Digest of Middle East Studies最新文献

{"title":"Authoritarianism and the Emergence of Parallel State Dynamics: Evidence From the Syrian Earthquake","authors":"Rahaf Aldoughli","doi":"10.1111/dome.12347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12347","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article investigates the Syrian regime's strategic manipulation of the February 2023 earthquake to reaffirm its authority and maintain legitimacy. The regime's response to the disaster is analyzed to understand how authoritarian states leverage natural disasters for political gains. It argues that the Assad regime's survival is not merely about governance capabilities but about extending its infrastructural power and political decisions through co-opted civil society organizations. The earthquake highlighted the regime's fragile crisis management capabilities and its reliance on entities like the Syrian Trust for Development (STD) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), which function as quasi-state apparatuses. These organizations, under the guise of civil society, operate as extensions of state power, embodying a “parallel state” structure. Using theoretical frameworks from scholars like Beshara and Gramsci, the article explores the regime's tactics of control, hegemony, and parallelization. It critically examines the blurred lines between state and civil society, emphasizing the regime's manipulation of international aid and the consolidation of its authority in the aftermath of the earthquake. This study contributes to the broader conversation on authoritarian durability, highlighting the complex interactions between state apparatuses and civil society in times of crisis.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12347","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Internationalization of Deterrence: The Case Study of Iran's Biaxial Deterrence in the Middle East\u0000 威慑的国际化:以伊朗在中东的双轴威慑为例\u0000 La internacionalización de la disuasión: el caso de estudio de la disuasión biaxial de Irán en Oriente Medio","authors":"Rahim Baizidi","doi":"10.1111/dome.12350","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12350","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The concept of deterrence is central to both international relations and strategic studies, as it endeavors to establish peace through the “threat to reciprocal retaliation.” The Cold War era as the golden age of nuclear deterrence revealed that even the most powerful states are enthusiastic to transfer part of their strategic and military capabilities, such as nuclear weapons, to other states to countering potential threats. By presenting the concept of “internationalization of deterrence,” this article addresses the implementation of Iran's biaxial deterrence in the Middle East. Internationalizing deterrence entails the transfer of military and security capabilities from a deterrent power to allied and cooperative nations, thereby enhancing both the effectiveness and credibility of deterrence measures. The internationalization of deterrence encompasses a variety of strategies, including nuclear sharing, the creation of military bases in foreign countries, the backing of allied groups, and the overseas deployment of missiles. Biaxial deterrence is also an element of Iran's internationalized deterrence strategy, focusing on two interconnected dimensions: aligned groups—protégés—and advancing of their conventional weapons capabilities in the Middle East. Through internationalization of its conventional deterrence, Iran has sought to enhance its deterrent capabilities and credibility while minimizing costs and maximizing effectiveness.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143114583","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":"Advancing Women's Social and Political Rights Through a Reinterpretation of Islamic Law: Ayatollah Jannaati's View of Female Political Authority in Shiite Islam\u0000 通过重新解读伊斯兰教法来促进妇女的社会权利和政治权利:阿亚图拉·贾纳蒂对什叶派伊斯兰教中女性政治权威的看法\u0000 El fomento de los derechos sociales y políticos de las mujeres a través de una reinterpretación de la ley islámica: la visión del ayatolá Jannaati sobre la autoridad política femenina en el islam chiita","authors":"Masoumeh Rad Goudarzi","doi":"10.1111/dome.12351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12351","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>One of the most important questions on which Muslim reformers have challenged traditional jurisprudence is that of the institutionalized discrimination against women, with respect to their social and political rights under Islamic jurisprudence. Traditional jurisprudents cite specific verses from the Qur'an and Hadiths and consider the political and social management of Islamic societies to be exclusive to men. Ayatollah Jannaati is one of Iran's leading Shiite Muslim jurisprudents to call for a review of women's rights, based on dynamic jurisprudence, and declares that women, just like men, may hold the highest religious, political, and social positions in Islamic countries, and enjoy equal rights. This article adopts a theological and hermeneutical approach, and references many primary sources in Persian, including Jannaati's books, articles, and interviews, to determine how the new reading of the Qur'an and Hadith, and his unique theological and epistemological presuppositions, have enabled him to issue such a fatwa regarding the political and social rights of women under Islam.