Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: “democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context

ABSTRACT

There is a general assumption in democracy promotion that liberal democracy is the panacea that will solve all political and economic problems faced by developing countries. Using the concept of “good society” as analytical prism, the analysis shows that while there is a rhetorical agreement as to what the “good society” entails, democracy promotion practices fail to allow for recipients’ inclusion in the negotiation and delivery of the “good society”. Contrasting US and Tunisian discourses on the “good society”, the article argues that democracy promotion practices are underpinned by neoliberal parameters borne out from a reliance on the transition paradigm, which in turn leave little room to democracy promotion recipients to formulate knowledge claims supporting the emergence of alternative conceptions of the “good society”. In contrast, the article opens up a reflective pathway to a negotiated democratic knowledge, which would reside in a paradigmatic change that consists in the abandonment of the transition paradigm in favour of a “democratic emergence” paradigm.     

Creating the National/Border Security Nexus: Counter-Terrorist Operations and Monitoring Middle Eastern and North African Visitors to the UK in the 1970s–1980s

Abstract

This article looks at an earlier episode in the history of the UK border security apparatus by examining how the immigration control system was used in the 1970s and 1980s to detect potential terrorists from the Middle East and North Africa. Using recently opened archival records, it shows that the UK government introduced a strict system of visa checks, interviews, and other measures to nearly all Middle Eastern and North African visitors to the UK to prevent the entry of suspected terrorist personnel. By using these highly arbitrary measures, it became the modus operandi of the UK authorities to treat all Middle Eastern and North Africans as potential terrorists until convinced otherwise.     

Legitimacy and protest under authoritarianism: explaining student mobilization in Egypt and Morocco during the Arab uprisings

Political protests constitute a major concern to authoritarian regimes. Existing research has argued that they indicate a lack of regime legitimacy. However, empirical evidence on the relationship between legitimacy and protest participation remains rare. Based on new survey data from Morocco and Egypt, this study investigates whether legitimacy played a significant role in student mobilization during the 2011 uprisings. In doing so, we first develop a context-sensitive concept of legitimacy. This allows us to differentiate the ruler’s legitimacy claims and the citizens’ legitimacy beliefs. Furthermore, we distinguish between two different objects of legitimacy: the broader political community and specific regime institutions. Our empirical analysis suggests that legitimacy had an independent and significant impact on students’ protest participation, yet in more nuanced ways than generally assumed. While protest participation was driven by nationalist sentiments in Egypt, it was motivated by dissatisfaction with the political performance of specific regime institutions in Morocco.     

Social Network Analysis to evaluate organisational networks on sexual health and rights

There are many challenges in evaluating international networks. The use of conventional tools can be difficult and often provides less than useful information. Social Network Analysis offers benefits for network evaluators by allowing for documentation and analysis of inter-relationships between individuals and organisations. This paper describes the use of this approach in the evaluation of a major international project entitled the Global Dialogues on Sexual Health and Well-being. It highlights the value of maps in enabling clear visual representations of networks, the identification of areas needing greater focus and the basis on which networks are constructed.

Analyse des réseaux sociaux pour évaluer les réseaux organisationnels sur les droits et la santé génésiques

L’évaluation des réseaux internationaux présente de nombreux défis. L'utilisation d'outils conventionnels peut être difficile et fournit souvent des informations qui ne sont pas des plus utiles. L'analyse des réseaux sociaux comporte des avantages pour les évaluateurs des réseaux, car elle permet la documentation et l'analyse des corrélations entre individus et organisations. Cet article décrit l'utilisation de cette approche dans l’évaluation d'un important projet international intitulé Global Dialogues on Sexual Health and Wellbeing (Dialogues mondiaux sur la santé et le bien-être génésiques). Il met en relief la valeur des cartes pour permettre des représentations visuelles claires des réseaux, l'identification de zones nécessitant un axe central plus marqué et la base sur laquelle les réseaux sont construits.

