Exploration of Betrayal in Exploited Spaces: A Bakhtinian Study of The Shadow of the Crescent Moon

In post 9/11 literature, the wave of terrorism and its penetration into third world countries have been a serious concern. Since then, Pakistani literature has encapsulated the impact of war on terror in multi-faceted ways – investigating its implications on social, political and cultural levels. This article strives to focus on how betrayal seeps into the exploited spaces of the tribal areas. Bakhtinian studies assess the concept of betrayal from multiple perspectives, considering the applicability of the terms in unveiling the betrayal in relationships and state level as well. By the application of the concepts of chronotope and polyphony, the enforcement and discretion of being betrayed or by betraying have been analysed via considering the aftermaths of imposed war in terms of social-political aspects. The work has also focused on the penetration of betrayal in fictional tribal areas, by the youngsters of a native town who associated themselves with violent groups, spreading anarchy and disorder. The transgression from the order of the normal life due to encounter with grotesque reality has been unveiled in the study. With fear of violence, hope also germinates in the disordered world. It elucidates the multidimensional view of betrayal due to the disparities faced by the people of the tribal area.

On the Origins of Authoritarian Islamic Regime Foundations in the Middle East: The Case of Iran

This article examines the way in which the Islamic regime in Iran was founded, what were the political and social conditions that convinced people for a regime change and, finally, what were the social consequences of and reactions to an authoritarian regime foundation in this country heavily populated by Muslims. This article argues that the experience of Iran provides a model framework to understand potential authoritarian Islamic regime foundations elsewhere. The article studies Iran’s contemporary political history in three phases: firstly, the socio-political atmosphere of the pre-revolutionary period, which could be deemed as preliminary years triggering the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Secondly, the period of the constitutive attempts towards an Islamic regime foundation through the 1980s is examined. Thirdly, the confrontation phase is probed where the social reactions against the Islamic regime foundation have taken place and increasingly intensified since the 1990s until now.

Global Free Trade and the Fragmentation of Capitalist Classes: An Uneven and Combined Development Approach to MUSIAD in Turkey

“A small group of young Turkish patriots who have fallen in love with their country have laid the foundation of MUSIAD 30 years ago”. This passage has been taken from the official Twitter account of MUSIAD whose categorisation has always been a contested issue. MUSIAD has been called the “Anatolian Capital”, “Muslim Bourgeoisie”, “Devout Bourgeoisie”, and finally “patriots who have fall in love with their country”. The uniqueness of this study lays in its class-based approach to the MUSIAD affiliates, as it argues that MUSIAD is composed of three main class fractions which are nationally oriented, internationally oriented and transnational. This categorisation is based on the ways in which MUSIAD affiliates engage in social relations of production rather than matters of religion, culture, and ideology. Subsequently, this study argues that the rise of MUSIAD is part of a process of transformation in the patterns of capital accumulation and uneven development of capitalism in Turkey. Accordingly, this study draws on the uneven and combined development approach to understand why MUSIAD affiliates could not catch up with TUSIAD affiliated companies which mostly represent the transnational fraction of Turkish capital.

From Dictatorship to “Democracy”: Neoliberal Continuity and Its Crisis in Tunisia

A decade after Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution in 2011, this article assesses Tunisia’s neoliberal political economy from a critical and historical perspective; from Ben Ali to its current political and economic impasse. It argues that despite the country being shown as the only democratic example to have emerged from the “Arab Spring”, the continuity of neoliberalism puts significant limits on its democratisation. Domestic and international ruling classes insisted on the implementation of further neoliberal reforms since the 2010s which curbed democratic processes, interventions and demands. Hence, despite limited democratic reform in the political sphere initially, it is not plausible to argue that the post-2010 era delivered the demands of the masses that led to the ousting of Ben Ali. In recent years, the country has experienced significant economic and political crises accompanied by deep societal unrest and labour resistance. Indeed, high unemployment persists, inflation and the cost of living have worsened, foreign debt has soared, wages have remained stagnant and state austerity is prescribed by the country’s creditors. This leaves the future of Tunisia’s political economy uncertain and crisis-prone, and makes the case for a break away from neoliberalism an urgent necessity.

Unevenness, (Under)development, and Resistance in the Middle East and North Africa: An Introduction

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been one of the most significant peripheries of the world capitalist system studied for its social, economic, and political underdevelopment, crises, and conflicts, not only in comparison to Western countries but also in relation to the discrepancies within the region itself. Yet, the protests and uprisings against imperialism, colonialism, and authoritarianism have underlined the burning necessity for critical/radical approaches to examine the political economy of the MENA and state-society relations in the region. This special issue draws upon critical/radical approaches and explores unevenness, (under)development, and resistance that have characterised the economic relations, social structures, and state apparatuses in the MENA.

Review of Mbaye Lo, Political Islam, Justice and Governance

Mbaye Lo’s Political Islam, Justice and Governance is unique in its attempt to supply an explanation based on the comportment of the Islamists in power...

Review of Sumantra Bose, Secular States, Religious Politics: India, Turkey, and the Future of Secularism

Sumantra Bose’s Secular States, Religious Politics examines the origins and trajectories of secularism in India and Turkey as major examples of non-Western secular states. Coming from a prominent Indian political family, Bose provides deep insights throughout the book by adopting a historical comparative perspective...

Review of Nergis Canefe, The Syrian Exodus in Context: Crisis, Dispossession and Mobility in the Middle East

Nergis Canefe’s The Syrian Exodus in Context: Crisis, Dispossession and Mobility in the Middle East presents itself as focusing on the experiences of dispossession among migrants highlighting their state of precarity reinforced by practices of selective attribution of rights...

Review of Lorenzo Kamel, The Middle East: From Empire to Sealed Identities

While the scholarly literature is replete with works claiming a comprehensive analysis of modern Middle East history, few authors have actually built their investigation on identity-related perspectives. Indeed, the book, The Middle East: From Empire to Sealed Identities, proved faithful to its title, providing a clear historical view of the processes that turned the fluid and multifaceted distinctiveness, which characterised the peoples of this region under the late Ottoman Empire, into sealed-off identities...

Review of Tahir Abbas, Contemporary Turkey in Conflict: Ethnicity, Islam and Politics

Since the rise of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power in 2002, the country has been at the forefront of events in the region and beyond, even more so in the wake of the 15 July 2016 failed coup attempt. The party’s initial pro-EU, pro-democratic posture has given way to an illiberal authoritarianism since 2010, a process that has yet to reach its denouement. Tahir Abbas’ worthy ambition in Contemporary Turkey in Conflict: Ethnicity, Islam and Politics is to chart the path of sociopolitical transformation Turkey has undergone over the last decade or so, by surveying some of the key ideas and actors shaping contemporary Turkish politics...