Democratic states and authoritarian firewalls: America as a black knight in the uprising in Bahrain

Although history is replete with democracies supporting autocracies, democratic black knights have not been approached in a systematic manner. This article examines American rhetoric and policy towards the 2011 uprising and subsequent crackdown in Bahrain in order to further our understanding of how and why democratic states act to reinforce authoritarian firewalls. It finds that the USA was instrumental in providing diplomatic and political cover to the Bahraini government and ensuring that the regime paid no substantive costs for its counter-democracy actions. This case suggests that democratic states may be more effective at providing normative support for non-democratic regimes than their authoritarian counterparts and that democracies may have more in common with autocracies when choosing to act as a black knight than initially thought. Avenues for future research are identified.     

Women and NGO professionalisation: a case study of Jordan

This article examines the impact of NGO professionalisation on the recruitment of NGO staff. Based on an in-depth survey of employees in 20 advocacy NGOs in Jordan, it demonstrates the gendered impact of professionalisation. The majority of NGO employees are highly educated women, often Western-educated, who work in NGOs primarily for career opportunities and because they are attracted by the NGO's goals. In contrast to existing literature, this article argues that gender considerations, such as job flexibility to accommodate household duties, play less of a role in determining the reasons why women seek work in NGOs and their degree of job satisfaction.     

美国与东北亚地区安全:困境、动因及影响

由于错综复杂因素的交织,东北亚的安全两难一直是该地区国家寻求密切合作的最大障碍.并非区域内国家的美国却在东北亚安全关系中扮演主角,然而它深刻介入东北亚安全事务的结果是使地区安全困境愈益显现.美国在东北亚地区的矛盾角色自有其复杂的内在动因,即通过轴心-辐条的安全格局把美国霸权利益凌驾于东北亚地区安全之上.东北亚畸形的安全态势对地区一体化进程及其安全构建产生了十分不利的影响.     

English as an equalizer between Arab and Jewish students in Israel

This paper describes an educational intervention program between 12 Arab and 12 Jewish students who were studying to become teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Israel. The study reports on the ways in which the program impacted the participants, and focuses on the role of English, the Lingua Franca and language of communication, in creating neutral grounds for mutual understanding and contact. The outcomes show that English played a crucial part in facilitating open, pluralistic dialog and intercultural communication in intergroup contact. English acted as a bridge between Jewish and Arab students, in the current Israeli conflictual situation, to enhance communication across boundaries. Findings further indicate that while the participants were aware of the cultural, social, and religious differences between them, they recognized the similarities that brought them together and chose to focus on them as the basis for collaboration. The study suggests implications for teacher education and for continued political activism and community involvement toward peace education among future teachers in Israel.     

Evolving structure of collective bargaining in Turkey (1990–2005)

ABSTRACT

Following the June 1967 Six-Day War, the Soviet Union and Britain invested significant efforts in rehabilitating their relations with the Arab countries, notably Egypt. While both supported the withdrawal of Israel from the Arab-occupied territories, the two countries differed over the nature of the settlement. Still, at the UN Security Council, the Soviet Union supported the British draft resolution for solving the Middle East conflict. Cold War interests and competition over influence in the Middle East, however, led the Soviets to launch a public campaign against British policy in the Middle East and prevented the two countries from joining efforts to bring about a breakthrough in the Arab–Israeli conflict.     

中西方文化与阿拉伯伊斯兰民族文化的差异对交际与沟通的影响

由于自然条件、历史文化、宗教信仰以及民族特性等差异,世界各国形成了各自不同的风俗习惯和禁忌。在跨文化交际中,由于文化障碍而导致的信息误解现象屡见不鲜。因此,了解中西方文化与阿拉伯伊斯兰民族文化的差异对于提高跨文化交际与沟通能力有着重要的意义。     

The destruction of old Jaffa in 1936 and the question of the Arab refugees

Abstract

One outcome of the Jewish–Arab conflict at the time of the British Mandate was the Arab refugee problem. It usually accompanied any escalation in hostilities and was evident at foci of the friction between Arabs and Jews. Reprisals by the authorities against the Arab population was an additional cause. At the time of the Arab Revolt the refugee issue assumed for the first time significant proportions as a result of destructive actions by the British army, the greatest being the home demolition operations unleashed in Jaffa. As a result many families became refugees inside and outside their city. For the first time in the Mandate period the British government was obliged to contend with the problem of Arab refugees that it itself had created, and resolve it. The article aims to shed light on a unique operation by the Mandatory government intended to establish a locality to house Arab refugees, which was implemented and completed in the Mandate period. The article shows that for the authorities the establishment of a quarter for refugees was the required and most appropriate solution to the problem that had arisen.     

When the Poor Need Health Care: Ethnography of State and Citizenship in Turkey

This article is mainly about the everyday workings of the Green Card Scheme in Turkey, which is a social assistance mechanism providing free health care services to the poor. Through a scrutiny of interactions around the Green Card Scheme in the city of Ad?yaman in south-eastern Turkey, the article explores how the categories of state and citizenship substantiated at the local level by means of various discourses and practices and in the process of citizens' encounters with the Green Card bureaucracy.     

Stakeholders’ relations and power dynamics in development cooperation: lessons learnt from Egypt

One of the key factors why international development cooperation programmes do not achieve sustainable results is their failure to respond to the dynamics of local stakeholders’ relations. This article highlights the case of a fruit and vegetable market in an informal area of Greater Cairo that was redeveloped by a programme supported by German International Cooperation. Although the market was developed using participatory methods, the vendors deserted it. Analysis reveals the conflicting interests of vendors and the district administration were reflected in divergent models of market operation. The paper recommends that development cooperation recognise the legitimacy of existing power structures and stakeholders’ relations.