Paola Rivetti

EU–MENA Relations from the Barcelona Process to the Arab Uprisings: A New Research Agenda

ABSTRACT Irrespective of their final outcome, the Arab uprisings have changed the region profoundly with important consequences for external actors as well. Since 1995, the European Union has been extremely active in the Middle East and North Africa with a number of policies put in place to achieve often contrasting objectives. The uprisings have exposed the problems affecting these polices and have led the EU to rethink regional relations. The scholarship on EU-MENA relations has provided over time numerous and powerful insights into the workings, shortcomings and success of the EU in the region, but the uprisings demand a radical change in the way in which the MENA is approached. This review article looks at the contribution that the scholarship has made in this field and suggests a new research agenda, which could lead to better informed and more effective policy-making.

‘The Importance of being Civil Society’: Student Politics and the Reformist Movement in Khatami's Iran

Through a non-conventional understanding of civil society activism, the article provides an explanation of the relationship between the student movement and Khatamis governments in Iran. This study approaches ‘civil society’ as a space where we may observe the dynamics and exercise of power. The case study of the interactions between the Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat and Khatamis governments illustrates how civil society is not a fixed concept, but a contested one. By analysing the conflicts and interactions between these two actors, the article examines the continuous negotiations that reinvent the meaning of civil society and produce political inclusion or exclusion.

Iranian student activism between authoritarianism and democratization: patterns of conflict and cooperation between the Office for the Strengthening of Unity and the regime

This article examines the role of student activism in enhancing or weakening democratization in authoritarian contexts, focusing on the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It contends that while numerous studies indicate that student activism has been crucial in processes of regime change, insufficient attention has been paid to the circumstances under which it contributes to strengthening authoritarian rule. The case of Iran demonstrates that there are two different ways in which this occurs. First, much like many other civil society actors, student activism can be co-opted and at times willingly so because of a coincidence of material and/or ideological interests. Second, even when student activism genuinely pushes for democratization and becomes independent and autonomous from political power, the authoritarian constraints in place can contribute to marginalize it and defeat it. The Iranian case highlights the problems student activism faces when it attempts to disengage from the dominant structures of authoritarian politics, and in line with Jamals findings, demonstrates how authoritarian structural constraints can undermine the democratic aspirations of well-organised groups.

Continuity and Change before and after the Uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco: Regime Reconfiguration and Policymaking in North Africa

While the scholarship on the Arab uprisings is increasingly complex and intellectually refined, this special issue considers an aspect that so far has failed to attract sustained scholarly attention, namely continuity and change. This introduction provides the framework underpinning the special issue as a whole and discusses all the articles composing it, while elaborating on the scientific contribution that the examination of continuity and change before and after the uprisings can make to our understanding of politics in the region.

Empowerment without Emancipation: Performativity and Political Activism among Iranian Refugees in Italy and Turkey

This article examines the centrality of political activism in the identity of Iranian refugees and investigates how they perform and incorporate it by considering the interlocked pressure of international politics, personal networks, and the assistance provided by civil society organizations. The case of Iranian political refugees in Italy and Turkey is of particular interest because of the international visibility of the Green movement, the Iranian people’s historical experience of emigration, and the fact that Iran is a subject of great interest for a number of human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). It shows how the process of “being a refugee” works not only through classical forms of institutional pressure but also through “unexpected” forms such as NGO efforts to empower refugees politically. Despite the positive value attached to it, in this context political activism can force refugees into preestablished roles, such as “human rights defenders” or “Green movement activists.” Paradoxically, refugees act within a context that dominates them even when it tries to empower them.

Democracy and Secularism in Iran: Lessons for the Arab Spring?

Civil Society and Democracy in Iran Ramin Jahanbegloo (Ed) Lanham, MD, Lexington Books, 2012, ISBN 0-7391-6545-3, 318pp, £21.95 Democracy in Modern Iran. Islam, Culture and Political Change Ali Mir...

