Hussein Solomon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Hussein Solomon
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
Patriarchy has its origins in the Middle East. This legacy is still apparent in the Middle East w... more Patriarchy has its origins in the Middle East. This legacy is still apparent in the Middle East where gender discriminatory legislation and attitudes remain the norm. What are the reasons for such misogynistic practices? For some scholars, the Islamic faith and related cultural practices lay at the heart of the problem. Others place their emphasis on more structuralist explanations such as economic considerations and ongoing insecurity in the MENA region. Despite the challenges confronting women, this chapter also maps the positive trends of a post-patriarchal order in the region. These include women taking up arms to defend themselves, political mobilization on the part of women as they challenge both authoritarianism and patriarchy and the rise of feminist Islamic scholarship. The momentum for a post-patriarchal order also exists because of changing inter-generational attitudes about the place of women in society. A younger, more educated generation holds less gender bias than their parents’ generation.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
The MENA region is engulfed in crisis. This predicament emanates from domestic factors like the a... more The MENA region is engulfed in crisis. This predicament emanates from domestic factors like the artificial nature of the state and rentier economies to external actors supporting regimes against their citizens. As a result of this, several states are failing and are losing their sovereignty in the process. States, however, have been complicit in their own demise as they have eroded their own capacities to govern by nepotistic practices and by turning their citizens against them as well as supporting non-state actors in an effort to gain a strategic advantage in their region. State elites need to create more inclusive economies and polities and engage more constructively with their citizens who increasingly embrace secular and democratic norms if they are to survive this crisis.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
This chapter attempts to close a gap in the recent literature on Arab MENA countries economic dev... more This chapter attempts to close a gap in the recent literature on Arab MENA countries economic development: how globalization affected human values in this part of the world. First, we assess the overall picture of the degree of globalization according to the Zurich KOF-Index data series, affecting the MENA countries. We then go on to use new comparable indices of global value development derived from the latest set of World Values Survey data and determine the Arab MENA countries’ place on a new factor analytical index of Global Civil Society, building on Grinin et al. (Islamism, Arab spring, and the future of democracy, Springer, Cham, 2018) and Solomon and Tausch (“The age of ignorance” and the civic culture of democracy: A multivariate analysis based on World Values Survey data. In: Islamism, crisis and democratization. Springer, Cham, 2020, pp 23–85). We relate these results (country factor scores) with macro-economic and social and political indicators, presented in Tausch and Heshmati (Globalization, the human condition and sustainable development in the twenty-first century: Cross-national perspectives and European implications. Anthem Press, London/New York/Delhi. 10.7135/UPO9780857286550. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84939789242&doi=10.7135%2fUPO9780857286550&partnerID=40&md5=32618c3ba9b7101853ea357f86de2703, 2012a; Sociologia 44(3):314–347, 2012b) and Tausch (Jewish Polit Stud Rev 30(1–2):65–225. Available at http://jcpa.org/article/migration-from-the-muslim-world-to-the-west-its-most-recent-trends-and-effects/ (with data definitions and sources). Free data download available from https://www.academia.edu/37568941/Migration_from_the_Muslim_World_to_the_West_Its_Most_Recent_Trends_and_Effects, 2019a; Int J Heal Plan Manag, 10.1002/hpm.2781, 2019b), and the globalization indicators of the KOF-data series (Gygli et al., Rev Int Organ 14(3):543–574, 10.1007/s11558-019-09344-2, 2019). Our statistical calculations were performed by the routine and standard SPSS statistical program (SPSS XXIV), available at many academic research centres around the world, and we relied here on the so-called oblique rotation of the factors, underlying the correlation matrix. The SPSS routine chosen in this context was the so-called promax rotation of factors, which in many ways must be considered to be the best suited rotation of factors in the context of our research. Our comparisons reveal that the Arab MENA countries would be well advised to further social globalization.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
The politics of identity is a source of major conflicts across the MENA region. Rejecting essenti... more The politics of identity is a source of major conflicts across the MENA region. Rejecting essentialist notions of identity, this chapter argues that sectarianism only becomes an issue when it is instrumentalized by political entrepreneurs. It examines how sectarianism has played out in Syria and Libya as well as the quest for an independent Kurdistan. The chapter explores the different approaches adopted by MENA states to manage the politics of difference. These include secessionism, federalism, consociationalism and nation-building. Various country case studies are provided as each of these approaches is assessed – from Syria and Morocco to Lebanon and Oman. Ultimately, however, the politics of identity calls upon mature political leadership with a vision and intellect to forge inclusive nation-states in an increasingly fractious region.