Análise de Rede Social para avaliar redes organizacionais sobre saúde sexual e direitos

Existem muitos desafios para se avaliar as redes internacionais. O uso de ferramentas convencionais pode ser dificil e frequentemente oferece informações que não são úteis. A Análise de Rede Social oferece benefícios para avaliadores de rede ao considerar a documentação e análise das inter-relações entre indivíduos e organizações. Este artigo descreve o uso desta abordagem na avaliação de um grande projeto internacional chamado Diálogos Globais sobre Saúde Sexual e Bem-Estar. Ele destaca o valor de mapas para permitir representações visuais claras de redes, a identificação de áreas que estejam precisando de um maior enfoque e a base sobre a qual as redes são construídas.

El Análisis de Redes Sociales para evaluar redes de organizaciones que trabajan en salud y derechos sexuales

A la hora de evaluar las redes internacionales surgen muchos retos. Los métodos tradicionales pueden presentar dificultades y a menudo proporcionan información poco útil. El Análisis de Redes Sociales presenta ventajas para los evaluadores de redes ya que ofrece la posibilidad de documentar y analizar relaciones entre individuos y organizaciones. El presente ensayo examina cómo se utilizó este método para evaluar un importante proyecto internacional llamado “Diálogos globales sobre salud sexual y bienestar”. También ilustra cómo los mapas son valiosos porque muestran una clara representación visual de las redes, revelan las áreas que necesitan mayor atención y señalan las bases sobre las que se construyen las redes.     

中东政治转型及中国中东外交

中东变局持续一年多来,地区局势依旧存在诸多不确定和不稳定因素,但剧烈的群体性动荡局面有所缓和,地区国家将渐次进入深化变革和转型的长期过程。当前的转型主要反映在国内政治方面,但中东转型需求是全方位的,社会文化的转型更具深意,很大程度上决定转型的整体方向和最终成败。地区内部各种力量的博弈、传统文化、宗教及社会思潮都试图在中东转型过程中发挥引领作用和影响力,而全球政治的变化及世界经济的发展同样将对中东转型产生重大影响。面对新形势,中国中东外交要拓展思路,着眼未来,主动谋局,塑造有利环境,提升政治影响力。     

中国与东亚共同体建构

在探讨东亚地区主义时通常所运用的三种思维范式———现实主义、自由主义和建构主义的思维范式。按照这样的一些思维范式分析,90年代后期的区内外因素促成了东盟+3会议的召开和真正意义上的东亚地区主义的发生及东亚同盟体的建构所面临的挑战。中国和平崛起对于参与和推进东亚共同体的形成具有重要的作用。     

近代以来中东地区伊斯兰思潮在东南亚的传播方式和影响（19世纪初-20世纪上半叶）

中东地区是伊斯兰世界的中心，东南亚地处伊斯兰世界的边缘。中东地区作为伊斯兰教的中心，一直盛产各种伊斯兰思潮：瓦哈比运动、伊斯兰现代主义、伊斯兰民族主义等，并通过朝觐和留学等方式向东南亚伊斯兰社会传播，激发了东南亚的帕特里运动、伊斯兰现代主义和民族主义运动的兴起和发展。     

构建中国与土耳其新型战略合作关系

中国和土耳其两国在1971年建立外交关系,但在20世纪七八十年代冷战的背景下,中土关系处于一种低水平状态。冷战结束后,两国关系的发展出现了前所未有的势头。2010年10月,中国和土耳其宣布正式建立和发展战略合作关系。这种战略合作关系并非空洞的外交辞令,而是具有丰富的实质性内容。作为两个发展中的地区大国,中国和土耳其双方均着眼于未来,希望在国际舞台上发挥与各自政治、经济和军事力量相称的作用。在埃及、利比亚、叙利亚等阿拉伯国家发生剧烈动荡后,土耳其在中东地区的重要性更进一步凸显。随着中东和中亚在中国对外战略中地位的上升,土耳其在中国外交中的地位会更加重要。     

