10. december 2018
The demographic time bomb: How the Arab Gulf countries could cope with growing number of youngsters entering the job market
- Martin Hvidt
This article explores the demographic challenge as it exists in the Gulf countries today. Figures are presented and an estimated 500.000 new entrants to the working age groups pr. year is the reality facing these countries. The public sector cannot absorb these and so it becomes the private sector. The policies of localization and technology upgrade is meant to make way for employment of nationals in this sector. However, in the transition period other means are necessary. The World Bank suggests that basically the state pays the citizens a compensation so that the total income from is equated between the public and the private sector.
3. december 2018
Den sidste Vollsmoseplan: Kan Danmarks største ghetto normaliseres?- Helle Lykke Nielsen
Vollsmose har længe været præget af det, der i reklamebranchen kaldes ”omdømme-udfordringer”: Området kæmper lige som andre udsatte boligområder i Danmark med høj arbejdsløshed, lavt uddannelsesniveau, bandekriminalitet og andre komplekse problemstillinger, og det har på godt og ondt afspejlet sig i den offentlige debat. For at forstå de udfordringer dette afføder, analyserer artiklen fremstillingerne af Vollsmose som henholdsvis hip bydel og kriminalitetsplaget ghetto, og viser hvordan sådanne billeder forstærkes gennem mediers, politikeres og embedsmænds brug af disse billeder, som derefter reproduceres og rekontekstualiseres i nye sammenhænge og derved opnår stadig mere autoritet og gennemslagskraft i den offentlige debat.
2. november 2018
”Exilic energies” og migration som conditio humana - Torben Rugberg Rasmussen
Begrebet eksil er i vid udstrækning er blevet erstattet af begreber som transnationalitet, diasfora, liminalitet osv som grundlag for at forstå de livsomstændigheder eller betingelser for identitetsdannelse, som de etniske og religiøse minoritetssamfund er underlagt. Ikke desto mindre genfinder vi både sondringen mellem ”dwelling” og ”displacement” og eksilbegrebets dobbelthed af hjemløshed, smerte, fremmedgjorthed og identitetsmæssig traumatisering og forestillingen om for den eksilerede en moralsk, æstetisk og erkendelsesmæssig priviligeret status som følge af eksilpositionens udenforhed eller radikale frihed som en bestanddel i diskussionen om præmisserne for identitetsdannelse i de etniske og religiøse diasfora- eller minoritetssamfund.
2. november 2018
Jordan – the unstable “island of stability” - Peter Seeberg
Jordan was also exposed to protests and demonstrations in the so-called Arab Spring in 2011. During 2018, where we have seen renewed protests in Jordanian cities – mainly as a result of a highly unpopular tax law and increasing fuel and electricity prices – it seemed that a renewed Arab Spring took place. The political unrest has been ongoing all the while Jordan has been hit by significant economic problems, first of all a huge budget deficit, low growth and a permanent negative balance of trade. In addition to that Jordan fights with rapidly decreasing water resources, large numbers of refugees and pressure for reforms from the side of the IMF. The challenges tend to undermine the Jordanian regime, but so far without serious consequences for King Abdullah – probably as a result of external support, first of all the EU and the US.
3. oktober 2018
This is the second part of an analysis on the problematique of the Iran Nuclear Deal. It presents a debate-oriented analysis that is inspired by an approach based on the Copenhagen School and informed by insights from Realism and Institutionalism.
5. september 2018
An International Relations perspective on the problematique of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Part I: Rationalist Perspectives - Martin Beck
The present first part of two analyses on the problematique of the Iran Nuclear Deal presents two Rationalist perspectives on it. From a Realist point of view, the scenario of Iran being a nuclear power is simply acceptable if not desirable. Rather than singling out the Iranian nuclear program, Institutionalism would opt for a policy approach that strengthens the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and envisions achieving a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
8. august 2018
Are Al-Qaeda and Islamic State modern? Reflections on Islamic fundamentalism and modernity - Mehmet Ümit Necef
The article discusses whether Islamist fundamentalists, regardless of whether they are violent or peaceful, are modern. Constitutive elements of modernity and the concepts of counter-modernity and demodernization are presented. It is concluded that fundamentalism, in whatever form it emerges, cannot be considered as modern. Fundamentalists are in modernity, but not of modernity.