Islamism, Crisis and Democratization, 2019
The poor performance of Islamists once in power together with the failed Arab Spring protests has... more The poor performance of Islamists once in power together with the failed Arab Spring protests has resulted in some scholars positing the Islamic exceptionalism thesis. According to this, Muslim societies are unique in their inherent rejection of modernity, democracy and secularism. Flowing from the Islamic exceptionalism thesis is the argument that Islam itself needs to be reformed. Rejecting such a position, this chapter argues that one needs to make a distinction between the political aspects of Islam and the distorted view of the faith as promoted by Islamists. What is needed is not an Islamic Reformation but reformation of Muslim interpretations of Islamic teachings. Surveys have also demonstrated that Muslims desire to be both religiously observant and politically free. Drawing from the works of John Locke, Alfred Stepan and Juan Linz, this chapter argues that a polity is possible which is both Islamic and democratic. What is key to realize this happy outcome is what Alfred Ste...
Perspectives on Development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region, 2020
military during the 20 th century
Africa cannot be described as a peaceful continent. Conflicts rage in many regions across the Afr... more Africa cannot be described as a peaceful continent. Conflicts rage in many regions across the African continent. These conflicts result in the tragic loss of life, the devastation of communities, and the displacement of
African security in the twenty-first century, 2018
The carrying on of trade, both legal and illegal, between communities has been a fundamental feat... more The carrying on of trade, both legal and illegal, between communities has been a fundamental feature of global economic relationships and an essential component of economic and social development. Modern-day trafficking is more than simply a reflection of an age old problem of illegal trade, because of the power of globalization. With Africa’s continuing integration into the global economy, the continent has becoming ever more vulnerable to the dark side of globalization that drives international trafficking. The challenge that the illicit trade in drugs and small arms brings to the continent is one far beyond the immediate impact of rising transnational criminal activity, but one that has broader implications for cross-cutting linkages to African security, stability and the future of African governance.
Scholars commonly agree that terrorism, fundamentalism and fanaticism today pose the gravest thre... more Scholars commonly agree that terrorism, fundamentalism and fanaticism today pose the gravest threat both to the system of states as a whole, and to groups and individuals within the state. The actions of these groups are not always confined to a specific state, and even where it appears to be, the possibility exists that the group will extend its actions beyond the borders of the state and destabilise the region in the process. Groups have a global reach, consequently states will have to cooperate to counter this threat. The challenge to the international community in this context is to find a way to employ counter-terrorist strategies without undermining the sovereignty of individual states.This article will discuss the counter-terrorist cooperation between two states, the Philippines and the United States of America (U.S.), within the boundaries of the Philippines, and assess the impact that cooperation will have on Philippine democracy.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
Our exercise of standard development accounting attempts to arrive at a synthesis of the performa... more Our exercise of standard development accounting attempts to arrive at a synthesis of the performance of Arab countries as they approach the abyss of the impending global economic recession and health crisis, connected with the Corona (Covid-19) pandemic. The choice of our indicators was guided by world system (Frank, ReOrient: Global economy in the Asian Age Ewing, University of California Press, 1998) and dependency approaches to development (Bornschier et al., Transnational corporations and underdevelopment. Frederic Praeger, New York, 1985); by later globalization-oriented debates about development (Tausch, Int J Heal Plan Manag 27(1):2–33, 2012a; Tausch, International macroquantitative data. Faculty of Economics, Corvinus University of Budapest. Available at http://www.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php?id=47854&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=0&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=31638&tx_ttnews%5BcalendarYear%5D=2012&tx_ttnews%5BcalendarMonth%5D=6&cHash=af8ef6888f7c9922b83b113f71c1ca32, 2012b; Tausch, Int S...