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143114582","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":"Between Colonialism and Patriarchy: The Role of Agency Among Palestinian Women in the West Bank and East Jerusalem","authors":"Lana Shehadeh,&nbsp;Samira Ayalan","doi":"10.1111/dome.12349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12349","url":null,"abstract":"<p>与研究发展中国家妇女能动性的文献不同，本文分析了殖民情境下妇女能动性的具体实践，聚焦于以色列占领下的巴勒斯坦领土。在理解这一独特情境时，我们观察到妇女能动性的作用不仅体现在巴勒斯坦社会的传统性别角色中，还体现在“反对限制其存在的殖民结构”的逻辑中。本文中，我们假设，巴勒斯坦妇女在真正掌握她们在保守传统阿拉伯社会中的能动性之前，要先应对殖民主义和占领这一现实。本研究中，我们从两个不同的角度研究巴勒斯坦妇女的能动性:(a)传统的阿拉伯文化；(b)占领的殖民结构。为了探究这一现象，我们采访了20名来自约旦河西岸和东耶路撒冷城镇的农村妇女和城市妇女，以分析这些主题。这些访谈阐明了非单一巴勒斯坦妇女经历的性质，并试图通过巴勒斯坦领土的情境来证明这一点。</p><p>Partiendo de la literatura que examina la capacidad de acción de las mujeres en el mundo en desarrollo, este artículo analiza el ejercicio específico de la capacidad de acción de las mujeres en un contexto colonial, más específicamente, en los territorios palestinos bajo ocupación israelí. Para entender este contexto único, observamos el papel de la capacidad de acción de las mujeres no sólo dentro de los roles de género tradicionales de la sociedad palestina, sino a través de la lógica de oposición a las estructuras coloniales que restringen su existencia. Aquí, asumimos que las mujeres palestinas se enfrentan a las realidades del colonialismo y la ocupación antes de comprender verdaderamente su sentido de capacidad de acción dentro de lo que se sabe que es una sociedad árabe tradicional y conservadora. En este estudio, examinamos la capacidad de acción de las mujeres palestinas desde dos ángulos separados: (a) la cultura árabe tradicional y (b) las estructuras coloniales de ocupación. Para explorar este fenómeno, entrevistamos a 20 mujeres de las zonas rurales y urbanas de Cisjordania y Jerusalén Este para analizar estos temas. Estas entrevistas ilustran la naturaleza de la experiencia no monolítica de la mujer palestina e intentamos demostrarla a través del contexto de los territorios palestinos.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143113080","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":"Turbulent Diplomatic Relations in the Middle East: Israel, Denmark, and UNTSO Chief Vagn Bennike\u0000 动荡的中东外交关系:以色列、丹麦与停战监督组织主席Vagn Bennike\u0000 Relaciones diplomáticas turbulentas en Oriente Medio: Israel, Dinamarca y el jefe de la ONUVT, Vagn Bennike","authors":"Nir Levitan,&nbsp;Kristine Kjærsgaard","doi":"10.1111/dome.12348","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12348","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Against the background of international conflict, UN efforts to preserve peace have often inadvertently created complications between member states. When the UN was deploying peacekeeping forces to the Middle East in response to the Israeli-Arab conflict in 1948, conflicting priorities arose for Israel, the Arab nations, and also for Denmark. The following case study presents the early Danish involvement in peacekeeping within United Nations activities in the Middle East and its challenges. On the one hand, Denmark wanted to promote a high profile in the UN observation mission and to be seen as a strategic partner for peace on the world stage. On the other hand, Denmark did not want to damage relations with Israel which enjoyed a high degree of political capital in Danish circles. The Danish Foreign Office put forward Major General Vagn Bennike to be Chief of the UNTSO peacekeeping forces in 1953. His role was to supervise the ceasefire Agreements between Israel and its neighbors. Instead of guiding the parties to a more peaceful and stable process, the weakness of Bennike's diplomacy resulted in the parties adopting an even greater violent and aggressive policy. This article examines how this one individual influenced the UN peacekeeping forces and put in motion a chain of events that tested Danish–Israeli relations.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12348","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143112421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mahmoud Taleghani: A Pioneer Thinker of Social Islam in Contemporary Iran\u0000 马哈茂德·塔莱加尼:当代伊朗的社会伊斯兰思想先驱\u0000 Mahmoud Taleghani: un pensador pionero del islam social en el Irán contemporáneo","authors":"Seyed Mohammad Lolaki","doi":"10.1111/dome.12346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12346","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The confrontation and comprehension of the Islamic world with regard to Western modernity, which has been unfolding for nearly two centuries, has obliged Muslim thinkers to study and reconceptualize this complex intersection of ideas. Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani was one of the most prominent figures of jurisprudential Islam, who adopted a modern interpretation of Islam and Shiism as part of the Iranian Islamic tradition. This article analyses the viewpoints of Taleghani, as a pioneer of this form of social Islam in contemporary Iran, focusing on Taleghani's thoughts under five different headings: the historical circumstances of Iran, his system of knowledge, his priorities for norms, his approach toward government, and public policy.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121013","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 Saudi Savior—Justifying Operation Decisive Storm","authors":"Tom Walsh","doi":"10.1111/dome.12345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12345","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper argues that despite the success of Saudi Arabia's use of discourse to legitimize Operation Decisive Storm, their initial bombing and blockade of Yemen, to the United States, ultimately these discourses were problematic. Via analyzing speeches from Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, and articles from Saudi news website Arab News, this paper traces Saudi propaganda, showing the way in which it was used to justify the extraordinary bombing of Yemen and blockade of Yemeni ports. The paper meaningfully assesses the resonance of their narratives with US audiences through informed analysis. US discourse created a nexus of reciprocal positionality, in which Washington's discourse began to merge with Riyadh's, justifying it yet further. The US had its own reasons for lending support to KSA's war efforts, which encouraged them to adopt core Saudi narratives. This served to justify the two actors' involvement in the Saudi-led intervention. These propagandized narratives had profound humanitarian consequences for the people of Yemen.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12345","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143117273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editor's introduction—October 2024","authors":"Catherine Warrick","doi":"10.1111/dome.12343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12343","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;It's tempting to describe this issue of the &lt;i&gt;Digest of Middle East Studies&lt;/i&gt; in marketing terms: now with 60% more articles than our issues have traditionally included! It's a supersized value pack! But the point, of course, isn't the size of the issue, but the timeliness and quality of the interesting scholarly presented here. The eight articles in this issue cover a wide range, as our articles always do, topically and geographically and methodologically. From a clear-eyed assessment of Jordanian electoral reform law and policy (particularly relevant in light of the current election season) to a quantitative study of regional military spending to a thoughtful examination of the concept of heritage in Saudi poetry, these articles span the wide field of politics and policy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our first article addresses the much-discussed issue of Jordanian electoral reform, a subject that continually absorbs the attention of Jordanians, scholars of Jordan, and other observers alike. Why has so much reform law and policy produced so little actual reform? The authors explain that reform initiatives have served “more to provide the regime with narratives of superficial reform than to achieve real change” (Bani Salameh et al., &lt;span&gt;2024&lt;/span&gt;). This does not mean, of course, that nothing changes, but to understand what the elections laws and reform committees really mean, we must be attentive to their larger political use as well as their narrower practical effects.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Narratives and their political importance are also examined in Kertcher and Lewin's study (&lt;span&gt;2024&lt;/span&gt;) of media coverage of Saudi Arabia's humanitarian aid. The authors argue that the Saudi government uses a “diversionary benevolent media strategy,” framing its humanitarian aid in particular ways for different audiences. This strategic approach to media coverage helps to establish politically useful narratives that increase the country's prestige with international audiences and bolster regime support with domestic audiences.