The Arab World: Nation, State and Democracy, by Fawzy Mansour. (Studies in African Political Economy) 135 pages, bibliography, index. London: Zed Books, 1992. $17.50 (Paper) ISBN 086232-885-3.

Among The Wide range of issues analyzed by Arab scholars, there is a significant interest in the political economy of the Middle East. The impact of globalization on national sovereignty is a particularly strong concern, which is addressed in four studies that were published in Beirut in 1997.

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Post-Arab Spring: The Arab World Between the Dilemma of the Nation-State and the Rise of Identity Conflicts

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity ◽

10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_154 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 131-146

Author(s):

Hassanein Ali

Keyword(s):

Arab Spring ◽

Arab World ◽

Nation State ◽

Identity Conflicts

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Lives of Infamous Women: Gender, Political Economy, Nation-State Power, and Persuasion in the Neoliberal World

Writing Neoliberal Values ◽

10.1057/9781137547774_3 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 57-79

Author(s):

Rachel C. Riedner

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

State Power ◽

Nation State

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Burning Somalia’s Future

Environmental Politics in the Middle East ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190916688.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 121-148

Author(s):

Ilya Gridneff

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Natural Resource ◽

Arab World ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

The Political ◽

Horn Of Africa ◽

Commercial Activity ◽

Access To Finance ◽

Domestic Use ◽

Emerging Powers

This chapter argues that the charcoal trade exposes Somalia’s political economy as a driver of persistent conflict fueled by competing local, regional, and international interests. Of particular note is the tendency of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to buy Somalia’s charcoal, whether licit or illicit, for domestic use: such commercial activity contributes to the country’s regressive imbalances. At the same time, GCC states jockeying for geopolitical influence across the Horn of Africa increases the uneven spread of resources and access to finance for Somalia’s leaders. This process has fed the political elite’s insatiable appetite for personal patronage and has produced a nexus of competing rivalries that further destabilizes Somalia and the broader Red Sea region. This chapter studies the use of one natural resource, charcoal, and its trans-boundary trade as a vehicle to illustrate how Somalia’s ties to the GCC states—and the broader Islamic or Arab world—are being strengthened. The chapter concludes that this growing proximity is both offering beneficial forms of assistance and support, as well as proving to be a factor for destabilization at a time when Somalia is becoming of increasing strategic concern for Western and emerging powers.

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15. Regions

Comparative Politics ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198820604.003.0015 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 267-280

Author(s):

James Bickerton ◽

Alain-G. Gagnon

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Global Economy ◽

Human Agency ◽

The Political ◽

Nation State ◽

Cultural Space ◽

Economic Role ◽

Political Role ◽

Different Types

This chapter explores the concept of region, defined as a territorial entity distinct from both locality and nation-state. The region constitutes an economic, political, administrative, and/or cultural space, within which different types of human agency interact, and towards which individuals and communities may develop attachments and identities. Regionalism is the manifestation of values, attitudes, opinions, preferences, claims, behaviours, interests, attachments, and identities that can be associated with a particular region. The chapter first reviews the main theories and approaches that are used to understand the political role and importance of regions, including the modernization paradigm, Marxism, and institutionalism. It then considers the various dimensions and aspects of regions and regionalism, with particular emphasis on regionalism from below versus regionalization ‘from above’. It also examines the political economy of regions, tracing the changing economic role and place of regions within the national and global economy.

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