Journal of the Middle East and Africa最新文献

{"title":"Technological Capability, Inclusive Growth and Structural Transformation in Africa","authors":"Steve Onyeiwu, Evans Osabuohien","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2261346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2261346","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTSome studies have shown that economic growth in Africa has not been sustainable, transformative, nor inclusive. This is very perplexing, considering that resource-poor East Asian countries have not only achieved high growth rates but have done so while alleviating poverty and becoming major players in the global economy. Despite the recognition that technology was instrumental in the success story of East Asian countries, there have been few empirical studies that focus on how technology drives economic growth in Africa. Based on a sample of forty-one African countries (2005–2020), this article uses the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation technique to investigate the extent to which technological capability plays an important role on economic growth of African countries. The results from the empirical analysis suggest, inter alia, that technology, investment in physical capital, macroeconomic and political stability are important determinants of growth in Africa. The article suggests that African countries should intentionally strengthen their technological capabilities, to leverage new opportunities in emerging frontier industries, foster inclusive growth, and be adequately prepared for the fourth industrial revolution.KEYWORDS: Africafrontier industrieshuman capitalinclusive growthstructural transformationtechnology AcknowledgmentsThis paper was completed when Steve Onyeiwu was a Fulbright Visiting Professor in the Department of Economics & Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria (February–August 2022). We thank Oluwatosin Edafe and Grace Okedele, postgraduate students at Covenant University, for their valuable research assistance. We also appreciate the suggestions by the participants in the Fulbright Seminar at Covenant University that was held in August 2022.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Notes1 IMF World Economic Outlook database, April 2022.2 World Development Indicators (WDI) database, World Bank.3 Acute foreign exchange scarcity has made it difficult for many African countries to import food, energy and other essential commodities. This has been compounded by the war in Ukraine, which has resulted in the supply of grains to Africa, thus exacerbating food inflation in the region and making more Africans to be vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.4 Alice Amsden, Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialisation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989).5 F. M. Scherer, Innovation and Growth (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1986).6 We recognize the variations in the structure and performance of African countries. Our analysis is meant to provide a general overview, while also noting there are outliers.7 IMF World Economic Outlook database, April 2022.8 Frontier industries refer to those that are producing or operating cutting-edge products like drones, robots, big data, Internet of Things (IOI), 5G, 3D Printing, and Solar PV. Frontier skills include data analytics, r","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":" 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135193011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Summer of Living Dangerously: Robert C. McFarlane and the Breakdown of Reagan’s Lebanon Policy","authors":"Hicham Bou Nassif","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2234773","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2234773","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article reconsiders the US Lebanon policy in the wake of the Lebanese-Israeli Agreement of May 17, 1983. After failing to convince Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad to accept the Lebanon-Israel May 17 Agreement and withdraw from Lebanon, US policymakers adopted a confrontational approach with Damascus. The American-Syrian duel over Lebanon escalated in the summer of 1983 and ended with Assad’s victory. The United States disengaged from Beirut, thus paving the way for Syrian control. I use untapped archival sources pertaining to the mission of Robert C. McFarlane, Ronald Reagan’s envoy to the Middle East, to shed a new light on these events.","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"249 - 275"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45691919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Empty Threats and Aid Weaponization: Understanding the International Response to Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis","authors":"Michael Makara","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2240220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2240220","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Since 2015, international aid organizations have delivered over $23 billion in assistance to alleviate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. Complicating this effort, however, is the fact that aid organizations must coordinate aid delivery with the Houthis, the de facto authority ruling 70 percent of Yemen’s population. Rather than allowing aid organizations to operate without interference, the Houthis have restricted their operations and weaponized aid for political purposes. This comes despite aid organizations’ threats to withhold assistance from the Houthis. Why do the Houthis continue to weaponize aid despite pressure and condemnation from the very organizations upon which they depend for assistance? I argue that the structure of humanitarian relief efforts makes it difficult for aid organizations to credibly threaten to cut off assistance to the Houthis, and that these empty threats do little to deter Houthi bad behavior. In developing this argument, this article contributes both to our understanding of the politics of Yemen’s civil war, as well as to theoretical conversations about the relationship between rebel groups and international actors.","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"299 - 316"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45266892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"International Law and the Arab-Israeli Conflict","authors":"R. Barnidge","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2236923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2236923","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"347 - 350"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46906019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anfal and Halabja Genocide: Lessons Not Learned","authors":"Ofra Bengio","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2236922","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2236922","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The 1987–1988 Anfal Campaign during which the Iraqi Baath regime massacred some 180,000 Kurdish Iraqis, 5,000 of whom killed by chemical weapons in the town of Halabja, is considered one of the major traumas in modern Kurdish history. Yet a few decades later, the Kurds appear to have risen from their proverbial ashes, embarking against great odds on an ambitious state building project in northern Iraq. With this story of “trauma and redemption” as background, this paper considers the lessons learned from this Kurdish experiment; lessons drawn not only by the Kurds themselves, but by all those who willy-nilly accompanied them on this journey; the Iraqi state, the international community, and the United States.","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"277 - 298"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46426061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Country That Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland","authors":"Christopher Anzalone","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2240221","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2240221","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"343 - 345"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44532151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Foreign Policy of Iran under President Hassan Rouhani’s First Term (2013–2017)","authors":"Bashir Tofangsazi","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2195789","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2195789","url":null,"abstract":"Edited by Luciano Zaccara, this collection of papers is the result of a workshop organized at the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University. With his decades-long tenure in the highest echelons of Iranian politics, Hassan Rouhani emphasized the importance of foreign policy for his administration from the earliest days of his presidential campaign. This volume seeks to assess Rouhani’s plans for changing Iranian foreign policy as well as the degree to which he was successful in implementing his vision of reaching a rapprochement with the West. This anthology presents an excellent analysis of Iran’s foreign policy during Rouhani’s first term as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The book begins by considering Rouhani’s foreign policy as being potentially distinct from the approach of his predecessors and proceeds to elaborate on different sources that shaped Rouhani’s approach to diplomatic relations. While some of the chapters are of use to anyone who is interested in learning more about President Rouhani’s background and Iranian foreign policy, others contain more detailed analyses that are especially useful for scholars of international relations. Most are strongly influenced by a realist perspective to politics as well as the authors’ hope of improving Iranian relations with the West, and this may have biased some of the analyses. Furthermore, this work lacks a thorough consideration of the conflicts that arise due to ideological versus pragmatic concerns as well as institutional ones, such as issues that exist between elected officials (e.g., the president and members of the Majles, or parliament) and assigned positions (e.g., the Supreme Leader and leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC). Nevertheless, the contributors’ comparisons between Iranian foreign policy during Rouhani’s first term with that of his predecessor and the contrasts they present concerning Iranian diplomatic relations in different regions of the world make this study an informative and insightful read. The book begins with a general overview of Iranian diplomatic relations that is particularly helpful for more general readers. Chapters two and three provide broad analyses of Rouhani’s foreign policy. The rest of the papers focus on individual aspects of Iranian diplomacy in the period under study. The first chapter presents an overall review of the anthology. In the second chapter, Mahdi Ahouie explores whether Rouhani’s foreign policy during his first term can amount to a foreign policy doctrine. He concludes that this was not the case. Rather, Ahouie explains that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the nuclear deal with five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Germany, was the only issue that Rouhani managed successfully to address in his first term. In the third chapter, Ali Fathollah-Nejad sheds light on the importance of developmental policies in shaping Rouhani’s foreign relations. This chapter ","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"245 - 248"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44797726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Was the 1982 Lebanon War a Deviation from Israeli Security Doctrine?","authors":"D. Naor, Eyal Lewin","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2171652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2171652","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT On June 6, 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the aim of destroying the military infrastructure of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was serving as a launching pad for terrorist infiltrations and Katyusha attacks into northern Israel. From its outset, the Israeli public considered the war an exceptional case and a deviation from the “proper” course of Israeli history. Allegedly, unlike other Israeli wars, the 1982 War did not relate to Israeli security concerns but instead to the political aims and whims of Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon. Also, it is often described as an unjust war of choice, which Israel initiated while it was not facing an existential threat. The claim that the 1982 Lebanon War was exceptional and a deviation from original Israeli principles is the main interest of this article. To determine whether the Lebanon War was a breach of Israeli history or a deviation from Israeli foundational political-moral principles, one must analyze the core tenets of Israel’s security strategy to which it adhered in most of its battles. Using the security doctrine as a guide map reveals that the conflict was neither unique nor a deviation but rather a fulfillment of long-standing Israeli security principles.","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"219 - 244"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42981904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“God’s Righteous Allies” or “Apostate Unbelievers”: The Taliban in the Eyes of the Jihādīs","authors":"Cole M. Bunzel","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2171639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2171639","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In mid-2000, the publication of the anti-Taliban book Kashf Shubuhāt al-Muqātilīn caused a stir in jihādī circles. Written by Arab jihādīs based in Peshawar, Pakistan, the book made the case that it was not permissible for Muslims to fight alongside the Afghan Taliban on the grounds that the group was not sufficiently Islamic, having committed a host of polytheist acts. While some of the jihādī movement’s leading scholarly authorities quickly refuted the book, its anti-Taliban arguments nonetheless gained popularity over time. Today, the jihādī movement is divided between those who see the Taliban as a legitimate Islamic movement worthy of praise and support (the view espoused by al-Qaida and its supporters) and those who perceive it as an apostate movement standing in the way of true Islamic revival (the view adopted by the Islamic State and its supporters). The controversy over Kashf Shubuhāt al-Muqātilīn in 2000 prefigures the current divide and provides something of the context in which it should be understood.","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"189 - 217"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45920920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The State of Middle Eastern Studies, Revisited","authors":"M. Kramer","doi":"10.1080/21520844.2023.2171242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21520844.2023.2171242","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This keynote address to the 2022 Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) conference assesses the health of Middle Eastern studies in the United States, according to three parameters first defined by ASMEA co-founder Bernard Lewis in 1979: standards, politicization, funding. In all three areas, the field remains plagued by endemic problems.","PeriodicalId":37893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Middle East and Africa","volume":"14 1","pages":"1 - 11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45940208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}