Taking Stock of Regional Democratic Trends in Africa and the Middle East Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
The State ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
The Impact

This GSoD In Focus aims at providing a brief overview of the state of democracy in Africa and the Middle East at the end of 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, and then assesses some of the preliminary impacts that the pandemic has had on democracy in the region in the last 10 months. Key facts and findings include: Africa • In 2019 alone, 75 per cent of African democracies saw their scores decline, and electoral processes in Africa have failed to become the path for political reform and democratic politics. The reasons are many, including weak electoral management and executive aggrandizement. • The key challenges to democracy brought about by the pandemic involve the management of elections, restrictions on civil liberties (especially freedom of expression), worsening gender equality, deepening social and economic inequalities, a disruption to education, deterioration of media integrity, disruption of parliaments and an amplified risk of corruption. These challenges exacerbate and accelerate long-standing problems in the region. • Despite the challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic might galvanize governments to reinforce public health and social protection mechanisms, rendering the state more able to cushion the impact of the crisis, and enhancing its legitimacy. The Middle East • The Middle East is the most undemocratic region in the world. Only 2 out of 13 countries in the region are democracies. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the economic and social problems of the region, which could exacerbate the pre-existing democratic challenges. • Freedoms of expression and media were severely curtailed in many countries in the region prior to the pandemic. In some cases, COVID-19 has aggravated this. Countries have closed media outlets and banned the printing and distribution of newspapers, under the pretext of combating the spread of COVID-19. This has restricted citizens’ access to information. • Migrant workers and internally displaced people have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19. A significant proportion of the infections in the region have been in impoverished migrant and refugee communities. In the Gulf region, curfews and lockdowns have resulted in many migrants losing their livelihood, right to medical attention and even repatriation. Migrants have also faced discrimination often being held in detention centres, in poor conditions, as part of governmental efforts to curb the number of COVID-19 infections among citizens. The review of the state of democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 uses qualitative analysis and data of events and trends in the region collected through International IDEA’s Global Monitor of COVID-19’s Impact on Democracy and Human Rights, an initiative co-funded by the European Union.

scholarly journals The Middle East and COVID-19: time for collective action

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Fawcett
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
World Health ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Impact

AbstractRevised: Nov 6 2021The shortfalls of multilateral and regional organizations in respect of handling the COVID-19 pandemic have been well rehearsed by scholars and policy makers in multiple publications and statements. While the World Health Organization (WHO) and its regional offices have coordinated global responses, regional organizations, like the European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or African Union, have played complementary roles. However, the response of different regions has varied, revealing multiple deficits in the structures of regional governance. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a region affected by chronic ongoing conflicts and serious inequalities in health and welfare provision, reflected in the absence of concerted responses to the pandemic. Its young population has meant lower comparative mortality rates, but the socio-economic spill-over effects are grave in terms of interrupted education, high unemployment, particularly in respect to vulnerable communities like refugees and migrant workers. With the current situation remaining critical, this paper reviews the impact of COVID-19 on MENA and considers the variable performance of states and institutions to the pandemic, highlighting the shortfalls, but also opportunities for collective action. Drawing on data from the WHO, United Nations (UN), regional organizations, media and secondary sources, it first discusses the wider global-regional context; second, reviews the actions of regional bodies, like the League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council and the cross-regional Organization of Islamic Cooperation; and third, looks at some country-specific situations where both evidence of good practice and the absence of appropriate regional level provision have exposed deep regional divides. It concludes with a call for more collaboration between states and international organizations: better regional coordination is urgently needed to supplement existing multilateral efforts. A collective local response to the COVID-19 pandemic could help transcend regional divides and spur much-needed security cooperation in other areas.