3. august 2018
Lifting the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia. Reasons and consequences - Martin Hvidt
This article explores the reasons why Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and son of the current King, who accented to power in 2015, chose to lift the ban on women driving. The reasons are mostly related to the potential benefits to the economy that follows from allowing the women to transport themselves. For women play an important role in the current development plan, the so-called Vision 2030. But how do an estimated 3 million new drivers affect traffic congestion, pollution and fuel consumption, and how will they integrate in a traffic system which has one of the highest traffic death rates in the world?
11. juli 2018
Hvem er Muqtada al-Sadr? - Helle Lykke Nielsen
Muqtada al-Sadr er i Vesten nok mest kendt for sin indædte kamp mod amerikanerne i de første år efter Saddam Hussains fald. Vestlige medier viste i den periode ofte billeder af de kæmpe demonstrationer af vrede unge mænd, Sadr formåede at samle i Bagdads gader – heraf tilnavnet ”oprørsimamen” - og af de mange angreb, hans milits Jaysh al-Mahdi (Mahdi-hæren) udførte mod især amerikanske og britiske soldater. Fra 2008 blev der dog mere stille omkring ham, efter at premierminister Maliki først slog hårdt ned på Mahdi-militsen, og Sadr efterfølgende valgte at fortrække til Iran. Men nu er han altså tilbage i irakisk politik, denne gang i en nøgleposition som parlamentsvalgets vinder, og dermed som en af de afgørende spillere i irakisk politik. Så hvem er han, denne Muqtada al-Sadr, hvordan er det gået ham siden de tidlige oprørsdage, og hvad kan være grunden til, at han så overraskende blev valgets vinder?
3. juli 2018
New perspectives in EU’s migration and border management – the case of Libya - Peter Seeberg
Initially the article describes the recent EU-Libya relations with a focus on migration and border management followed by a more detailed analysis of the EU operations in the Mediterranean Sea. It is then discussed how the planned increased level of funding over the coming years might influence the situation in the Central Mediterranean and in Libya. It is argued that the EU ambitions of securing its external borders, support legal migration, counter irregular migration and return those migrants who have no right to stay in Europe, seem relevant in the context of Libya, but that efficiency in carrying out the suggested measures require that lasting solutions are found concerning the internal crisis in Libya.
20. juni 2018
Music Albums and the State of Exile: A Study of Creative Expressions among the South Asian Migrants in the Gulf - M.H. Ilias
This work is about some of the literary and artistic expressions that the current phase of South Asian diaspora has generated. With their own artistic and aesthetic resources, the Gulf migrants from Kerala, South India have created a ‘subsection’ within the parameters of popular culture to express their emotions, feelings, informal opinions and worldviews, which encourages a refocusing of aesthetics away from the traditional domains of high culture. Major themes of these popular cultural forms include the ‘shattered dreams’ of unsuccessful migrants, the work-place stress they encounter and the breakup in relationships. Such productions in the form of music albums, video footages and You Tube clippings, based on new-fangled aesthetics have a discernible effect on the imagination of the diasporic community and are greatly patronized by the labour class in the Gulf. The focus of this work revolves around Katupāṭṭu which in its modern form refers to sending letters or messages in the form of music albums. They are basically songs composed for the purpose of disseminating a message.
8. juni 2018
Fremmedhad, islamofobi eller resignerende tolerance - Torben Rugberg Rasmussen
”Where do incorrect ideas come from?” spørger Fred HalIiday (1999) retorisk. Hermed mener han ikke mindst forkerte eller “inkorrekte” ideer om islam og muslimer. Halliday bruger selv ordet ”anti-muslimism”.
Der er ikke noget entydigt svar på spørgsmålet, men tydeligvis finder vi en bred vifte af forståelsesformer, der er baseret på en påstand om, at ”inkorrektheden” er udtryk for en fornuft af en kvalitativ lavere eller mere primitiv orden i moralsk og erkendelsesmæssig henseende. Forestillingen om en i ”folkedybet” dybt indlejret irrationalitet refererer hertil. Det samme gælder forestillinger om at vi i den landlige provins finder en sump bestående af lige dele moralsk tilbageståenhed, primitive territorialinstinkter og grundangst for den fremmede.
7. juni 2018
Branding islam – om muslimsk place-making i Danmark - Helle Lykke Nielsen
Mere end 40 års tilstedeværelse af muslimske indvandrere og flygtninge i Danmark har sat sig tydelige spor i det urbane landskab gennem det, der i faglitteraturen kaldes reterritorialiserings- eller place-making strategier. Artiklen undersøger hvordan islamisk place-making kommer til udtryk på muslimske kirkegårde og begravelsespladser i Danmark, og hvad det kan fortælles om en mulig begyndede sekularisering blandt danske muslimer.