Iran in the 21st Century: Politics, Economics and Conflict

This book is an ambitious attempt to capture the historical trends that have shaped Iranian history since the turn of the century and that will influence possible future events in the country. It is composed of 15 chapters written by renowned scholars in the field who elaborate on Katouzian’s theory of short-term society, according to which Iranian history tends to be determined by short-term phenomena and by the absence of an inviolable legal framework, which would guarantee long-term continuity. According to the authors, this explains the repeated popular rebellions against the state. Despite the rigidity of such an argument, the volume succeeds in being flexible enough to deal with a number of issues, such as Iranian political culture, its economy, energy sector and international relations. The book closes with a chapter by Katouzian himself, who underlines the potential of economic history in contributing to the understanding of Iranian history. The first part of the volume, comprising chapters 2–6, focuses on cultural and social issues. Farideh Farhi (pp. 13–27) discusses ‘Iranianess’, arguing that today it is not a question of what is authentic in Iranian cultural heritage or identity, whether Islamic or pre-Islamic, but ‘a political challenge over how to respond to the demands of minorities for equal citizenship rights’ (p. 17). Farhi concludes by arguing that ‘steady dedication [ . . . ] to the building of effective institutions [to guarantee the respect of those rights] is [ . . . ] yet to be seen’ (p. 25). Touraj Atabaki, author of the third chapter (pp. 41–62), explores the modern history of Iran through the lenses of ethnic promotion/oppression and comes to a conclusion akin to Farhi’s. He notes how ‘the fate of Iran’s [ . . . ] territorial integrity may depend [ . . . ] on the introduction of reforms in the country’s political structure’ (p. 60). Hamid Ahmadi (pp. 28–40) authors the second chapter and focuses on the definition of ‘national interest’ for the Islamic Republic. He argues that the institutional dualism embedded in the constitution is the main reason behind the continuous dilemma of whether it is pragmatism or ideology that defines Iran’s national interests. The author concludes by arguing that the Islamic Republic is likely to remain embedded in such a dualism without the structural, or constitutional, conflict between the elected offices, such as the President of the Republic or parliamentary representatives, and the un-elected ones, such as the Supreme Leader, being solved. Ahmad and Mahmoud Sadri in chapter 5 (pp. 63–85) go beyond the equation ‘dissent 1⁄4 reform’ to consider the different forms that resistance to the Islamic Republic may take. In particular, the authors explore the conflict between official and more traditional, or unofficial, religiosity. They conclude by speculating on how, after 2005, in the post-reform era the public discourse on dissent was silenced, leaving room for ‘disparate disturbances, quelled British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, August 2012 39(2), 283–305

Algeria: Oil and Public Opinion

Hydrocarbon revenues have long played a central role in Algeria, where the non-transparent circumstances of their redistribution have enabled the government to survive the Arab Spring and remain in power despite the socio-economic problems affecting the country. This chapter observes that public debate and repression of public dissent co-exist, while oil and gas revenues are used to co-opt and repress demands for reform voiced by civil society. Open discussion, especially concerning the need for economic diversification, is permitted because it is not seen as particularly dangerous to the regime and because civil society activism has limited impact on decision-making. Although civil society is not able to generate major institutional change at the national level, research institutes, opposition parties, media outlets, some institutional actors and ordinary citizens are increasingly contributing to and shaping the public debate over how oil and gas rents are to be used.

Political activism in Iran: strategies for survival, possibilities for resistance and authoritarianism

ABSTRACT This article examines mobilizations and activism in authoritarian settings by considering the case of Iran. By focusing on the transformation of activism since the 1990s and the green movement, it advances an explanation of how oppositional political groups have been able to survive and produce forms of resistant subjectivity despite authoritarian constraints. In order to do so, the article brings together two scholarly traditions, namely Social Movement Theory (SMT) and the study of subjectivity and resistance as framed by Sari Hanafi. SMT explains how activists have been able to navigate repression and create opportunities for mobilization while shifting between formal and informal politics. The study of subjectivity helps conceptualize the type of subjects or political citizens that authoritarian environments generate. The article builds on field research with activists conducted in Iran and Turkey between 2007 and 2016. It argues that authoritarian constraints allow autonomous activism to flourish while emptying of meaning the regime-sanctioned political infrastructures.

Arab Revolutions and World Transformations by Anna Agathangelou and Nevzat Soguk (eds). Abingdon: Routledge, 2013. 152pp, £85.00, ISBN 9780415635929

Arab Revolutions and World Transformations is a very interesting and original book for political scientists and scholars of the Middle East. It collects eighteen contributions on a large number of issues which reflect on the connection between the events unfolding in the Arab World and broader, global political dynamics, and it does so by relying on critical theories. To complete such a difficult and complex task, the two editors recruited distinguished social science scholars from ‘classical’ Middle Eastern Studies and from the fields of Critical International Politics and Cultural Studies. The volume is very rich in terms of contributions and touches on different issues, ranging from authoritarian resilience, regional dynamics and social media to critical geopolitics, literature and poetry. It is a very welcome contribution because it introduces the study of the region to the wider field of social sciences, and offers fresh perspective of analysis to social and political scientists of the Middle East. The volume is not divided into sections as it mirrors the structure of the special issue from which it originates, published in the journal Globalizations. Nevertheless, there are three clusters into which the chapters can be regrouped. The first group is composed of theoretical contributions elaborating on the specific characteristics of the Arab revolutions in the broader context of the global, insurrectional wave of the twenty-first century. The second group deals with different cultural aspects of the protests, elaborating on the role of poetry, street art, humour and the media in strengthening dissent and maintaining momentum. Finally, the third group deals with a variety of political and international issues, and here the most interesting contributions can be found. In particular, those chapters utilising critical geopolitics, theories of biopolitics and critical discourse analysis applied to IR are very successful in marrying apparently distant fields of study. All the chapters are well written and effectively connect the Arab protests with wider dynamics of counter-hegemony and dissent, but scholars of the Middle East might be disappointed by the absence in most of the contributions of empirical findings grounded in fieldwork. Readers might also be disappointed by the absence of a proper conclusion. Indeed, the book offers so many stimulating contributions that a conclusive chapter would have benefitted the whole project in terms of pointing out the most relevant ideas. Nevertheless, the book will appeal to sociologists, historians and political scientists not only interested in the Middle East, but more generally in international and contentious politics.