INTRODUCTION In June 1995, the Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in the Southern Afr... more INTRODUCTION In June 1995, the Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was announced with much fanfare. In the course of the following two years, however, it became the object of considerable criticism from a plethora of actors, and January 1997 witnessed the 1995 Protocol being overturned and replaced by the Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons in the Southern African Development Community.
International Political Science Abstracts, 2017
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa, 2015
For the young schoolgirls of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria, 11 April 2014 was to be no ordinary ... more For the young schoolgirls of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria, 11 April 2014 was to be no ordinary day. As the girls aged between 16 and 18 years sat for their physics paper at the local school, militants from the Islamist sect Boko Haram stormed the school and abducted more than 230 young girls. They were taken to one of Boko Haram’s hideouts in the sprawling 60,000 square kilometre Sambisa forest.1 Various attempts to rescue the girls ended in failure, while subsequent reports indicated that at least some of the girls had been taken to Boko Haram’s other camps in Cameroon.2
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa, 2015
The terrorist threat is escalating, spreading across the continent with an alarming 22 countries ... more The terrorist threat is escalating, spreading across the continent with an alarming 22 countries in Africa targeted by terrorists.1 This has caused great concern in Addis Ababa, seat of the AU. For some years, both its predecessor (the Organisation of African Unity — OAU) and the AU have worked to end the scourge of terrorism on the continent. The fact that terrorism has intensified in scope is clear evidence of a counter-terrorism strategy that is not working. From a broad overview of the existing counter-terrorism regime, we turn to understanding the reasons for the AU’s inability to eliminate the terrorist threat posed to the continent and its people. Finally, a case study of AMISOM in Somalia is provided where several of the themes discussed are unpacked in more concrete terms.
Routledge Handbook of African Security, 2013
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
Patriarchy has its origins in the Middle East. This legacy is still apparent in the Middle East w... more Patriarchy has its origins in the Middle East. This legacy is still apparent in the Middle East where gender discriminatory legislation and attitudes remain the norm. What are the reasons for such misogynistic practices? For some scholars, the Islamic faith and related cultural practices lay at the heart of the problem. Others place their emphasis on more structuralist explanations such as economic considerations and ongoing insecurity in the MENA region. Despite the challenges confronting women, this chapter also maps the positive trends of a post-patriarchal order in the region. These include women taking up arms to defend themselves, political mobilization on the part of women as they challenge both authoritarianism and patriarchy and the rise of feminist Islamic scholarship. The momentum for a post-patriarchal order also exists because of changing inter-generational attitudes about the place of women in society. A younger, more educated generation holds less gender bias than their parents’ generation.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
The MENA region is engulfed in crisis. This predicament emanates from domestic factors like the a... more The MENA region is engulfed in crisis. This predicament emanates from domestic factors like the artificial nature of the state and rentier economies to external actors supporting regimes against their citizens. As a result of this, several states are failing and are losing their sovereignty in the process. States, however, have been complicit in their own demise as they have eroded their own capacities to govern by nepotistic practices and by turning their citizens against them as well as supporting non-state actors in an effort to gain a strategic advantage in their region. State elites need to create more inclusive economies and polities and engage more constructively with their citizens who increasingly embrace secular and democratic norms if they are to survive this crisis.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
This chapter attempts to close a gap in the recent literature on Arab MENA countries economic dev... more This chapter attempts to close a gap in the recent literature on Arab MENA countries economic development: how globalization affected human values in this part of the world. First, we assess the overall picture of the degree of globalization according to the Zurich KOF-Index data series, affecting the MENA countries. We then go on to use new comparable indices of global value development derived from the latest set of World Values Survey data and determine the Arab MENA countries’ place on a new factor analytical index of Global Civil Society, building on Grinin et al. (Islamism, Arab spring, and the future of democracy, Springer, Cham, 2018) and Solomon and Tausch (“The age of ignorance” and the civic culture of democracy: A multivariate analysis based on World Values Survey data. In: Islamism, crisis and democratization. Springer, Cham, 2020, pp 23–85). We relate these results (country factor scores) with macro-economic and social and political indicators, presented in Tausch and Heshmati (Globalization, the human condition and sustainable development in the twenty-first century: Cross-national perspectives and European implications. Anthem Press, London/New York/Delhi. 