4. maj 2018
”Den tredje verden starter i ghettoerne”. Om ghettoer, postkolonialisme og misvisende amerikanske referencer
- Torben Rugberg Rasmussen
Diskussionen om ghettobegrebet, ghettoerne og dets beboere føres fra mange positioner - herunder venstrepolitiske positioner, der er præget af postkolonial tænkning med tydelige forbindelseslinier tilbage til 1960ernes og -70ernes antikolonialsme eller radikale tiersmondisme repræsenteret af f.eks. Jean Paul Sarte og Franz Fanon.
Et eksemplarisk udtryk for en post-kolonialistiske tilgang til ghettoproblematikken finder man f.eks. hos den tyske medie- og kulturforsker Maria Stehle (2006). Hendes empiriske udgangspunkt for at aflæse og formulere kritik af den dominerende i hendes perspektiv kolonialistiske eller raistiske ghettodiskurser er Tyskland, men tydeligvis finder vi synspunkter, der er sammenlignelige med Stehles, i den danske diskussion om ghettoer og håndteringen af etnisk, kulturel og religiøs andethed.
4. maj 2018
Framing the security-stability nexus in recent EU-Mashreq relations: Need for changes of EU foreign policy tools? - Peter Seeberg
It is the aim of this article to shed light on the recent EU policies towards the MENA-region focusing on EU-Mashreq relations in the light of the Syrian crisis. Recent bilateral agreements between the EU and the Arab Mashreq states, focusing on the specific challenges related to the development of the Syrian crisis and its spill-over effects and consequences for the Arab Mashreq states. The cooperation between the EU and the Mashreq states over the last years has focused on security and stability in the region. It is shown that the Brussels II Conference 24-25 April 2018, rather than preparing for new challenges related to a post-war scenario in a not too distant future, primarily focuses on the humanitarian aspects of the recent crisis in the Mashreq.
10. april 2018
The new role of women in the new Saudi Arabian economy - Martin Hvidt
Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and son of the current King, who accented to power in 2015, is a man of action. He was appointed Ministry of Defense and started a war in Yemen, he outmaneuvered Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince and thus brought himself first in line to the throne, and has in November 2017 allegedly with the aim to stifle corruption, brought his major potential opponents from the business and media world but also from within the Royal family to bend to his rule. Parallel to this tactical maneuvering, his father placed him as head of the government entity, who oversaw the creation of the Vision 2030 development plan, and the detailed catalogue of no less than 543 specific reform initiatives outlined in the National Transformation plan 2016-2020 to implement the reform.
Mohammad bin Salman, the young crown price in Saudi Arabia, eagerly pursues the reform drive he initiated in 2017 with the Vision 2030 reform package. This news analysis focuses on the current initiatives aimed to include the women in the new Saudi Arabia.
5. april 2018
Kurdish overrepresentation among Danish Islamic State warriors - Mehmet Ümit Necef
The article discusses the possible reasons why Kurds are apparently overrepresented among Danish Islamic State warriors. Research on Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin joining IS is also presented, since it also suggests a corresponding overrepresentation.
13. marts 2018
Transnational Salafi Networks from India and Negotiating Identity in the Gulf - M.H. Ilias
This work focuses on a set of questions; how India-centered Salafi groups as transnational entities are perceived by the expatriate Indian Muslims in the Gulf; how are the modern subjectivities formed in the context of transnational migration and religious puritanism corresponding with each other in the contemporary discourse on Salafism among the Indian Muslims in the Gulf; and how does Gulf Salafism from Kerala negotiate its identity in both Salafi and non-Salafi-dominated settings? This work has taken the case study of Gulf Salafism, a movement that emerged among the Salafis of Kerala in the Gulf insisting on the need of a radical redefinition of the term Salafiyyat (emulation of the pious ancestors) against the popular term Islahiyyat (reform) by tracing their intellectual lineage solely to the revivalist scholar Ibn Taymiyya, through Abd al-Wahhab who eschewed a line of thought insisting on literal, self-contained understanding of the Quran and Sunna.