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Media coverage is also at issue in Yefet and Friedberg's article (&lt;span&gt;2024&lt;/span&gt;) examining the imbalance in the quantity and type of coverage of men and women members of parliament in Egypt. They find that while media coverage does perpetuate conservative views of women and a hierarchical masculine/feminine distinction, this coverage exists alongside more progressive coverage of women parliamentarians, making for a more complex media landscape. This has implications for the shaping of public opinion about women's roles in politics.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A straightforward and important policy question is the subject of Nadan's study (&lt;span&gt;2024&lt;/span&gt;): are population policies in Arab countries largely ineffective? He examines both pro-natalist and anti-natalist policies in countries over a period from the 1970s to the 1990s to establish what effect these approaches had on national birthrates. He finds that population policy has less effect than is expected, an int","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"33 4","pages":"330-332"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12343","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142443489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A diversionary benevolent media strategy: Lobbying Saudi Arabia's humanitarian aid in Arabic and English\u0000 转移视线的仁慈媒体策略:阿拉伯语和英语报道中的沙特阿拉伯人道主义援助游说\u0000 Una estrategia mediática benévola y distractora: Cabildear para obtener ayuda humanitaria de Arabia Saudita en árabe e inglés","authors":"Chen Kertcher,&nbsp;Roi Lewin","doi":"10.1111/dome.12339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12339","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Humanitarian aid is often accompanied by broad media coverage. In academic research, there is a dominant bias toward Western studies on the topic. Following studies that emphasize the negative role of autocratic regimes using their media to frame threats as an intra-state diversionary strategy, this study contributes to our understating of how autocratic regimes use the media and illuminates how they employ a diversionary benevolent strategy in the media through framing humanitarian activities. We illustrate this theory by using the case of media strategy models used by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) that frame its provision of humanitarian aid to global and national audiences. The empirical approach is based on an analysis of 263 articles from four leading Saudi newspapers published online in English and Arabic. The result indicates that the KSA encourages two different diversionary benevolent strategies. The first strategy is aimed at increasing the KSAs international community prestige, focusing on mediatization that depicts its alliance with global efforts while employing “threat” strategy towards its adversaries. The second strategy is aimed mainly at Saudi nationals with the purpose of increasing their support of the royal family.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"33 4","pages":"346-360"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142443471","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":"Media representation of members of parliament in Egypt: A reality of gender imbalance\u0000 埃及议会议员的媒体代表性:性别不平衡的现实\u0000 “Representación mediática de los miembros del parlamento en egipto: Una realidad de desequilibrio de género”","authors":"Bosmat Yefet,&nbsp;Chen Friedberg","doi":"10.1111/dome.12336","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12336","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study joins recent studies that explore the meanings of the political representation of women resulting from a gender quota, through examination of their media representation. Drawing on studies on gendered mediation and women's political representation and using a content analysis method, we examine the quantity and the quality of gender media representation of Egyptian members of parliament. The findings show a nuanced picture in which the media simultaneously propagates a conservative perspective alongside progressive and egalitarian ones. Female representatives receive less media coverage and are associated with feminine topics in a way that reproduces the gender hierarchical masculine/feminine and private/public distinction within the political sphere. Nevertheless, this biased coverage coexists with an empowering representation whereby women are more heard than seen and associated with core parliamentary activities. We conclude by addressing the potential and limits of this representation, which may alter perceptions regarding women's political participation under authoritarianism.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"33 4","pages":"361-384"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12336","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142443472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}