中朝经济关系的现状与前景

中国对外开展经贸合作的方针是始终不渝奉行互利共赢的开放战略和"睦邻、安邻、富邻"的周边政策。应当积极支持中国企业"走出去"与朝鲜企业开展互利共赢合作,在世界金融危机到来期间,中国国内民营经济也受到一定冲击,中国一些以出口加工为主业的民营企业纷纷歇业、转产,民间出现大量游资.很多民营企业家将目光瞄向了朝鲜——这块未开发的处女地。利用2009年"中朝友好年"的良机,促进两国经济关系的合作,既符合两国人民的利益,也有利于东北亚和平稳定局面的形成。     

Talking Tough: Gender and Reported Speech in Campaign News Coverage

Building on the notion of "gendered mediation," we argue that conventional news frames construct politics in stereotypically masculine terms, and we examine the implications of these news frames for the coverage of female party leaders. Content analysis of reported speech in television news coverage of the 1993 and 1997 Canadian elections, combined with the results of an experiment, reveals that the speech of the three women leaders was subject to more interpretation by the media and was reported in more negative and aggressive language. The study concludes that gendered mediation may hinder women's chances of electoral success.     

西田哲学中的“东亚共荣圈”原理——兼与军部的“大东亚共荣圈”理论比较

太平洋战争爆发后,西田几多郎提出了面向世界的历史课题,即＂世界性的世界形成主义＂。西田的世界观是以东亚为视角、以日本为中心的世界观,其目的是将＂八纮为宇＂的＂皇道精神＂发挥于世界。在日本政府已经确立＂大东亚共荣圈＂的亚洲战略之后,西田提出＂东亚共荣圈＂理念,试图从哲学的世界观、文化观角度解读并深化日本政府的＂大东亚共荣圈＂理论。西田的＂东亚共荣圈＂中包含浓厚的日本历史特殊性和日本民族优越论的倾向,与军部法西斯的＂大东亚共荣圈＂殊途同归。     

东亚区域能源安全与东亚共同体构建

东亚共同体是未来东亚合作和东亚国家可持续发展的最佳选择。但目前它尚处于理想和现实之间,短期内无法建成。近年来,东亚大多数国家都面临着能源安全困境,它涉及到东亚国家现实的共同利益问题。区域能源安全问题已经成为当今东亚国家普遍关注和需要解决的问题。如果能够以区域能源安全合作为切入点,建立东亚能源合作机制或区域能源安全共同体,那么不仅有助于推动东亚共同体构建的进程,还可以为东亚共同体的构建和运行积累宝贵的经验。     

东亚合作面临的机遇与挑战

随着国际环境和东亚区域内环境的不断发展变化以及东亚各国较高的经济增长速度,近年来东亚合作展现出了前所未有的新的机遇。然而,东亚一体化进程中仍充满着很多不确定因素,在通往东亚共同体的道路上仍困难重重。东北亚各国应认清目前的国际环境和发展态势,用发展的眼光看待和解决面临的困难和问题,抓住历史机遇,东亚合作大有可为。     

Could the system work better? Scale and local knowledge in humanitarian relief

This article analyses the international humanitarian response to the earthquake in Jogjakarta, Indonesia in May 2006. It also compares it with a small but very successful local initiative. It identifies inherent weaknesses in the international system, and argues for the possibility of scaling up lessons learned from the local example.     

中国与东盟关系现状、趋势、对策

在中国国际战略环境中,东盟处于十分重要的地位.目前中国与东盟关系正面临着美国“重返东南亚”和南海部分岛屿主权争端矛盾上升的两大考验.我国应高度重视对东盟关系的发展,继续坚持“与邻为伴、以邻为善”的周边外交方针,大力促进双方的全面合作、创新合作、务实合作、互利合作,不断深化双方战略伙伴关系.