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The article looks on the current position of the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East and its possibilities of transformation by the decision of administration of Donald Trump, president of the U.S. Topics include rivalry between Russia and the U.S. for power, geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and end of dual leadership of Egypt and Saudi Arabia and ascension of leadership of Saudi Arabia in Arab world. It also discusses the Kurdish independence movement in Syria.

This article argues that part of the reason why some Middle Eastern states remain democratically challenged is the emergence, operation, and political influence of "security networks" and "deep states" -- informal actors in the area of national security. The article explains what these actors are, situates them in a broad theoretical and comparative perspective, assesses their impact on democratic development, and provides examples from Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictions about the future of the Middle East have proliferated in step with recent events and escalating tensions in the region. This paper highlights the usefulness of historical comparative research for addressing predictive questions and, specifically, those relating to the current Islamic revival. It challenges assumptions that have prevented researchers from exploring this avenue of research; and describes a generally overlooked chapter in modern European history: Europe's nineteenth century revival of militant, literal, religion, and the region-wide, battle it unleashed between religious and secular forces through the region. It then highlights similarities, both in the nature of revivals in Europe and the Middle East and of the socio-economic structures which sustained them. Finally, it suggests how and why the battle between religious and secular forces in Europe came to an end. While, it does not offer predictions for the Middle East, it suggests how comparative insights might contribute to producing better ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the state of sociopolitics in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and focuses on the likelihood a Palestinian state would not develop into a failed state. It discusses the concept of a failed state and how these political conditions exist in the Arab territorial nation-state system created after World War I. The article goes on to cover Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's claims that the Palestinian Authority has failed.

This article applies the concept of securitization to the Middle East with a focus upon the securitization of the Shi’a other. Such processes occur across time and space and are not restricted to state borders, escaping the Westphalian straitjacket. As a consequence, one must consider the construction of space and political structures across the region in order to understand the traction that such moves can find. It appears then, that in seeking to maintain short-term survival, regimes have sacrificed long-term stability, but the impacts of such moves transcend the typically linear constructed audiences within securitization moves. A key contribution of this article is to consider the extent to which audiences within the Middle East, both intended and unintended, transcend the linear audiences found within conventional processes of securitization. The article uses two case studies as a means of exploring the extent to which securitization can be applied to the Middle East. Such an approach helps us to identify the logics that are involved within the process of securitization, with consideration of the idea that we can populate a broad framework about the universal application of securitization to context specific cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a critical examination of the vocabulary associated with the study of 'sectarianism' in the Middle East. It surveys Arabic- and English-language works on 'sectarianism' to illustrate how the term's lack of definition has allowed it to be used in contradictory ways that render it, not simply meaningless, but distortive to our understanding of the region. In addition, the term 'sectarianism', with its inescapably negative connotations, has been used as a tool to neutralize political dissent and stigmatize people's religious identity and otherwise legitimate acts of expression and mobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the interaction between territory, sovereignty, and statehood in the Middle East and North Africa. Various groups have aspired -- and have failed -- to become states since the contemporary regional system's inception after World War I. Since the 2011 uprisings, movements claiming territory and sovereignty have emerged or become more viable throughout the region, including the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), Rojava, Cyrenaica, Azawad, and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Each poses different challenges to the regional system and holds out different hopes for rectifying historical missteps in state-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present informative report discusses 8 of the 45th US President Donald Trump's team members, who have to do with the Middle East policy. These are: Mike Pence (Vice President); Rex Tillerson (Secretary of the State); General James Mattis (Secretary of Defence); Mike Pompeo (CIA Director); General Michael Flynn (National Security Adviser) Jason Greenblatt (Special Envoy for International Negotiations); Jared Kushner (White House Senior Adviser); and David Friedman (US Ambassador to Israel). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Middle East holds a unique significance for the rest of the world due to religious, political, economic, ethnic and geographic factors, this region is in the state of turmoil for a host of domestic, regional and international reasons. The ongoing conflicts, Yemen, Syria, campaign against ISIS have undermined security in the Middle East. Iran's likely emergence has been following the 5+1 nuclear deal at Vienna on 4 July, 2015. Middle East holds a unique significance for the rest of the world that has impacted on the regional dynamics in many ways. The quest for supremacy by regional players like Saudi Arabia and Iran has worsened the ethnic and sectarian divide and provided space to extra regional players to pursue their own interests. Turkey is reasserting its traditional role in the region. Israel appears to be the main beneficiary of this turmoil. The complex and turbulence situation in the Middle East makes any prediction regarding its future difficult to make; however, it can be reasonably assumed that violence and instability are not likely to abate at least, in the short term. In view of its numerous linkages with the Middle Eastern regions, Global World cannot remain immune to developments in that region. However, its interests will be best served by eschewing aligning with any of the rival parties. International actors may therefore maintain a balance in relations with the Middle East, while at the same time seeking to promote understanding between them wherever possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I argue that Christianity is essentially secular. Hence, secularisation not only has a theological connotation concerning Christian faith but also it is the highest and most perfect realisation of Christian religion, since it signifies the cross that is in the centre of Christian faith. As Christians take upon themselves secularisation as an existential choice, namely the powerlessness of God and of the human being, they simultaneously take the worldly-human existence as 'here' and 'now' upon themselves. I will argue that this is the culmination of Reformation. Further, I want to demonstrate that secular Christianity, in the sense given in this article, remains a challenge for both Western and Eastern worlds. In order to accomplish this I will reflect in the first part of this article - from a theological point of view - upon some sociological interpretations or theories concerning mainly secularisation in Western Europe and also the contemporary socio-political scene in the Middle East. In the second part of the article I will present several Western and Eastern theological positions that defend secularisation, and through their contributions I will construct my own theological stance for secular Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khārijite resistance to Umayyad authority during the caliphate of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān (r. 661–680) is represented in detail in the works of the early Muslim scholars Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-Balādhurī (d. c. 892) and Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 923). While the Khārijites are overwhelmingly depicted by both authors as religious fanatics whose excessive piety caused widespread bloodshed and who thus should be condemned, a closer look reveals that Khārijites serve specific and distinct narrative purposes: al-Balādhurī uses them mainly to illustrate Umayyad tyranny, while al-Ṭabarī addresses the consequences of Khārijite revolts for communal and imperial stability. The latter's work is also marked by a dichotomy between activist and quietist Khārijism, implying that al-Ṭabarī is not so much opposed to Khārijism as a set of “heretic” religious ideas, but rather to its violent expression of politico-religious opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This special issue explores the prospects for what Jacob Mundy calls ‘transformative minority politics’ in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region – that is, a form of minority politics that strengthens democratic reform in the region, and that helps deepen a culture of human rights and democratic citizenship. The cases examined in the special issue include the Amazigh in North Africa, the Copts in Egypt, the Kurds in Iraq, the Palestinians in Israel, the ‘minoritarian’ regimes in Syria and Bahrain, and the various ethnic minorities in Iran. In this introduction, we try to situate this debate in a larger historical and international context, identifying some of the factors that might help support a new transformative minority politics in the region, while also emphasizing the factors that have inhibited it in the past, and why they remain powerful. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is a reply to: Mabon, Simon. 2018. “Existential threats and regulating life: securitization in the contemporary Middle East.”Global Discourse8 (1): 42–58.https://doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2017.1410001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses conversations about the sex work, human trafficking, labour and migration in the Middle East. It focuses on the complications of migration in an era of human trafficking for migrants due to the violence of the human trafficking discourse and resulting outreatch and policy strategy. Also discussed are the intersection of human trafficking, parenthood, and migration both in migrant sending and receiving countries and the growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The year 2010 has seen the rise of West Asia with the Arab Spring phenomena. The event has triggered the solidarity of at least 8 countries in the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and has seen the ousting of Hosni Mubarak's regime. Malaysia is emotionally attached to Egypt through religion, economy and education which has led Malaysians to track the event. In the meantime, the media is seen as the catalyst towards the rise of the people there. The democratic system depends very much on free, accurate and responsible flow of credible information. The flow of information has brought huge changes in the communications aspect. This article will discuss about the impact of social media as the main source of information channel among Malaysians during the massive uprise in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under what conditions do minorities in the Middle East participate in authoritarian coalitions? Research on authoritarian resilience in the Middle East has been largely silent on linguistic and religious minorities’ preferences over regime types. Here, we examine whether minorities differ in their support for authoritarianism from the majority groups in four Middle Eastern states. We argue that minorities whose status is threatened by a transition to majoritarian decision-making institutions are less likely to be supportive of democratization. We examine how different cleavages affect the preferences of minorities over regime type and identify three historical legacies in the Middle East that have shaped these cleavages: the Ottoman-Islamic legacy of minority accommodation, the ethnic class structure that emerged as a result of the region’s integration to world markets in the nineteenth century, and a post-independence pattern of authoritarian secularism. Based on survey research and a comparison of minorities in Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan, we find that linguistic minorities tend to be less supportive of authoritarianism while religious minorities tend to be more supportive of authoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

First of all, this paper frames the research into political change - one of the main study areas in comparative politics - and focusses on the regions of North Africa and the Middle East, which the ranks of comparativists had barely analysed until the so-called Arab Spring. There is, consequently, a dearth of theoretical frameworks with which to approach the experiences of political change that began in 2011 with the Arab protests and revolutions. Secondly, it analyses the democratising scope of the processes of rupture and reform brought about in the political systems of the region, observing that the expectations raised by the Arab Spring have not been fulfilled, except in the case of Tunisia. Lastly, it presents and systematises the eight articles assembled in this monograph, of which the actors and dynamics of change in the region are the cornerstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the state of the Middle East and North Africa after the Arab revolutions in 2011.

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This paper advances the proposition that post-Arab Spring politics are a product of globalisation’s economic and social liberalisation. The global market and privatisation have fundamentally deconstructed centralised autocratic rule over state and society, while facilitating corruption and selective development, culminating in public outrage. The political order of the Middle East and North Africa since the Arab Spring synthesises globalisation’s dialectic duality, in which economic integration has contributed to the demise of national authoritarianism, inciting communalism and political fragmentation. This paper analyses emerging political trends and challenges based on a comparative analysis of Egypt and Tunisia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines the prospects of democracy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The topics discussed include the indicators of democracy that include economic development and social progress, the correlation between economic wealth and democracy and between social modernization and democracy in the Arab countries, and the author's conclusions and recommendations. Charts of the MENA states' economic and social indicators and political and democracy indices are presented.

In this paper, we explore the flow of information regarding strategic Middle Eastern countries in the WikiLeaks ‘diplomatic cables’ by applying data-mining techniques to construct directed networks. The results show that between 2002 and 2009, US diplomatic communication related to these countries increased although with notable variation in flow patterns. We discuss the value of a visual display of diplomatic communication patterns in understanding the decentralized nature of information gathering on regional foreign policy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Gulf Cooperation Council, founded in 1981 by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, does not focus on economic, political or military cooperation. Instead, the GCC was established as a symbolic organisation of unity against the ideational threat from anti-monarchical Iranian and Iraqi ideologies. The Arab uprisings pose a new dire ideational threat: popular protests toppling authoritarian leaders. As I analyse in three case studies, the GCC does not reflect a united stance amongst its members and has become a symbol of discord. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now that a number of Arab countries have serious plans to invest in developing nuclear power, the regionalization of the nuclear fuel cycle in the Arab region might present some important advantages, including better coordination, economies of scale, effective regional control, and the strengthening of nonproliferation norms, which may yield positive influence on the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and of other weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in the Middle East. In addition, the bridges created across the gap between developed and less developed partners could lead toward greater political integration in the region, out of which a broader regional architecture for peace could emerge. This article addresses the following key question: if the Arab countries were to take the step of inviting Iran to join a Middle East nuclear fuel cycle from the outset, including Iran's sensitive nuclear technologies, would such a step open the way for a peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear crisis? If Iran kept control of its nuclear program under the umbrella of a Middle Eastern nuclear fuel cycle, then Iran's peaceful nuclear accomplishments could be put to the service and benefit of all the Arab members of the region without necessarily leading to any transfer of sensitive technologies beyond Iran. To draw a road map toward the establishment of a WMDFZ in the Middle East, this article draws on lessons from previous experiences, especially the European Atomic Energy Community Treaty, in establishing a regional cooperation framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global nuclear regime may have reached a crossroads: the states parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty have called for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in the Middle East. Now that Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have reached a deal in Geneva over a phased verification of the peaceful character of Iran's nuclear program, the international community needs to address broader regional issues. Failure to move forward could imperil the global nonproliferation architecture. At the same time, little thought has been given to how this regional arrangement would work both internally (with its member states) and externally (with other organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency). This article reviews the obstacles and windows of opportunity for a comprehensive regional nuclear settlement by drawing lessons from recent history in Europe. In particular, the history of the European Atomic Energy Community suggests how a future regional organization with jurisdiction in all aspects of nuclear development should articulate its functions with existing international organizations such as the IAEA. In Europe, regional institutions have played a crucial role in creating trust among former warring nations and in harmonizing the regional and global nuclear orders. A EURATOM-like organization would be a great step for the Middle East and a great model for other regions that must deal with issues of global legal complexity (e.g., how they can harmonize regional and global orders so that they can pursue the same goals with different but compatible means). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article situates recent political turbulence in the Middle East within the long-term failure of the Arab development model that is based on economic controls and welfare concessions. After having sustained generous welfare entitlements for several decades, this development model is coming under increasing strains in the face of a growing and increasingly educated youth population, falling public spending, and an inflexible economic structure. Underpinning this failure is a weak and dependent private sector that survives largely through privileges rather than competition. This failure is most evident in the region's labor-abundant economies, where privileges are concentrated amongst connected firms but employment is concentrated amongst small, informal sector firms operating at the margins of the economy. I argue that there is a deep trade-off between employment and autonomy; sustainable employment generation is not possible without giving greater autonomy to the private sector and releasing competitive space for its operation. However, private sector development is not simply a question of technocratic policy reform. In a context where economic controls generate rents for insiders and are used to sustain elite coalitions, development has to be conceived as part of a broader political concession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an annual review of national affairs in the Levant, covering the period from July 2013 to June 2014. Topics mentioned include the civil war in Syria, the setbacks suffered by the peace process brokered by the U.S. between Israel and Palestine, and other drivers of strategic change in the Levant.

