The Challenge of Talking about Terrorism: The EU and the Arab Debate on the Causes of Islamist Terrorism 1

The Arab “hegemonic debate” on the causes of Islamist terrorism nurtures (pan-) Arab, anti-Western sentiments and delegitimizes criticism of the political status quo. The European Union's emphasis on multilateral means of conflict resolution and trade promotion leads to official pronouncements that barely address the Arab world's domestic problems, instead referring to international tensions such as the Arab-Israeli conflict as a particular cause of Islamist terrorism and the need for cooperation with Arab governments. By failing to challenge the official narratives of authoritarian Arab regimes the EU obstructs interests in the democratization of the region and the delegitimization of Islamist violence.     

To govern,or not to govern? Opportunity and post-coup military behaviour in Egypt 2011–2014

This article examines Egyptian military behaviour in 2011 and 2013 to address the question of why officers remain in power following some successful coups, and allow for a transition to civilian rule after others. My evidence suggests that in post-1970 cases where international factors fail to exert sufficient pressure, outcome variation is influenced by levels of corporate opportunity, defined here as the ease with which the army can use control of the state to expand its corporate interests. Drawing on the existing literature, I posit consensus against military rule, high popular support for democracy, strong civil society, the presence of a strong opposition party, and low levels of cohesion among officers as factors which constrain opportunity. Prior research suggests that when the level of opportunity is high, controlling the state becomes a high-risk/low-reward endeavour, making it likely that officers will allow for a transition to civilian rule. My study contributes to the existing scholarship by using original data gathered through interviews with Egyptian officers, as well as other experts on the Egyptian military, to argue that low consensus against military rule, low support for democracy, and high organizational cohesion are jointly sufficient to produce governing intervention.     

Can non-democracies support international democracy? Turkey as a case study

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a rise of interest in the concept of autocracy promotion, with scholars questioning whether the efforts by authoritarian governments to influence political transitions beyond their borders are necessarily pro-authoritarian. An extension of this question is whether some authoritarian governments may at times find it in their interest to support democracy abroad. This article aims to answer this question by focusing on the case of Turkey. It argues that, despite its rapidly deteriorating democracy since the late 2000s, Turkey has undertaken democracy support policies with the explicit goal of democratic transition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the Arab Spring and, while not bearing the intention of democratic transition, has employed democracy support instruments in the form of state-building in sub-Saharan Africa since 2005 to the present day. Based on original fieldwork, the article finds that non-democracies can turn out as democracy supporters, if and when opportunities for strategic gains from democratisation abroad arise. The article further suggests that even in those cases where strategic interests do not necessitate regime change, a non-democracy may still deploy democracy support instruments to pursue its narrow interests, without adhering to an agenda for democratic transition.     

哈桑·哈乃斐的“行先于知”思想

"知"与"行"或者说"认识"与"实践"问题是阿拉伯当代文化与思想界十分受关注的问题,哈桑.哈乃斐作为当代阿拉伯-伊斯兰文化界最具影响力的思想家之一,就该问题展开了深入的思考与研究,提出了"行先于知"的思想主张,并充分挖掘了该思想在阿拉伯-伊斯兰文化中的深层渊源,力图在当代阿拉伯-伊斯兰文化中推崇重实践、绝空谈的务实精神,并推动将阿拉伯-伊斯兰文化研究在整体上实现从"神学"向"人学"的转变,促进阿拉伯-伊斯兰文化"传统"与"现代"的协调发展。     

中国与阿拉伯国家生态环境领域合作研究——兼论防沙治沙合作与技术输出

中国与阿拉伯国家在科技与生态环境合作是近些年乃至未来中阿经贸合作凸显的一个新领域,双方合作潜力巨大,合作领域广泛,合作意义深远.     

“阿拉伯之春”与颜色革命

"阿拉伯之春"既有颜色革命的部分特征,但又不等同于颜色革命。它指的是发端于突尼斯继而几乎席卷整个阿拉伯世界的,为推动政府进行自上而下的改革乃至要求推翻本国专制政体的自发的、内生性的街头运动。阿拉伯世界政局动荡的内部原因是其各自国内积重难返的政治、经济问题,外部原因在于美西方十几年来不断在该地区进行的"民主"渗透。美西方在阿拉伯世界强推西式民主,在经济、政治、安全三方面酿成一系列的苦果并形成恶性循环,客观上使阿拉伯民众对西方"民主""自由"的幻想趋于破灭,将使中东地区在很长时期内都难有宁日。     

评析俄罗斯与阿拉伯国家油气开发合作

石油和天然气部门在俄罗斯经济中占有优势地位,从而使能源成了俄罗斯与阿拉伯国家合作的主要范畴。目前,俄罗斯一些公司正快速向世界盛产石油和天然气的十几个阿拉伯国家渗透。俄罗斯此举的的目的在于,保证俄罗斯作为世界能源大国和欧洲主要能源供给国的地位,确保俄罗斯在当代国际地缘政治和资源争夺中的优势,保护本国资源,获取更大的经济利益。     

Palestinian youth and non-formal service-learning: a model for personal development,long-term engagement,and peace building

Palestinian youth face developmental, cultural, and political barriers that impede them from fully engaging in civic life. Non-traditional, youth-centred pedagogies of engagement, like community-based service-learning, have shown their potential to motivate marginalised populations and provide space and roles for them to form individual identities while developing civic skills. Using data collected through focus-group interviews, this article considers the impact on West Bank youth who participated in an NGO's community-based service-learning leadership programme. Six themed findings are discussed, and the author suggests that non-school-based service-learning may have a central role to play in the civic-identity development of Palestine's most populous group of citizens.     

“阿拉伯之春”之外的马来西亚

2010年底突尼斯爆发的"茉莉花革命",在2011年扩展为"阿拉伯之春",阿拉伯地区发生大面积民众抗议和起义并因此推翻了多个国家的现政权,那么为何东南亚那些一党长期执政的国家没有受此影响而发生类似剧变?在马来西亚的个案中,马来西亚已经形成的两大政治阵营之间的和平竞争体制、纳吉布政府进行的政治与公共事务变革以及多方面改善民生的措施是其中的关键原因。但是,纳吉布政府仍然面临着诸多挑战,包括经济风险、民生难题、族际公平、贪污腐败、选民意向、反对党的竞争。事实表明,在马来西亚即便革命是没必要的,但坚决的体制革新是绝对不能少的。