Russia - European Union: The continuation ofthe sanctions standoff

2017 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
M. Klinova ◽  
E. Sidorova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Current Data ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Year 2013

The article deals with economic sanctions and their impact on the state and prospects of the neighboring partner economies - the European Union (EU) and Russia. It provides comparisons of current data with that of the year 2013 (before sanctions) to demonstrate the impact of sanctions on both sides. Despite the fact that Russia remains the EU’s key partner, it came out of the first three partners of the EU. The current economic recession is caused by different reasons, not only by sanctions. Both the EU and Russia have internal problems, which the sanctions confrontation only exacerbates. The article emphasizes the need for a speedy restoration of cooperation.

Into the Vicious Cycle of Precarity: Labour Market, Precarious Work, Social Vulnerability and Youth: The case of Greece within the EU context

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 474-496
Author(s):  
Nikos Papadakis ◽  
Maria Drakaki ◽  
Sofia Saridaki ◽  
Vassilis Dafermos
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Young People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Development Education ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Precarious Work ◽  
The Impact

Ιn the last decade, there has been a widespread expansion of both precarious work and precarious forms of employment (such as temporary and low-qualified jobs, seasonal and part-time jobs etc.), in which a growing share of young people work. The impact of precarious work on young people is likely to be permanent, while it seems to affect (even over-determine) their life courses. Non-smooth and early transitions into labour market are very likely to worsen progressively their long-term life chances (Lodovici & Semenza, 2012: 7). Undoubtedly, the long-lasting global economic Crisis and the subsequent Recession, has heavily affected the state of play in the labour market worldwide, provoking severe modifications both in the field of employment and countries’ social cohesion. Based on the above mentioned, the paper deals with precarious work in general, while it emphasizes precarious work among youth. It initially captures, briefly, the state of play in terms of the impact of the Crisis on the widening of the phenomenon of precarious work and then it focuses on theoretical insights and critical conceptual definitions concerning precariousness in the labour market. Further, based on secondary quantitative -data analysis, it analyses the key- parameters and facets of precarious work (focusing on youth) in the European Union and, mainly, in Greece. Additionally, it briefly presents parameters of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on precariousness in Greece. Finally, the paper explores the correlation between precarious work and social vulnerability, especially among young people. The present paper is based on an ongoing Research Project. More specifically, this research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund- ESF) through the Operational Programme «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020» in the context of the project “Precarious Work and Youth in today’s Greece: secondary quantitative analysis, qualitative filed research and research-based policy proposals” (MIS 5048510).

ANALISIS KEBIJAKAN PEMERINTAH INDONESIA ATAS MORATORIUM TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA KE TIMUR TENGAH PADA TAHUN 2015

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Dhiu ◽  
Ardli Johan Kusuma
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Foreign Exchange ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
National Interest ◽  
The State ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
East Region ◽  
The Government ◽  
Middle East Region

ABSTRACTThe Existance of Indonesian Workers in the Middle East, is very beneficial in terms of foreign exchange earnings. Despite the high rate of remittances generated, the Indonesian government must also implement a moratorium on migrant workers sending policies to the Middle East in 2015, which is feared that this could cause a reduction in the amount of remittances, secifically for the Middle East region. Here, the writer will discuss in dept why the government should carry out the moratorium policy of migrant workers to the Middle East in 2015, while the gorvernment  also know that the existance of the overseas migrant workers woud benefit economically. The writer see that, as the main actor, the state is obliged to provide protection for all its citizens whwrever they are.Keywords: Indonesia Workers, Moratorium, National Interest, Protecting Citizens. ABSTRAKKeberadaan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Timur Tengah, sangatlah menguntungkan dalam hal pendapatan devisa. Dibalik tingginya angka remitansi yang dihasilkan, namun pemerintah Indonesia juga harus menerapkan kebijakan moratorium pengiriman TKI ke Timur Tengah Tahun 2015, yang mana kebijakan tersebut dikhawatirkan dapat menyebabkan penurunan jumlah remitansi, secara khusus untuk kawasan Timur Tengah. Di sini, penulis akan membahas secara mendalam mengapa pemerintah harus melakukan kebijakan moratorius TKI ke Timur tengah Tahun 2015, sedangkan pemerintah juga tahu bahwa keberadaan TKI luar negeri tentu memberi keuntungan secara ekonomi. Penulis menggunakan sudut pandang realisme, dengan memakai teori kepentingan nasional, sehingga akan dibahas secara  mendalam terkait permasalahan yang ada. Dalam penelitian tersebut, penulis melihat bahwa, sebagai aktor utama, negara wajib memberikan perlindungan bagi seluruh warga negaranya di mana pun berada.Kata Kunci: Tenaga Kerja Indonesia, Moratorium, Kepentingan Nasional, Melindungi Warga Negara.