US-Iranian relations have been stalled for over three decades due to missteps in timing, distrust, hostility and ideological differences between Tehran and Washington. Six American presidents have experimented with different political and economic tools in an effort to reverse Iranian support for terrorist groups, its opposition to Israel and its pursuit of a nuclear programme. President Barack Obama’s direct engagement with Tehran to end the nuclear standoff is a first step towards improved relations between two estranged countries that share a number of mutual interests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Review of International Law & Politics / Uluslararasi Hukuk ve Politika is the property of International Strategic Research Organization and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Relations / Uluslararasi Iliskiler is the property of International Relations Council and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Relations / Uluslararasi Iliskiler is the property of International Relations Council and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

At a time when Israelis and Palestinians are gathering in Washington to consider peace in the Middle East, most attention is focused on the idea of a one-state or, more likely, two-state solution. A number of scholars, however, have recently developed a third approach which has been appropriately referred to as a ‘two-state condominialism’. This approach seeks to overcome the liabilities of the two existing approaches to solving the Middle East conflict while offering a number of its own advantages. Surprisingly, in spite of the similarities among their proposals, none of the authors make reference to, or even acknowledge each other. This article reviews these papers as a collective and considers whether they offer a realistic opportunity for peace in the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe the political situation in three Middle Eastern countries (Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya) to identity the factors that initiated their uprisings and explore the business implications of the uprising nationally and internationally. The Arab Spring was fuelled by the high unemployment rate, poorness, raising prices of food and gas and the disappearance of the middle class. The political factors that led to the Arab Spring in the three countries include umbrage of dictatorial rulers, which had denied free speech and limited prospects for participation in political and civil life. Other political factors included long-lasting "emergency laws" and out of order or nonexistent justice systems. However, the spark that added to those revolutions one after another is social media. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have mobilized millions of people to demand justice and bring down their governments. As a result, tourism rate dropped which one of the big revenue sources for Egypt and Tunisia. In addition, the violence increased and the security situation still remains unstable. Further it impacted many companies and local business negatively due to bad economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1998 Barnett argued against the grain of realist IR theory, contending that ‘the conflicts between Arab governments have concerned the norms of Arabism and not the balance of power’. Ever since, the debate on regional order has been markedlessby realist perspectives based on materialist understanding of power, and more by pragmatic middle positions as can be found with the English School, Historical Sociology and soft constructivist approaches. This piece will argue along the same lines, contending that norms and identity politics remain central to the study of Middle East regional politics, also in the post-2011 era. In a second move it will however also suggest that the rise of identity politics and heightened regional insecurity related to these identities, calls for an introduction of insights from securitization theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several news-related items regarding the Middle East during 2014 and early 2014, with a particular focus on international relations. Topics, including efforts to establish peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Middle East politics, international cooperation regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program and cooperation between the Israelis and Palestinians on water sharing, are discussed.

At the beginning of the 2000s Japan revised its Middle East policy, which impacted the development of the Japanese-Israeli relations: it was decided to change the priorities of Japan's Middle East policy, which previously had a pro-Arabic character, and to develop not only economic, but also political relations with Israel. The basic factors which influenced the political and economic relations between Japan and Israel are examined in the article. The author pays attention to the history of establishment and the current position of the Jewish community in Japan, as well as the essence of the problem of Japanese anti-Semitism. Japan is characterized by its motto "anti-Semitism without Jews". The author stresses that anti-Semitic literature is very popular among the Japanese, but, at the same time, a lot of Japanese people are interested in history and culture of Jewish people, and there is a rapid increase in scientific contacts between the two countries. The author concludes that further development of bilateral relations, creation of companies and organizations specializing in building and fostering these relations, as well as expansion of cultural contacts will contribute to the implementation of a new positive attitude of Japan towards Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the geopolitical system of the Middle East, the non-Arab republics (Israel, Turkey and Iran) are a special category of regional actors occupying an increasingly important role in the dynamics of the area. Recent history, starting with 1991, has shown that a lot of developments in the region were either the result of disputes of these states with their Arab neighbors, or of events in the relations between Arab states in which Israel, Turkey and Iran have been drawn or played a specific role. The uprisings in the Arab world, known as the "Arab Spring", that started in early 2011 have already led to an increased role of Turkey and Iran in the geopolitical equation of the region. In this context, already influenced by the growing visibility of Islamist nuclei, Israel has reasonable grounds for concern, being forced to adapt its security architecture to the possible developments in the Arab states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of Middle East countries' authoritarian governments and efforts aimed at developing local democratic movements as of December 2013. Topics addressed include the usage of soft power by Middle East leaders for winning the U.S. government's support, the military government in Egypt, and Saudi Arabia's relations with the United States. Qatar's attempts for assisting democratic reforms and the role of Islamic parties in Middle East politics are also discussed.