The State of Democracy in Africa and the Middle East 2021: Resilient Democratic Aspirations and Opportunities for Consolidation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Democracy Assistance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bright Spots ◽  
The World ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
Remarkable Progress ◽  
Made In

Recent declines in democracy have undermined some of the remarkable progress made in Africa over the past three decades, although bright spots remain. The Covid-19 pandemic, though seemingly less damaging to public health than elsewhere in the world, has added pressure on governance, rights, and social inequality. The report also covers the Middle East and North Africa which is one of the least democratic regions in the world. The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the erosion in democratic principles and the deepening authoritarianism that has accompanied a decade of economic, social and political turmoil in the region. This Report provides lessons and recommendations that governments, political and civic actors, and international democracy assistance providers should consider in order to counter the concerning trends in the erosion of democracy, and to foster its resilience and deepening.

scholarly journals "Euroslam" - is it ridda or time consuming?

2005 ◽  
pp. 22-39
Author(s):  
T. Hazyr-Ogly
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
East Asia ◽  
North Africa ◽  
The State ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Monitoring Center ◽  
Muslim Communities

Islam is now professed by the population of many countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe. According to the World Islamic League, as of 2004, there were 1.2 billion Islamic followers in different countries (around 120 countries). In 35 countries, Muslims now make up 95-99 percent of the population, in 17 countries Islam is the state religion, and in 25 states, Muslims are an influential minority. Muslim communities are overwhelmed in Asia and North Africa. But they are also present in Europe, the US and Japan. According to statistics from the European Monitoring Center and Xenophobia (EUMC), Islam is the only religious religion in the world over the past 100 years, from 13 to 19.5 percent.

Variable oil and argumentative conflict in the Middle East

2020 ◽  
pp. 824
Author(s):  
Malik Daham Mata’ab
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Large Area ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World

Oil has formed since its discovery so far one of the main causes of global conflict, has occupied this energy map a large area of conflict the world over the past century, and certainly this matter will continue for the next period in our century..

The New Islamic State

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhad Khosrokhavar
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
The West ◽  
Patriarchal Family ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation

The creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) changed the nature of jihadism worldwide. For a few years (2014–2017) it exemplified the destructive capacity of jihadism and created a new utopia aimed at restoring the past greatness and glory of the former caliphate. It also attracted tens of thousands of young wannabe combatants of faith (mujahids, those who make jihad) toward Syria and Iraq from more than 100 countries. Its utopia was dual: not only re-creating the caliphate that would spread Islam all over the world but also creating a cohesive, imagined community (the neo-umma) that would restore patriarchal family and put an end to the crisis of modern society through an inflexible interpretation of shari‘a (Islamic laws and commandments). To achieve these goals, ISIS diversified its approach. It focused, in the West, on the rancor of the Muslim migrants’ sons and daughters, on exoticism, and on an imaginary dream world and, in the Middle East, on tribes and the Sunni/Shi‘a divide, particularly in the Iraqi and Syrian societies.

scholarly journals Transitional Justice in the Middle East and North Africa – Taking Account of Islam

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakeem O. Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Islamic Values

AbstractThe core of the argument of this article is that the integration of Islamic notions of justice into transitional justice mechanisms in the MENA makes for a more viable and sustainable transitional justice process in the region. This would mean a critical cultural value in the MENA is given a place in dealing with the past and mapping out a sustainable future in the region. The argument here is premised on the logic that a social transformation-focused enterprise like transitional justice ought to engage with Islam for sustainable outcomes in societies in the MENA where Islam is very influential. Given the significant role and influence of Islam on cultural, socio-political and legal institutions in the MENA, a process of transitional justice that takes account of Islamic values and practices is important for negotiating justice and institutionalising reforms in societies in the region.

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.

scholarly journals Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa

1970 ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
Faraneh Roudi-Fahimi ◽  
Valentine M. Moghadam
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
School Enrolment ◽  
Mena Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Secondary School Enrolment ◽  
And Gender

Education is a key part of strategies to improve individuals' well-being and societies' economic and social development. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (countries and territories included in the Middle East and North Africa as defined here are listed in Table 1), access to education has improved dramatically over the past few decades, and there have been a number of encouraging trends in girls' and women's education (see Figure 1). Primary school enrolment is high or universal in most MENA countries, and gender gaps in secondary school enrolment have already disappeared in several countries. Women in MENA countries are also more likely to enrol in universities than they were in the past.

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.

Critical Times for the Social Contract

2021 ◽  
pp. 19-40
Author(s):  
Charles Devellennes
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Political Order ◽  
The Past ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Political Upheaval ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Fundamental Challenge ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
Critical Times

This chapter proposes a theory of the social contract, in the context of the gilets jaunes. This theory is detailed in the five chapters that follow. The theory proposed here is that the movement itself is best understood as a fundamental challenge to the existing social contract in France — and by extension to other social contracts throughout the world — and its history is not limited to the months of political turmoil it engendered in France or even to the past couple of years of political upheaval in the wider world, but it poses a challenge to the very future of political order. A rethinking of the social contract is necessary given this crisis, and framing the present political turmoil in philosophical terms will help shed some light on the opportunities for change that are arising, in part thanks to the movement.

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