scholarly journals LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN, REDES SOCIALES Y DERECHO PENAL

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Miró-Llinares
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
The State ◽  
Free Expression ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Need To Evaluate ◽  
Derecho Penal ◽  
The Impact

Nowadays it is easy to find public statements about the situation of freedom of expression in different democracies questioning the exercise of this right, perhaps as a result of the political tensions to which democratic states have been subjected in recent years. In this sense, Spain does not escape from these diagnoses. Both international indicators that try to measure the situation and evolution of freedom of expression in different States and academic scholars highlight the excessive criminalization of certain speeches that end up in criminal proceedings that sentence people who make offensive expressions, mainly through social networks. However, in order to reach this diagnosis it is necessary to put together all the symptoms that would lead us to that conclusion. Therefore, in this paper I analyze two main indicators that could shed more light on the state of freedom of expression in Spain and the impact that social networks have had on it. Firstly, I analyze the legislative evolution of expression offences since 1995, to evaluate the limits of certain expressions in order to reach the conclusion that, effectively, over the years the punitive scope of what cannot be expressed has been extended, thus limiting, at least in abstract, freedom of expression. Secondly, I analyze the jurisprudential evolution of all these crimes since 1995 to show that, indeed, the proliferation of sentences from 2015 to the present shows the increase in the criminalization of expressions that are made eminently through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. To conclude, I reflect on the possibility that the latest absolutory sentence by the Constitutional Court of the singer of the band Def con Dos César Strawberry will increase the feeling that, from now on, all expression is admissible and, therefore, will increase free expression in general and, in particular, in social networks, since, it does not seem that our legislator is willing to rectify in its steps the excessive criminalization of certain offenses. I also reflect on the need to approach freedom of expression in a more empirical way and the need to evaluate not only the limitations that the law and judicial processes impose on freedom of expression, but also the extent to which citizens in general and, in particular, users of social networks, without the need to have gone through any criminal proceedings, have stopped expressing their opinions because only in this way will it be possible to determine the state of health of our right to freedom of expression.

scholarly journals China's Rural Migrant Workers, the State, and Labor Politics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Chan ◽  
Mark Selden
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
The State ◽  
Labor Politics ◽  
Rural Migrant ◽  
Industrial Labor ◽  
Class Power ◽  
The Individual ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Rural Migrant Workers

The proletarianization of rural migrants is distinctive to contemporary China's development model, in which the state has fostered the growth of a “semi-proletariat” numbering more than 200 million to fuel labor-intensive industries and urbanization. Drawing on fieldwork in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces between 2010 and 2014, supplemented with scholarly studies and government surveys, the authors analyze the precarity and the individual and collective struggles of a new generation of rural migrant workers. They present an analysis of high and growing levels of labor conflict at a time when the previous domination of state enterprises has given way to the predominance of migrant workers as the core of an expanding industrial labor force. In particular, the authors assess the significance of the growing number of legal and extra-legal actions taken by workers within a framework that highlights the deep contradictions among labor, capital, and the Chinese state. They also discuss the impact of demographic changes and geographic shifts of population and production on the growth of working-class power in the workplace and the marketplace.

scholarly journals Methods of Ukrainian labor migrants reintegration in the context of state migration policy

