Tracing Political Consumerism in Africa and the Middle East

2018 ◽  
pp. 558-582
Author(s):  
Peter Oosterveer ◽  
Laurent Glin ◽  
Michele Micheletti
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Global Supply Chains ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Economic Development

This chapter provides an overview of political consumerism in Africa and the Middle East. Regarding the African continent, consumption is discussed in terms of lifestyle issues related to corruption and Western consumer cultures. In the Middle East and North Africa, political consumerism is closely related to religious controversies. Africa is also central in various global supply chains, such as those for food and minerals, which engage political consumerism activists in other parts of the world. This chapter uses the cases of organic food and Fairtrade to examine the roles of local producers, citizens, and civil society organizations in these global networks. The conclusion discusses specific characteristics of political consumerism in the region and questions whether (future) economic development will have an impact on political consumerism in Africa.

Whose risk? Bank de-risking and the politics of interpretation and vulnerability in the Middle East and North Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sherine El Taraboulsi-McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Politics Of Interpretation

Abstract Following the events of 11 September 2001, measures aimed at countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) were intensified by States. Many countries around the world adopted strict anti-money laundering and CFT regulations for the transfer of funds globally. This process increased the costs of complying with regulatory requirements and imposed high penalties on banks for non-compliance. As a result, preventive measures – often known as “de-risking” – were taken up by banks, including terminating the accounts of clients perceived as “high-risk” for money laundering or terrorist financing, and delaying transfers. These measures, however, have had negative consequences, reducing financial access for local civil society organizations in conflict-affected contexts that are deemed high-risk for terrorist activities. Drawing on five years of research to understand the impact of de-risking on conflict-affected contexts from a local perspective, this paper reflects on the local political economy of CFT, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. It explores two key areas of inquiry. The first of these is the politics of interpretation – how counterterrorism as a discourse and a set of practices, of which CFT is one, gets interpreted by local authorities and banks, and subsequently gets reinterpreted to the population. This also has implications for which local actors are better positioned to access funds than others, and why. The second area of inquiry is the politics of vulnerability – how the local political economy impact of CFT can increase the social and economic vulnerabilities of some groups more than others. This paper demonstrates that under the guise of “counterterrorism”, local authorities in conflict-affected contexts have used CFT to restrict the non-profit and philanthropic space and are using banking regulations to shape that space in ways that are bound to have negative medium- and long-term implications for it.

scholarly journals Improving Capacity Development for Threatened Maritime and Marine Cultural Heritage Through the Evaluation of a Parameter Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-427
Author(s):  
Katherine Recinos ◽  
Lucy Blue
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Development Initiatives

Abstract Maritime cultural heritage is under increasing threat around the world, facing damage, destruction, and disappearance. Despite attempts to mitigate these threats, maritime cultural heritage is often not addressed to the same extent or with equal resources. One approach that can be applied towards protecting and conserving threatened cultural heritage, and closing this gap, is capacity development. This paper addresses the question of how capacity development can be improved and adapted for the protection of maritime cultural heritage under threat. It asserts that capacity development for maritime cultural heritage can be improved by gaining a more comprehensive and structured understanding of capacity development initiatives through applying a consistent framework for evaluation and analysis. This allows for assessment and reflection on previous or ongoing initiatives, leading to the implementation of more effective initiatives in the future. In order to do this, a model for classifying initiatives by ten parameters is proposed. It is then applied to a number of case studies featuring initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa region. This is followed by a discussion of how conclusions and themes drawn from the examination and evaluation of the case study initiatives can provide a deeper understanding of capacity development efforts, and an analysis of how the parameter model as a framework can aid in improving capacity development for threatened maritime cultural heritage overall.

The Slave Trade: The Formal Demography of a Global System

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Manning
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Middle Passage ◽  
Global System ◽  
Plantation Life ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Additional Losses

If the best-known aspects of African slavery remain the horrors of the middle passage and the travail of plantation life in the Americas, recent work has nonetheless provided some important reminders of the Old World ramifications of slavery (Miller 1988; Meillassoux 1986; Miers and Roberts 1988; Manning in press-a). Millions of slaves were sent from sub-Saharan Africa to serve in households and plantations in North Africa and the Middle East and suffered heavy casualties on their difficult journey. Millions more, captured in the same net as those sent abroad, were condemned to slavery on the African continent. The mortality of captives in Africa, therefore, included not only losses among those headed for export at the Atlantic coast but the additional losses among those destined for export to the Orient and among those captured and transported to serve African masters.

Empowerment Against All Odds

2017 ◽  
pp. 105-121
Author(s):  
Bettina Lynda Bastian
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Female Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Critical Overview ◽  
Environmental Level

The number of women-owned businesses worldwide has increased significantly, a development that extends to other parts of the world, such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This region's cultural and socioeconomic idiosyncrasies offer unique perspectives on women entrepreneurship. This article provides a critical overview over the situation of female entrepreneurship in the region, which takes into consideration challenges and opportunities on the level of the individual entrepreneurs, as well as on the macro environmental level. We finally discuss constructive solutions in order to increase the number of women business founders.

Empowerment Against All Odds

2017 ◽  
pp. 1975-1987
Author(s):  
Bettina Lynda Bastian
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Female Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Critical Overview ◽  
Environmental Level

The number of women-owned businesses worldwide has increased significantly, a development that extends to other parts of the world, such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This region's cultural and socioeconomic idiosyncrasies offer unique perspectives on women entrepreneurship. This article provides a critical overview over the situation of female entrepreneurship in the region, which takes into consideration challenges and opportunities on the level of the individual entrepreneurs, as well as on the macro environmental level. We finally discuss constructive solutions in order to increase the number of women business founders.

Entrepreneurship research in the Middle East and North Africa: trends, challenges, and sustainability issues

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abobakr Aljuwaiber
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurship Research ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Economic Development And Growth ◽  
Future Economic Development

Purpose This paper aims to offer a wider examination of the research concerning entrepreneurship characteristics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region via a review of recent studies relevant to this topic. Research publications concerning entrepreneurship within the MENA region evidence growing interest in this field of study, with the potential to boost and drive future economic development and growth. This focus within entrepreneurship research is because of the economic development in the region, which is becoming increasingly important for policymakers and businesses. Design/methodology/approach The author performed a systematic literature review to produce robust information about entrepreneurship in the MENA region, followed by a thematic analysis to identify key research themes within each category. Findings Despite the growth in entrepreneurship research in the MENA region, research on certain factors is lacking. An analysis of 271 studies published between 2009 and 2019 identifies 9 main research categories, within which 30 themes have attracted significant academic attention. Female entrepreneurship and gender, youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship behaviour and orientation are the three key categories influencing perspectives on entrepreneurship in the MENA region. This study highlights research gaps and provides recommendations to guide future research on the sustainable development of entrepreneurship in the MENA region. Originality/value This paper highlights trends in entrepreneurship research amongst scholars within the MENA region and suggests paths for future research efforts.

Pensée 2: The “African” in Africana/Black/African and African American Studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Somerville
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Political ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Black African ◽  
Academic Fields ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Middle East Studies ◽  
Research And Policy

In Pensée 1, “Africa on My Mind,” Mervat Hatem questions the perceived wisdom of creating the African Studies Association (focused on sub-Saharan Africa) and the Middle East Studies Association a decade later, which “institutionalized the political bifurcation of the African continent into two academic fields.” The cleaving of Africa into separate and distinct parts—a North Africa/Middle East and a sub-Saharan Africa—rendered a great disservice to all Africans: it has fractured dialogue, research, and policy while preventing students and scholars of Africa from articulating a coherent understanding of the continent.

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