Introduction: Civil Society, Public Debate and Natural Resource Management
The introductory chapter establishes the analytical framework for this edited volume. The literature on the resource curse and institutions is briefly discussed, along with the work on civil society and the public sphere by Almond and Verba, Dahl, Habermas and Putnam. Drawing on these classics, the theoretical concept of ‘public brainpower’ is formulated. The main pillar of public brainpower is polycentricity, or the coexistence of many different public actors freely expressing their thoughts: individual citizens, political parties, trade unions, charities, companies, research institutes, religious institutions, mass media and government institutions. The more polycentric a society is, the greater is its brainpower: its memory becomes more comprehensive and multifaceted, different actors can perform quality control of each other’s ideas and arguments, and it is more difficult to repress challenging views. Above all, a polycentric society has a broader base for creativity. The greater the public brainpower of a society, the better its management of natural resources. Finally, the 18 case studies of oil- and gas-producing countries are presented, along with the methodology and definitions of key terminology used throughout the volume.
Like Grandfather, Like Grandson: Kinship as a legitimating force in Japan’s International Relations
This chapter discusses the entrenched trend of hereditary politicians in Japanese politics and how kinship is used as a legitimating force in Japan’s international relations. It illuminates how one Japanese leader has invoked his kinship to both legitimate and promote Japan’s history and foreign policy in diplomatic exchanges. While dynasties in Japanese politics are clearly a domestic issue, the activation of those kinship properties on diplomatic trips across the world transforms them into an inter-state subject.
Theory seminar: The Crisis of Liberal Memory
Vibeke Schou Tjalve presents the introduction chapter to a new book as part of the project “World of the Right”.
Codeword China
(From op-ed): When it comes to Arctic regional political governance and economic outlooks, the policy and academic communities have become good at asking ‘what about China’ and facilitating a conversation on several policy issues. All the main Arctic conferences have panels on China in the Arctic in some form or another and there is a small but strong and productive community of scholars analyzing how China approaches the Arctic.
Kith, kin and inter-state relations: International politics as family life
This chapter discusses what analytical value kinship may add to the academic study of inter-state dynamics. The chapter reviews how kinship has been contended with in key contributions to IR theory on inter-state cooperation and alliances, before it proceeds to discussing, firstly, how kinship might be of use as an analytical category and classification system in IR and, secondly, how kinship, as a practical category, is used in and impacts on everyday international political and diplomatic life.
Fighting violent extremism: What can be learned from the North Caucasus?
What factors affect the flow of recruits from the North Caucasus areas to jihadist groups in and outside of Russia?
The reconfiguration of clientelism and the failure of vote buying in Lebanon
One common demand in the 2011 uprisings in the MENA region was the call for ‘freedom, dignity, and social justice.’ Citizens rallied against corruption and clientelism, which for many protesters were deeply linked to political tyranny. This book takes the phenomenon of the 2011 uprisings as a point of departure for reassessing clientelism and patronage across the entire MENA region. Using case studies covering Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies, it looks at how the relationships within and between clientelist and patronage networks changed before 2011. The book assesses how these changes contributed to the destabilization of the established political and social order, and how they affected less visible political processes. It then turns to look at how the political transformations since 2011 have in turn reconfigured these networks in terms of strategies and dynamics, and concomitantly, what implications this has had for the inclusion or exclusion of new actors. Are specific networks expanding or shrinking in the post-2011 contexts? Do these networks reproduce established forms of patron-client relations or do they translate into new modes and mechanisms? As the first book to systematically discuss clientelism, patronage and corruption against the background of the 2011 uprisings, it will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Middle Eastern Studies. The book also addresses major debates in comparative politics and political sociology by offering ‘networks of dependency’ as an interdisciplinary conceptual approach that can ‘travel’ across place and time.
‘Brothers in arms’. Kinship, gender and military organizations
Kinship arguably is a particularly useful concept for studying the social structures, relations and culture of military organizations, both in exceptional situations and during ordinary service. Kinship helps us identify and understand how masculine values and fellowship among male soldiers are embedded in practice (e.g. rules, codes, rituals, communities) as well as in discourse (e.g. specific gendered lingo). When taking into account the male dominance in military organizations over time and the share numbers of male soldiers, compared to female soldiers, gender gaps are likely. Both conditions also help explain why government efforts in many countries aimed at improving the gender balance and creating equal opportunities for women in military organizations have met a lot of obstacles. Introducing kinship, this chapter seeks to identify how kinship as a social category of identity may represent the social glue that keeps military organizations together, as well as the exclusion mechanisms kinship entails through discourse and practice.
Managing a Digital Revolution - Cyber Security Capacity Building in Myanmar
Digitalization is exposing developing countries to a growing number of risks, as well as opportunities associated with connecting to the Internet. Myanmar stands out as a critical case of both the pitfalls and the benefits Internet connection can bring. Amidst a political transition from military rule to a functioning democracy Myanmar is adding ICT to key areas like banking and e-government. Having been one of the least connected countries in the world only five years ago the country is now connecting to the Internet at an unprecedented pace, with little or no institutions in place to ensure the transition goes smoothly. Using the framework of Cyber Security Capacity Building (CCB) we examine the risks and potential benefits of Myanmar’s embracement of digital technologies.
How does Russia prepare for a transition of power?
According to the Russian Constitution, the current term is the last for President Putin. How will the Russian political system prepare for the transition of power?