Suchergebnisse

Given the world's recent attention on the Middle East because of the Arab Spring, it is important to examine the role played by the International Organisations of the region in its governance. This book aims to be the key introductory volume for understanding the regional IOs of the Middle East. It assesses the reasons why IOs in the Middle East are so ill developed, explores their history, evolution and the successes and failures of each IO. It also analyses the reasons for the specific difficulties faced by each organisation through the context of intra-regional relations, before examining the impact of external factors such as: globalisation, moves towards global governance which have impacts in the Middle East and external influences from the great powers. Finally, it explores the likely impact of the Arab Spring upon the prospects for the further development of these regional International Organisations. This work will be of great interest to students and scholars of Middle East studies, international organizations and global governance.

AbstractThe regional international organisations of the Middle East clearly work to different traditions than Western International Organisations (IOs) and are comprised of states which are known for their secrecy and hostility to critique. This is methodological challenge enough without taking into account the influences of temporal and spatial practices upon the functioning of these organisations. Using anthropological approaches to time and space an argument is advanced that putting temporal and spatial considerations at the heart of the study of these bodies impacts upon our conceptual, theoretical and methodological outlooks – generating richer, more nuanced insights. Thus, not only do time and space form an important research agenda in their own right but they also better inform existing theoretical understandings of IOs, particularly the historical and sociological institutionalist traditions. Drawing from direct experience with some of the key difficulties researchers face when engaging with these organisations, the article demonstrates the need for a reflexive and adaptive methodological engagement which can engage with the impacts of place and perceptions of time, examining these bodies less in comparison with the expectations scholars carry for IOs such as the UN and EU and more on their own terms, in their own situational and temporal contexts.