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The Mediterranean and the
Middle East
Comparative Politics of the Arab World
 The
Islamist Movements and Political Change in the Arab World
IAI coordinator: Daniela Pioppi
Over the past few years, Islamist movements or political parties have emerged as important
actors in many countries of the Southern shore of the Mediterranean. They have managed to
exploit more effectively than other actors the opportunities offered by the processes of
political and economic liberalisation that started in the 1970s and that were
significantly speeded up by the end of the Cold War. The success of Islamism, even in its
moderate versions, poses new sets of issues for Western policies (USA and the European
Union - EU) towards the region.
In October 2007, the IAI in collaboration with the Centro studi di politica internazionale (CesPI) and International IDEA started an annual
research project aimed at analysing the role of reformist Islamism in the on-going
political transition in the Arab World. The project will consider three national case
studies (Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon) and EU-USA policies.
Funded by: Fondazione Monte Paschi
di Siena, International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
Conferences:
Workshop on "Islamist mass movements, external actors and political change in the Arab
World", Rome, Society for International Development-SID, 6 October 2008
Publications:
Rosa Balfour and D. Pioppi (eds), Islamist mass movements, external actors and
political change in the Arab world. A research report by the Centro studi di politica internazionale (CeSPI),
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and
the Istituto affari internazionali (IAI), forthcoming 2009
The Dynamics of Change
in the Arab World
IAI Coordinators: Daniela Pioppi, Laura Guazzone
In the second half of 2005, the IAI in collaboration with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (SIIA-UI) launched a
multi-annual project which aims at elaborating new empirical data and a new
conceptualisation of the political, economic and security changes in the Arab countries
today and their policy implications for domestic and international actors.
Recent international events brought Arab politics to the forefront of the world's
attention and revealed the failure of current explanatory paradigms to foresee and explain
political change in the region, namely those paradigms that identify Islam as the
fundamental explanatory variable or that portray globalisation as an unquestionably
democratizing force. Given the strategic relevance of the Arab countries for global
security and peace, a better understanding of developments on the ground and a new
conceptualization of the dynamics of change in the Arab world are strongly needed. Fresh
analytical approaches are a necessity and a condition for more effective promotion of
conflict resolution and prevention, as well as good governance and human rights
improvements in the region and worldwide.
The programme includes three interrelated strategic sectors:
- The strategic sector of internal and external security (the role of the
military in the political transition; the organisation of internal coercion and the
strategies of armed oppositions; the new definition of the regional and the national
security structure);
- The strategic sector of the political economy (impact and dynamics of
economic reform; internal distribution of resources; organization of national and
international production);
- The strategic sector of ideology and political mobilization (changes in
the political discourse; new forms of mobilization and new organized political actors;
impact of international policies on political discourse and mobilization).
For each strategic sector the programme foresees: (1) the elaboration of a
conceptual paper by the IAI-UI research group; (2) the elaboration of country studies by
an enlarged international research group; (3) the elaboration of by-sector and general
conclusions by the IAI-UI research group; (4) the organization of public meetings to
discuss research results; (5) research results dissemination through publications.
Funded by: Swedish Institute of International
Affairs (SIIA-UI)
Conferences:
Workshop on "The
dynamics of change in the Arab world: Globalisation and the re-structuring of state power",
Roma, IAI, 23-24 February 2007
International conference on "The dynamics of change in the Arab world:
Globalisation and the re-structuring of state power" (presentation of the
research results of the project), Stockholm, SIIA-UI, 12 September 2008
Publications:
L. Guazzone, D. Pioppi, The dynamics of change in the Arab world: globalisation and the
re-structuring of state power : general concept paper, Roma, IAI, 2006 (Documenti Iai ;
0622)
L. Guazzone, Daniela Pioppi, The changing patterns of political mobilisation and
participation in the arab world, Roma, IAI, 2006 (Documenti Iai ; 0623)
Karin Aggestam and Helena Lindholm , Security, globalisation and state transformation in
the Middle East, IAI, 2006 (Documenti Iai ; 0624)
Maria Cristina Paciello, The changing patterns of wealth accumulation and distribution
under economic reform in the arab world, IAI, 2006 (Documenti Iai ; 0625)
L. Guazzone and D. Pioppi (eds), The Arab state and neo-liberal globalization. The restructuring of state
power in the Middle East, Reading, Ithaca Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-86372-339-1
Paperback ed.: Cairo and New York, The American University in Cairo Press, 2009, ISBN 978-977-416-336-4 (pbk)
23/12/2009 |
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