10.7135/UPO9780857286550. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84939789242&doi=10.7135%2fUPO9780857286550&partnerID=40&md5=32618c3ba9b7101853ea357f86de2703, 2012a; Sociologia 44(3):314–347, 2012b) and Tausch (Jewish Polit Stud Rev 30(1–2):65–225. Available at http://jcpa.org/article/migration-from-the-muslim-world-to-the-west-its-most-recent-trends-and-effects/ (with data definitions and sources). Free data download available from https://www.academia.edu/37568941/Migration_from_the_Muslim_World_to_the_West_Its_Most_Recent_Trends_and_Effects, 2019a; Int J Heal Plan Manag, 10.1002/hpm.2781, 2019b), and the globalization indicators of the KOF-data series (Gygli et al., Rev Int Organ 14(3):543–574, 10.1007/s11558-019-09344-2, 2019). Our statistical calculations were performed by the routine and standard SPSS statistical program (SPSS XXIV), available at many academic research centres around the world, and we relied here on the so-called oblique rotation of the factors, underlying the correlation matrix. The SPSS routine chosen in this context was the so-called promax rotation of factors, which in many ways must be considered to be the best suited rotation of factors in the context of our research. Our comparisons reveal that the Arab MENA countries would be well advised to further social globalization.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
The politics of identity is a source of major conflicts across the MENA region. Rejecting essenti... more The politics of identity is a source of major conflicts across the MENA region. Rejecting essentialist notions of identity, this chapter argues that sectarianism only becomes an issue when it is instrumentalized by political entrepreneurs. It examines how sectarianism has played out in Syria and Libya as well as the quest for an independent Kurdistan. The chapter explores the different approaches adopted by MENA states to manage the politics of difference. These include secessionism, federalism, consociationalism and nation-building. Various country case studies are provided as each of these approaches is assessed – from Syria and Morocco to Lebanon and Oman. Ultimately, however, the politics of identity calls upon mature political leadership with a vision and intellect to forge inclusive nation-states in an increasingly fractious region.
Islamism, Crisis and Democratization, 2019
The poor performance of Islamists once in power together with the failed Arab Spring protests has... more The poor performance of Islamists once in power together with the failed Arab Spring protests has resulted in some scholars positing the Islamic exceptionalism thesis. According to this, Muslim societies are unique in their inherent rejection of modernity, democracy and secularism. Flowing from the Islamic exceptionalism thesis is the argument that Islam itself needs to be reformed. Rejecting such a position, this chapter argues that one needs to make a distinction between the political aspects of Islam and the distorted view of the faith as promoted by Islamists. What is needed is not an Islamic Reformation but reformation of Muslim interpretations of Islamic teachings. Surveys have also demonstrated that Muslims desire to be both religiously observant and politically free. Drawing from the works of John Locke, Alfred Stepan and Juan Linz, this chapter argues that a polity is possible which is both Islamic and democratic. What is key to realize this happy outcome is what Alfred Ste...
Perspectives on Development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region, 2020
military during the 20 th century
Africa cannot be described as a peaceful continent. Conflicts rage in many regions across the Afr... more Africa cannot be described as a peaceful continent. Conflicts rage in many regions across the African continent. These conflicts result in the tragic loss of life, the devastation of communities, and the displacement of
African security in the twenty-first century, 2018
The carrying on of trade, both legal and illegal, between communities has been a fundamental feat... more The carrying on of trade, both legal and illegal, between communities has been a fundamental feature of global economic relationships and an essential component of economic and social development. Modern-day trafficking is more than simply a reflection of an age old problem of illegal trade, because of the power of globalization. With Africa’s continuing integration into the global economy, the continent has becoming ever more vulnerable to the dark side of globalization that drives international trafficking. The challenge that the illicit trade in drugs and small arms brings to the continent is one far beyond the immediate impact of rising transnational criminal activity, but one that has broader implications for cross-cutting linkages to African security, stability and the future of African governance.
