the militaries in these countries.
Topic:
Military Affairs, Democracy, State Building, and Transition
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Egypt

129. Fostering of Civil Society by Muslim Women’s NGO-s in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author:
Muhidin Mulalic
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bilgi
Institution:
Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:
The fostering of civil society is vital in multiethnic, multicultural, multi-religious and post-conflict societies such as that of BosniaHerzegovina. Therefore, this paper examines the role of Muslim women’s Non Government Organisations (NGOs) in fostering civil society in BosniaHerzegovina. In this regard, this paper puts in perspective the present role of Muslim women’s NGOs by providing the theoretical background and a survey of NGOs in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In order to determine the role and function of Muslim women’s NGOs, the author examines the main criteria of civil society functions such as control of political power, monitoring of political participation and elections, promoting anti-corruption awareness, advocating values of human rights, tolerance and understanding, offering civic training, promoting civic education and public issues through media, and promoting conflict resolution and inter-faith dialogue. By analyzing civil society functions this paper answers the question of Muslim women’s NGOs involvement in socio-political aspects of a democratic state and fostering of civil society in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The author uses an ethnographic methodology, written sources and interviews in analyzing two leading Muslim Women’s NGOs such as Nahla Education Center for Women and Kewser-Zehra Association of Muslim Women. The results of this paper indicate that although Muslim women’s NGOs in theory do not meet some of the criteria to be considered a civil society actor, especially those of a political and legal nature, they are, nonetheless, significantly involved through their various activities in sociopolitical aspects of the democratic state and, as such, they have contributed significantly towards fostering of civil society in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Topic:
Civil Society, Gender Issues, Religion, NGOs, and State Building
Political Geography:
Europe and Bosnia and Herzegovina

130. Failed States Index 2013: The Book

Author:
J. J. Messner, Nate Haken, Krista Hendry, Patricia Taft, Kendall Lawrence, Sebastian Pavlou, and Felipe Umana
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Fund for Peace
Abstract:
The Failed States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure. By highlighting pertinent issues in weak and failing states, The Failed States Index—and the social science framework and software application upon which it is built—makes political risk assessment and early warning of conflict accessible to policy-makers and the public at large.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Fragile/Failed State, Arab Spring, Peace, State Building, and Human Security
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, North Africa, Somalia, South Sudan, and Global Focus