4. marts 2018
Contract slavery? On the political economy of domestic work in Lebanon - Martin Beck
The present debate analysis is the second part of a short study on foreign domestic work in Lebanon. The first part was put online in February 2018 as a news analysis. The present debate analysis firstly scrutinizes the application of the concept of contract slavery. In its second part, the author elaborates on the issue and critically discusses the political economy of domestic work in Lebanon by applying four basic categories of political economy: state, class, race, and gender. The result of the latter analysis is a more nuanced image of the political economy of domestic work in Lebanon.
28. februar 2018
Døden på havet - Helle Lykke Nielsen
Døden tages meget alvorlig i vores del af verden, både af efterladte der sørger, og af myndigheder der har klare procedurer for, hvad der skal ske, når et liv er slut. Det gælder bare ikke for de mange illegale migranter, der dør på vej over Middelhavet i disse år: Her er de europæiske myndigheder langt mere lemfældige med registreringer, undersøgelser og begravelser af de døde, og det efterlader tusindvis af familier og ægtefæller på den anden side af EU's grænser i en meget vanskelig situation. For ud over at skulle leve med uvisheden og savnet af et familiemedlem kan de efterladte ikke få afsluttet arvespørgsmål, afdødes ejendele ikke kan fordeles, og ægtefæller kan hverken blive skilt eller gift igen, og dermed kan de ikke komme videre med deres liv.
11. februar 2018
On the political economy of domestic work in Lebanon - Martin Beck
The present news analysis is the first part of a short study on foreign domestic work in Lebanon. Domestic work in Lebanon has been chosen because this female-dominated business—in terms of both supply and demand—is often neglected in analyses of otherwise highly male-controlled political economies. Moreover, in contrast to the Gulf States, Lebanon is an open society in which “Westerners” can easily gain access to the local population, thereby inviting researchers to engage in participatory observation of the political economy of domestic work. The following first part presents the main features of the Lebanese political economy of domestic work. Then its main components of foreignness and femininity are discussed in more detail. The second part of the study which will be uploaded in March is a debate analysis on how to categorize best the political economy of domestic labor in Lebanon.
28. januar 2018
The price of oil. The disruption caused by the American shale oil industry - Martin Hvidt
Following the OPEC meeting decision 30 November 2017 to continue the restriction on member's production of oil, the price of oil is continuing – however – slowly to climb and is currently listed at around $63 pr. barrel. This is sad news for the consumers in oil-importing countries but indeed good news for the Arab Gulf states which have been hard pressed on their national budgets from the last 4 years low prices. This article will discuss the factors which determine the current level of the oil prices and their outlook for the coming decade. The energy market seems to be in a significant restructuring, including new oil and gas resources from shale oil producers.
28. januar 2018
Psykoanalyse og islamisk radikalisering. En introduktion til Fethi Benslamas ”Der Ûbermuslim: Was junge Menschen zur Radikalisierung treibt”
- Torben Rugberg Rasmussen
Den fransk-tunesiske psykolog og islamolog Fethi Benslamas bog ”Der Ûbermuslim. Was junge Menschen zur Radikalisierung treibt (2017) er en oversættelse af Benslamas Un furieux desir de sacrifice. Le Surmuslman fra 2016. Bogens fokus er årsagerne til eller rationalet bag den radikale islamismes og påkalder sig bl.a. interesse i kraft af sit psykoanalytiske udgangspunkt og sin indkredsning af den islamistiske type eller figur, Benslama kalder ”Overmuslimen”.
6. januar 2018
Er dialog vejen frem i Vollsmose? - Helle Lykke Nielsen
Fyns Politis dialogprojekt i Vollsmose, der er afviklet i perioden 2013-2016, har til formål at skabe et bedre forhold mellem politiet og områdets beboere, så det bliver lettere for politiet at agere i bydelen og dermed skabe øget tryghed for beboerne. Af politiets evaluering fremgår det, at projektet har været en stor succes, fordi det bl.a. er lykkedes at nedbryde fordomme om Fyns Politi og etablere dialogplatforme, der letter politiets arbejde i området. Artiklen kritiserer rapporten for ikke at dokumentere de gode resultater og for at være partisk, bl.a. med henvisning til det tætte samarbejde der synes at være mellem Fyns Politi og en bestemt muslimsk forening i Odense. Det konkluderes, at dialogprojektet muligvis er en succes, sådan som Fyns Politi hævder, men at det kun lader sig vurdere ud fra en dokumenteret fremstilling af, hvad projektet går ud på, og en faglig evaluering der både kvantitativt og kvalitativt går ind i de problemstillinger, projektet er sat i verden for at løse.