Suchergebnisse

"Hybrid forms of governance - where the central state authority does not possess a monopoly of violence and fails to exercise control - are not only an epiphenomena, but a reality likely to persist. This book explores this phenomenon drawing on examples from the Middle East and Africa. It considers the different sorts of actors - state and non-state, public and private, national and transnational - which possess power, examines the dynamics of the relationships between central authorities and other actors, and reviews the varying outcomes. The book provides an alternative view of the way in which governance has been constructed and lived, puts forward a conceptualisation of various forms of governance which have hitherto been regarded as exceptions, and argues for such forms of governance to be regarded as part of the norm"--

American foreign policy under President Trump in the Middle East and North Africa has been a policy rollercoaster, sometimes in line of continuity with policies adopted by the previous administration, sometimes with violent breaks from the past, sometimes apparently brought about by material interest calculations, other times supposedly driven by personal politics and symbolic gestures. All this has happened without a clearcut grand strategy, but rather though ad hoc decisions and policy U-turns, and, in bureaucratic politics' terms, with different parts of the administration contradicting one another. It represents a unique combination of mercantilism, realism, personalized politics which, most remarkably, is likely to be shaped by structural and contextual factors more than strategic and political intentions.

American foreign policy under President Trump in the Middle East and North Africa has been a policy rollercoaster, sometimes in line of continuity with policies adopted by the previous administration, sometimes with violent breaks from the past, sometimes apparently brought about by material interest calculations, other times supposedly driven by personal politics and symbolic gestures. All this has happened without a clearcut grand strategy, but rather though ad hoc decisions and policy U-turns, and, in bureaucratic politics' terms, with different parts of the administration contradicting one another. It represents a unique combination of mercantilism, realism, personalized politics which, most remarkably, is likely to be shaped by structural and contextual factors more than strategic and political intentions.

Die Verfasserin geht davon aus, dass Europa die Entwicklungen im Mittleren Osten und in Nordafrika aus der Sicht der eigenen geopolitischen Interessen betrachtet hat. Dabei handelt es sich vor allem um die innere politische Stabilität, Sicherheit und Energiepolitik. Zur Sicherung dieser Interessen ist in der Geschichte der Beziehungen zwischen Europa und seinen südlichen Nachbarn ein vielfältiges Instrumentarium eingesetzt worden. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Etablierung der Nachbarschaftspolitik der EU auf der Annahme basiert, dass diese im Hinblick auf die politische und wirtschaftliche Modernisierung der Region förderlich sei. Die Autorin plädiert für eine Revision und Differenzierung der Nachbarschaftspolitik gegenüber der mittelöstlichen und der nordafrikanischen Region. Die eurozentrisch orientierte Politik hinsichtlich der Deutung von politischen Werten hat sich als ineffizient erwiesen. Die Stärkung des Einflusses der EU in der Region setzt die Berücksichtigung deren Kultur und der damit verbundenen Deutungsmuster voraus. (ICF)

After five years of political marginality within the EU, and few international benefits from divisive foreign policy choices, Italy after Silvio Berlusconi seems eager to restore its traditionally pro-European stance, starting with its withdrawal from Iraq. While Romano Prodi's credentials in this respect leave no room for misinterpretation, what loom on the not so distant horizon are the country's economic challenges. The question is whether the left-wing coalition, headed by the former President of the European Commission, will be able to deliver, and what should be realistically expected from it. (SWP Comments / SWP)

Il contributo analizza i dibattiti sulla natura delle traiettorie politiche dei regimi nord-africani a partire dalle rivolte del 2011, offrendo un'analisi critica delle principali interpretazioni teoriche, quella transitologica da un lato e quella della post-democratizzazione o resilienza dell'autoritarismo dall'altra. L'analisi articola una riflessione prima teorica poi empirica sulla dimensione della partecipazione politica, sia nella sua dimensione formale che informale, e offre, in tal senso, spunti estrapolati dalle realtà tunisina e egiziana.

AbstractWithin the Special Issue 'Reaching for allies? The dialectics and overlaps between International Relations and Area Studies in the study of politics, security, and conflicts', this article investigates the post-2011 changing relationship between International Relations (IR) and Middle Eastern Studies (MES). The article departs from the assumption that the reading and writing of security in, on and from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has historically been trapped between the projection of security from abroad and endogenous security narratives. We argue that within the post-Arab uprisings renewed scholarly attention, with studies on security in, on and from the MENA region expressing an all-time methodological pluralism and the increasing and original application of bottom-up and non-military security understandings to regional security, societal and human security are among the most promising notions for transformative dialogue between IR and MES. In broader theoretical terms, we show how the ongoing debate on post-Weberian notions of statehood and post-Westphalian sovereignty point to an already transformative dialogue between IR and MES. The article illustrates this trend with two case studies – on Tunisia and on Iraq – pointing to changing security concepts reflecting changing security practices.

In Tunisia, the notion and understanding of security, while no longer focused on regime security, remains a top-down, state-security understanding, rather than a societal one. Further, while the 2014 democratic Constitution devised significant checks and balances between the branches of government, even in the security field, external security assistance facilitated the centralization of security decision-making in the hands of the President of the Republic.