Sami Zemni

Trade, security and neoliberal politics: whither Arab reform? Evidence from the Moroccan case

This paper argues that the growing contrast between the processes of radicalisation and democratisation in the age of global market reforms and the ‘War on Terror’ are not confined to the domestic Moroccan political scene. Political movements, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society, governments, international institutions and foreign governments are all embedded within a growing number of international networks. The central problem of political and economic reform today lays in the ways it is conceptualised and implemented through a free market ideology that transfers power from the state to new ‘hybrid’ governmental arrangements where ‘state’ and ‘market’ seem to become a symbiotic pair. Within the site of the still powerful nation-state therefore the disappearing traditional boundaries of inclusion and exclusion – formerly readily apparent in and logically deriving from national affiliations – are changing and altering. The main argument is that, contrary to dominant discourses, that democracy promotion through market reform does not bring forth overall economic growth and prosperity which will lead eventually to political liberalisation. Instead these reforms are inducing uneven geographical developments that do not trigger incentives for democratic accountability.

Urban renewal and social development in Morocco in an age of neoliberal government

In this article we argue that Morocco has experienced fundamental political change over the past decades. This transition however cannot be understood in terms provided by the mainstream narratives linking economic liberalisation to democratisation. Rather, transition reflects a shift towards authoritarian modalities of neoliberal government. We focus on how political power has been reconfigured into new forms of ‘hybrid’ government where ‘state’, ‘market’ and ‘civil society’ interact in novel ways, by discussing the political dynamics of high-end urban development and the rationales underpinning social development policies to explain how ‘poor people’ are integrated into the realm of the market.

Putting flesh to the bone: looking for solidarity in diversity, here and now

ABSTRACT In many Western European countries, concern rises that both formal mechanisms of redistribution and informal acts of charity, reciprocity and support are challenged by ethnic and cultural diversity. Against such gloomy perspectives, this paper draws on insights from sociology, geography, pedagogy and political science to argue that four traditional sources of solidarity (interdependence, shared norms and values, struggle and encounter) remain relevant, but require a rethinking of their spatial and temporal framing to capture todays intricate engagements of solidarity. More specifically, we draw on theories from the aforementioned disciplines to claim that our understanding of solidarities grounded in the spatial boundedness of territorial states and the intergenerational continuity of supposedly culturally homogeneous nations should be complemented and enriched with an in-depth knowledge of solidarities developing in an entirely different spatio-temporal register, namely that of the everyday places and practices in which people engage across ethnic and cultural boundaries.

The shaping of Islam and Islamophobia in Belgium

The author discusses the way in which Islam has been cast as a political problem in Belgium and how Muslims have, particularly in Flanders, become framed by politicians and commentators in the media as a threat. The actual socioeconomic difficulties that Muslims (particularly those of Turkish and Moroccan descent) face are being redrawn as problems stemming from their culture and religion. State agencies are trying to shape the political organisation that will represent Belgian Muslims, as the issue of Islam is increasingly debated in terms of the ‘clash of civilisations’, and secularism and the Enlightenment are linked in public debate with a Christian Europe.

Islam between Jihadi Threats and Islamist Insecurities? Evidence from Belgium and Morocco

Debates on security stand central within academia and policy concerns since 9/11. These debates have redefined the boundaries of post-cold war foreign policy. This article focuses on the Belgian and Moroccan cases to show how security and jihadi ‘threats’ are constitutive of debates that encompass much larger issues including the identity of the state, redefinitions of citizenship and power hierarchies in a changing world. More specifically, it will show how, in the Belgian case, the construction of the jihadi threat has led to a securitization of the policy towards Muslim communities; while, in the Moroccan case, the threat was used to securitize the ongoing political process of liberalization (alternance). In both cases however, these mechanisms of securitization have been doubled by official policies supporting and advocating multiculturalism, tolerance and freedom. The ambivalence between these different policies makes it all the more difficult to devise a clear and effective policy towards the ‘jihad threat’.

The Tunisian Revolution: Neoliberalism, Urban Contentious Politics and the Right to the City

This article engages in the debate on urban contentious politics by returning to the Tunisian revolution. In the article, I chart movements provoked by neoliberal restructurings, and show how these ultimately came together to form a mass movement demanding radical political change. I first describe the socio-spatial roots of the Tunisian revolution to understand its dynamics. Based on the chronology of the unfolding events I sketch the classes, social groups and movements that coalesced against authoritarian rule in early 2011. Although the Tunisian revolution started in rural environments, I focus more specifically on the role of urban social movements in the uprising to link questions of urbanism to what were clearly national revolts. Secondly, I outline the scope of neoliberal reforms in Tunisia by looking at the impact of these reforms to chart the resulting emergence of contentious politics in response to the increasing violence that characterized all levels of economic life during this period. I also consider the resulting uneven development and the changing relations between the state and the different social classes. This enables me to reflect on the politicization of the city with the aim of opening up new opportunities for engaging with a more comparative and cosmopolitan theory about cities around the world.

From revolution to Tunisianité : who is the Tunisian people? Creating hegemony through compromise

Sami Zemni explains how, after Ben Ali’s escape, the discovery of a conflict-ridden society led to a polarized debate about the definition of the Tunisian people. The discourse on tunisianite served as a hegemonic discourse that was meant to help bridging the gap between opposing views on who or what constitutes the people. However, tunisianite and the call for the restoration of the state’s prestige (haybat addawla) also signaled the possibility of political closure; i.e. the rejection and de-legitimization of political subjectivities that do not subscribe to this view of national identity.

Breaking the in‐group out‐group: shifting boundaries in transnational partner choice processes of individuals of Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, Turkish, Punjabi Sikh, Pakistani and Albanian descent in Belgium

The ongoing popularity in some second and third generation migrants in Western Europe of marrying a partner from the countries of origin of their (grand)parents is considered to be problematic for micro and macro level societal integration of some migrant populations. Partner choice and marriage practices in migrant communities are problematized in public, media and political discourses by discriminating them from marriage practices in the ‘native’ population on the basis of three related dichotomies: (1) agency versus structure, (2) us versus them and (3) romantic versus instrumental marriage intentions dichotomies. By means of in-depth qualitative research methodologies on the partner choice processes of women and men of Turkish, Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Punjabi Sikh, Pakistani and Albanian descent in Belgium and an intersectional theoretical approach, this article aims to deconstruct popular and simplifying dichotomous representations of partner choice processes in these migrant populations. Our study reveals how religious, gender and social class boundaries are stretched to meet personal/individual desires and preferences. Individuals do experience social restrictions when it concerns social group boundaries and the potential partners that they can look for. At the same time individuals are never fully determined by their social environment, they creatively develop strategies to by-pass certain restrictions and to some extent are able to meet their personal needs while being sensitive to the desires of their social environment.

Liberalism and the elusiveness of Islam

this claim, particularly in relation to sex. Doing so, he speaks both to sexual life and also to the broader issues and politics it raises, which broach some of the most important issues of our day: debates about who belongs or does not belong in Europe, and how Europe and the West should conduct its relationships with North Africa. At the same time, he gives us something to think about: something challenging, unsettling and fundamental.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Competitive Politics

With its electoral gain of eighty-eight seats in the legislative elections of 2005, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) once again reestablished itself as the main Egyptian opposition movement. After a decade of repression and relative marginalization, the MB renegotiated its paradoxical participation in Egyptian politics in a rapidly changing regional and international context. At the same time, the MB also reviewed its ideological outlook. While the movement stayed true to its commitment of nonviolent political action, the movement is still not legal under Egyptian law.