2019 ◽  
pp. 14-17
Author(s):  
Liubomyr ROMAN
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
National Economy ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Labor Migration ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Labor Migrants ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Introduction. The reintegration of migrant workers is the renewal and accelerated development of ties between the individual and the society, the economic and cultural systems, the restoration of the impact of the individual on socio-economic, socio-cultural and political processes and phenomena, increasing participation in the processes of sustainable development on the basis of introducing elements of economic culture countries of pre-migration. The methodological bases for improving the mechanisms of reintegration of labor migrants should be assessed on the basis of available political and legal support. The problem of labor migration has now taken on a national scale, which brings it out of the limits of the influence of any organization, cluster or individual state authority. The formulation of a strategy for regulating labor migration should be made on the basis of the status of this problem as a national one, therefore, requiring macroeconomic regulation, which will be supported by a strong institutional and regulatory framework. The purpose of the paper is to substantiate the method of reintegration of Ukrainian labor migrants in the context of state migration policy. Results. Theoretical aspects of reintegration of labor migrants are covered. The content analysis of the legal acts of the President of Ukraine is carried out. A number of significant legal acts that have or can have a significant impact on state migration policy are characterized. The peculiarities of the functioning of the central executive body, which implements the state policy in the sphere of migration, and the recent changes in determining the range of subjects of formation and implementation of the state policy in the sphere of labor migration are analyzed. The importance of regulating the issue of investments earned during the emigration of funds into the national economy is substantiated. Conclusion. According to the conducted research, the method of reintegration of Ukrainian labor migrants in the context of the state migration policy is formed under the influence of debates about the factors, directions and forms of support of the respective processes by the state authorities. We believe that the main disadvantage of reintegration institutional support is the lack of a unified approach to the role and importance of repatriates for the sustainable development of the national economy. In our opinion, this approach should be consolidated in the form of the Law of Ukraine with a clear definition of the subjects of assistance to repatriation and reintegration of labor migrants, as well as to strengthen with additional measures of informational, organizational character, tax privileges for investing the money earned abroad for search, development of employers of skilled migrant workers returning to Ukraine.

The EU’s Stealthy Hegemony and Ambiguous Neighbors

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (824) ◽  
pp. 112-117
Author(s):  
Alexander Clarkson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Control ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

European integration based on a supranational form of pooled sovereignty has taken on increasingly state-like qualities. With every move toward absorbing additional members, the European Union system has expanded its geographic reach. The state-like power of the EU is apparent in the impact its integration processes have had in societies just outside its borders. Its growing influence is most notable in misfit border territories, from Kaliningrad to Transnistria, and from Cyprus to Northern Ireland, that are tenuously under the political control of neighboring geopolitical powers.

Právně ekonomické aspekty kritéria právního státu jako podmínky pro přidělení prostředků z rozpočtu EU

2021 ◽  
pp. 126-143
Author(s):  
Tereza Čejková
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Financial Framework ◽  
The Impact

After expressing concerns about the state of democracy and civil rights in Poland and Germany in recent years, the European Commission proposed to implement the so-called rule of law condition in the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework scheme, under which EU budget funding would not be allocated to those Member States which do not comply with the condition. This work will examine the financial and legal aspects of this condition and assess the impact of its application on the economy of the European Union.

Can we do what we say we will do? Issue salience, government effectiveness, and the legislative efficiency of Council Presidencies

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-679
Author(s):  
James P Cross ◽  
Austė Vaznonytė
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Do So

Although agenda-setting dynamics in the European Union are a well-studied phenomenon, there is a gap in the literature between the current focus on issue attention dynamics (a policy input) and the impact attention dynamics have on policy outputs. This study examines how the rotating Council Presidency’s stated policy goals for their term in office affect EU decision-making efficiency. We show that the salience the rotating chair of the Council attaches to a given policy area affects legislative efficiency in that policy area. We also demonstrate how this effect is conditioned on government effectiveness in the state of the Presidency in question, and is independent of Commission policy priorities. This suggests that the Presidency can drive EU policy outputs and push for its priorities when it holds the chair, but that its ability to do so is contingent on the domestic organisation and effectiveness of the state.

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