Scholars commonly agree that terrorism, fundamentalism and fanaticism today pose the gravest thre... more Scholars commonly agree that terrorism, fundamentalism and fanaticism today pose the gravest threat both to the system of states as a whole, and to groups and individuals within the state. The actions of these groups are not always confined to a specific state, and even where it appears to be, the possibility exists that the group will extend its actions beyond the borders of the state and destabilise the region in the process. Groups have a global reach, consequently states will have to cooperate to counter this threat. The challenge to the international community in this context is to find a way to employ counter-terrorist strategies without undermining the sovereignty of individual states.This article will discuss the counter-terrorist cooperation between two states, the Philippines and the United States of America (U.S.), within the boundaries of the Philippines, and assess the impact that cooperation will have on Philippine democracy.
Arab MENA Countries: Vulnerabilities and Constraints Against Democracy on the Eve of the Global COVID-19 Crisis, 2020
Our exercise of standard development accounting attempts to arrive at a synthesis of the performa... more Our exercise of standard development accounting attempts to arrive at a synthesis of the performance of Arab countries as they approach the abyss of the impending global economic recession and health crisis, connected with the Corona (Covid-19) pandemic. The choice of our indicators was guided by world system (Frank, ReOrient: Global economy in the Asian Age Ewing, University of California Press, 1998) and dependency approaches to development (Bornschier et al., Transnational corporations and underdevelopment. Frederic Praeger, New York, 1985); by later globalization-oriented debates about development (Tausch, Int J Heal Plan Manag 27(1):2–33, 2012a; Tausch, International macroquantitative data. Faculty of Economics, Corvinus University of Budapest. Available at http://www.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php?id=47854&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=0&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=31638&tx_ttnews%5BcalendarYear%5D=2012&tx_ttnews%5BcalendarMonth%5D=6&cHash=af8ef6888f7c9922b83b113f71c1ca32, 2012b; Tausch, Int S...
INTRODUCTION In June 1995, the Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in the Southern Afr... more INTRODUCTION In June 1995, the Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was announced with much fanfare. In the course of the following two years, however, it became the object of considerable criticism from a plethora of actors, and January 1997 witnessed the 1995 Protocol being overturned and replaced by the Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons in the Southern African Development Community.
International Political Science Abstracts, 2017
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa, 2015
For the young schoolgirls of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria, 11 April 2014 was to be no ordinary ... more For the young schoolgirls of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria, 11 April 2014 was to be no ordinary day. As the girls aged between 16 and 18 years sat for their physics paper at the local school, militants from the Islamist sect Boko Haram stormed the school and abducted more than 230 young girls. They were taken to one of Boko Haram’s hideouts in the sprawling 60,000 square kilometre Sambisa forest.1 Various attempts to rescue the girls ended in failure, while subsequent reports indicated that at least some of the girls had been taken to Boko Haram’s other camps in Cameroon.2
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa, 2015
The terrorist threat is escalating, spreading across the continent with an alarming 22 countries ... more The terrorist threat is escalating, spreading across the continent with an alarming 22 countries in Africa targeted by terrorists.1 This has caused great concern in Addis Ababa, seat of the AU. For some years, both its predecessor (the Organisation of African Unity — OAU) and the AU have worked to end the scourge of terrorism on the continent. The fact that terrorism has intensified in scope is clear evidence of a counter-terrorism strategy that is not working. From a broad overview of the existing counter-terrorism regime, we turn to understanding the reasons for the AU’s inability to eliminate the terrorist threat posed to the continent and its people. Finally, a case study of AMISOM in Somalia is provided where several of the themes discussed are unpacked in more concrete terms.
Routledge Handbook of African Security, 2013
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa