Impact Of The Arab Spring Research Articles

Capital structure and public corruption among non-financial firms in the MENA region: The impact of the Arab spring

This study investigated the determinants of financing decisions of firms from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly the effect of public corruption on financing decisions and the effect of disorder following the Arab Spring on public corruption-financing structure relationship. The study encompasses a total of 800 business entities from 14 different countries, spanning the time frame of 2005–2018. Data is analyzed through the application of static fixed effects and dynamic GMM-System models. Results indicate that large, tangible companies prefer debt, whereas profitable companies with more room for growth choose equity. Less corruption is associated with increased corporate debt. The use of debt decreased because of the Arab Spring, and corruption's effect on leverage became weaker. The speed of adjustment to the target leverage is comparatively slow for book leverage, while it is significantly greater for market leverage. These outcomes are consistent with the pecking order behavior resulted from increasing information asymmetry, but the tradeoff theory has some support as well. The implications of this study entail the need for enhancing investor protection, strengthening control measures, increasing transparency, and fostering the overall growth of the financial system to facilitate enterprises' use of debt financing, particularly in the post-Arab Spring era. This paper provides fresh empirical evidence demonstrating the effect of the Arab Spring on capital structure and on the relationship between country corruption and capital structure in the MENA region. The paper also expands the body of research on capital structure and corruption across countries by providing empirical findings from a region that has been relatively overlooked in previous scholarly works.

The Impact of the Arab Spring on Female Entrepreneurship

The Impact of the Arab Spring on Female Entrepreneurship

Institutional quality and foreign direct investment in arab countries: new evidence from dynamic panel estimation (Arabic)

In this paper, we re-assess the nexus between various institutional indicators and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in 16 Arab countries for the period (1985-2017) by employing the system Generalized Method of Moments. We contribute to existing literature in three ways: First, the impact of each institutional quality indicator on FDI flows is examined separately. Second, construct an institutional index in order to capture the overall impact of institutions on FDI. Finally, the paper also looks at the impact of the Arab Spring on FDI flows. Based on dynamic panel models, the empirical results show that some institutional indicators are more important than others in attracting more FDI in-flows. The results indicate that, the investment profile, law and order, and political institutions, lead to increased FDI flows. We also find a negative association between the Arab Spring unrest and FDI inflows.

The Fragmentation of Human Rights. Case Studies from a Post-Arab Spring Context

Abstract The Middle East and North Africa region is diverse and large, and it is therefore difficult to make broad arguments and generalizations on the impact of the Arab Spring on human rights protection. In this context, Egypt and Tunisia are important case studies for the assessment of constitutional transitions and human rights protection in a post-Arab Spring context. After the 2011 uprisings and the fall of the ruling authoritarian regimes, activists, scholars, and civil society organizations raised hopes about improvements in the protection of human rights. However, many forces (security services, the military, religious actors) worked against the hopes of the Revolution. The counter-reaction did not happen only because of national political struggles. Institutional factors also played against structural improvements in human rights promotion and protection. Changes in human rights practices need stable institutional frameworks which facilitate the improvement of human rights practices and constitutional transitions. Tommaso Virgili, with his contribution, focuses on the protection of sexual minorities and freethinkers.

Social representations of the Arab youth: Factors and trends of regional development

The article examines the situation in the Middle East and North Africa region (the so-called Afrasian arc of instability) in the context of the social representations of the local youth. Based on the empirical study conducted with the authors method, the authors assess the youths ideas about the most important factors for the effective social-political development of the region. The research methodology is based on the analysis of 12 trends that determine the regional development in the Arab East. The study allowed to assess the social-political potential of the Arab youth as a specific and influential demographic group ready to contribute to the development agenda for the Arab East. The authors identify the Arab youths social preferences regarding the main development trends in the region; show that in the political struggle, young people do not act alone, their aspirations are closely intertwined with national goals; prove that there is an active search for ways out of the economic crisis, for strengthening national sovereignty and ensuring peace and security. All these problems have become urgent in recent years in the Middle East region for a number of its countries strives to solve difficult problems of overcoming the destructive impact of the Arab Spring. The article presents the youth priority requests such as demands for the quality legal relations, developing national idea, and ensuring national security by strengthening military force and possessing weapons of restraint. One of the basic preferences of the Arab youth is preserving sovereignty, reducing external influences and creating a strong alliance of the Middle Eastern states. Rapprochement with leading world powers and regional associations (named as West, East and Russia) seems to be on the periphery of the Arab youth interests.

The Arab Spring: new campus dynamics at Gaza’s universities?

ABSTRACT This study is a pioneer in reporting about the impact of the Arab Spring at Gaza’s universities. It is grounded in 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews which I conducted with lecturers and students at two of the universities in Gaza, as part of a PhD thesis at the University of Cambridge (2012–17). Although the study has benefited from Freire’s and Bourdieu’s conceptual insights, it remains mainly data driven, giving primacy to the Southern experience of higher education (HE) in Gaza. The article shows that although the socio-political changes in the Arab world had a negative impact on the Gaza HE experience, influenced by the spirit of the revolutions, students felt encouraged to voice their discontent to their universities. Nonetheless, due to educational and political barriers, Gaza students’ voices remain a cacophony; they are split between compliance and resistance.

The Arab Spring and Its Impact on the Concept of Political Participation Among Jordanian University Students

The current study aimed to reveal the impact of the Arab Spring on the concept of political participation among Jordanian university students (Isra University as a model), with different variables (gender, age, and school year), the researchers used the descriptive analytical approach, as a questionnaire was developed for this purpose after reviewing the theoretical literature in this field, and it was applied on a sample of (192) male and female students from Al-Isra University in the second semester of the academic year 2019. By using appropriate statistical analyzes, the results of the study revealed that the effect of the Arab Spring on the concept of political participation among Jordanian university students came with an average degree, as the results showed that there were no statistically significant differences for the impact of the Arab Spring on the concept of political participation among Jordanian university students due to gender and age variables, while a statistically significant difference was observed between the arithmetic averages of the effect of the Arab Spring on the concept of political participation among Jordanian university students due to the variable of the school year in favor of the first, second and third years when compared to the fourth and fifth years.

Women’s Entrepreneurship and Political Engagement: The Impact of the Arab Spring

With the Arab Spring sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa, combined with a global renewal of the women’s movement, feminist organising and activism is as timely now as it has ever been. This paper conceptualises feminist affective solidarity in the Middle Eastern context of Saudi Arabia. The research is a longitudinal study, which includes interviews with 16 Saudi women between 2010-2019 exploring their infrapolitical activism and feminist affective solidarity as entrepreneurs. Based on the situated and contextualised understanding of feminist affective solidarity in Saudi Arabia- where women’s activism has been morphed into a form of “Western” neoliberal transgression against the Islamic country and patriarchal traditions- the research investigates how feminist solidarity takes place, with a specific focus on uncovering the legitimate infrapolitical practices that Saudi women employ in order to engage in feminist solidarity and political activism through entrepreneurship. The findings highlight the essential role of the situated historical, social, political and economic context that impacts women’s opportunities for activism and feminist solidarity in the movement, while appreciating the paradoxical roles they are meant to uphold, as the “ideal Islamic woman”, maintaining legitimacy for the monarchy and the state, and the symbol of “modernity”.

The Impact of the Arab Spring on the US Foreign Policy Towards the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2010-2017)

The study mainly aimed to explain the impact of the Arab spring revolutions on the orientations of the US foreign policy towards Jordan during the period 2010-2017. The study adopted the analytical descriptive approach, the study sought to confirm the validity of the following hypothesis: influenced by the revolutions of the Arab Spring on foreign political trends towards the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The study concluded that the US foreign policy towards Jordan views its relationship with Jordan through a set of objectives, including the mutual and comprehensive goals of achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East. Jordanian-American relations were based on strategic, security and political dimensions has increased the American interest in the Jordanian issue, as the study showed the impact of the military factors in Jordanian-US relations, and this is shown by the Jordanian role in the fight against terrorism and extremism. The study recommends the strengthening of Arab-American relations and the Jordanian-American relations and the development of Jordan's foreign policy for a clear strategy in the administration of Jordanian-US relations, thus enhancing security and stability in Jordan. Keywords : Arab Spring. US Foreign Policy, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/10-2-08 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

“The Transnational Engagement of Second Generations: Young People of Egyptian Background in Italia and the Arab Uprisings

The popular mobilisations of 2010-11, known as the ‘Arab Spring’, have had a global resonance well beyond the Arab world, affecting the lives of migrants with Arab- Mediterranean background living in Europe. Drawing on qualitative analysis, this article explores the impact of the Arab Spring on second generation’s young people of Egyptian origin living in Italy. This study shows that research participants have a diverse assessment of the outcomes of the uprisings, that they have participated in them in different ways, and that they have contributed to the construction of common or contested narratives around them, both in the public and private discourse. Moreover, the research discusses the impact of these key historical events on young people’s identity and sense of belonging, as well as on their transnational ties and practices. The transnational political engagement of research participants is examined to investigate how second generations experience a transnational life and build transnational identities. This study contributes to the debate on the relationship between transnationalism and second/third generations.

The “Arab Spring”: An Epitome of Western Political Machinations

When I received the invitation to make a presentation on “the impact of the Arab Spring on sub-Saharan Africa (or perhaps vice versa),” I embarked upon an extensive search for literature on the topic via libraries, archives, and the Internet. My search yielded two major works, the November 2011 report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) titled Africa and the Arab Spring: A New Era of Democratic Expectations and an edited volume titled Africa Awakening: The Emerging Revolutions (2011), and many news articles. An examination of these writings made it possible for me to delineate the following three themes within which their analyses have been subsumed in this essay: (1) the struggle over conceptualizing the Arab Spring, (2) the competing postulates on the possibility for the spread of the Arab Spring across Africa, and (3) the consequences from the Arab Spring. In the end, a conclusion is drawn and a recommendation is made based on the discussion.

The Impact of Arab Spring on Tourism Sector in Jordan

This study aims the Arab Spring impact on the Jordanian tourism. Also, its community is a total of 160 tourist and travel offices of class A in Amman. Therefore, the researcher was distributed questionnaire to each office, which is contacted 37 of them and 26 of these offices responded. Thus, the data were analyzed based on descriptive statistics such as averages, standard deviations and analytical statistics, such as the simple linear regression test(Alhroot, 2018).The results of the study showed that there is a significant effect of the Arab Spring on the tourism sector of Jordan like: its movement, income and hotel work. But no impact of the Arab Spring on the number of workers, which is largely consistent with the statistical reports published by the Ministry of the Jordanian arena (Badado,2016).Nevertheless, this study can apply on other sectors that conducting further studies related to the Arab Spring and its impact on social, economic and political indicators at all levels. Consequently, there is more results that would raise the level of readiness for such conditions(Kramer, 2019). Keywords : Arab spring, tourism, descriptive statistics, travel agency, Jordan DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-26-01 Publication date :September 30 th 2019

The impact of the Arab Spring on democracy and development in the MENA region

AbstractIn evaluating the consequences of the Arab Spring 8 years later, this paper not only focuses on the short‐term consequences of the uprisings that swept through a number of countries in the Middle East and North African region but also analyzes the long‐term prospects for democratization and development in the MENA region. The impact of the Arab Spring, despite its promises and the expectations of the rest of the world, has been dismal. While only Tunisia made a successful transition to a democratic polity with a constitution guaranteeing the basic rights of the people, the rest of the Arab Spring countries remain in the grip of the authoritarian rule, and countries such as Syria, Libya, and Yemen have been degenerated into bloody civil wars with dwindling hope of peace and freedom. On economic front, the growth has been tardy, showing little difference with countries that were unaffected by the Arab Spring. Yet, the paper concludes, echoing historian Eric Hobsbawm's view, that revolutionary outcomes need not be judged as failure too quickly as they are likely to be partial success in the long term. The impact may be observed in the area of social opening, newer class alliances, and the emergence of a less rapacious, reformed, hybrid authoritarianism.

INTERVENSI KEMANUSIAAN NATO DI LIBYA : ANALISIS JUS IN BELLO

The Arab Spring is a term for the revolutions of countries in the Middle East. The Arab Spring has a purpose to overthrow a dictatorial government. The series of Arab Spring began with protest in Tunisia on December 18, 2010. This protest started with Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, who set himself on fire as a protest against corruption. The success of the protest in Tunisia gave a domino effect to the surrounding countries. The impact of the Arab Spring also occurred in Libya in 2011. Libyan leader, Muhammar al-Gaddafi who has been in power for 42 years, refused to resign. This triggered protest from the Libyan people. Civil war happened in Libya between the pro-Gaddafi group and the opposition. NATO conducted humanitarian intervention in Libya under the official UN mandate. This article provides a humanitarian intervention analysis conducted by NATO using just war theory, especially the principle of jus in bello. The purpose of this article is to find out whether the intervention was in accordance with the jus in bello principle or not. This article used the literature study method by collecting data related to NATO intervention in Libya. This article shows that there are crimes against humanity committed by NATO in Libya. But, NATO intervention in Libya can reach the goal if viewed with proportionality principle in jus in bello. Keywords: Libyan conflict, humanitarian intervention, jus in bello.

Palestinians Sidelined in Saudi-Emirati Rapprochement with Israel

This essay examines how and why Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have pursued policies that have aligned closer to Israel since 2011. The disruptive impact of the Arab Spring and its turbulent aftermath altered threat perceptions in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which increasingly saw Islamism and Iran as the major sources of regional instability. For Saudi and Emirati leaders committed to adopting a more forceful approach to shaping the post-Arab Spring landscape, Israel no longer represented the primary fissure in Middle Eastern politics. Although the process of creating informal ties between the Gulf states and Israel has been decades in the making, the nature of the post-2011 connections between Saudi Arabia and the UAE with Israel have greater strategic depth and are taking place in a far more open setting than ever before.

Sustainable economies by the time of crisis:snowball effect on medium and small companies

ABSTRACTThis paper is based on an in-depth analysis of 11 medium tourism and related companies’ case scenarios. It studies the impact of the Arab spring regarding employees’ losses, crisis manageme...

The impact of the Arab Spring and the Ebola outbreak on African equity mutual fund investor decisions

Financial development and stock markets have been widely considered to be key factors in economic growth. Among institutional investors, mutual funds play a key role in providing financial resources to stock markets, particularly in developing countries. Different from other investments, mutual fund flows could be affected by retail investors’ behavior and their overreaction to specific events. We considered 78 equity mutual funds that are geographically specialized in African countries and observed monthly flows and performance for the period of 2006–2015. We find that two major events, Ebola and the Arab Spring, significantly affected the fund flows, controlling for fund performance, expenses and market returns. Retail investors over-reacted to these major events, withdrawing their savings from the African mutual funds. This result is particularly strong when connected to the media coverage of these events: the higher the number of articles about Arab Spring and Ebola, the higher the withdrawals. These irrational investors’ behavior damaged the funds’ managers market timing ability, and reduced the equity capital injection into African stock markets. Our results have several implications for both holders of frontier market mutual funds and the overall asset management industry.

Tailoring the Arab Spring to American values and interests: A framing analysis of U.S. elite newspapers’ opinion pieces

This study investigated the portrayal of the Arab Spring by conducting a qualitative framing analysis of editorials and columns in two elite U.S. newspapers: The New York Times and The Washington Post. Most opinion writers on the Arab Spring in the The New York Times and The Washington Post were either journalists from the news organizations themselves or ex-officials and scholars at various U.S. institutions. Thus, these papers reflected the viewpoints of political elites in portraying the Arab Spring. They largely advocated principles that accentuated the liberalism paradigm of international relations, such as democracy, international cooperation, and economic independence. These papers placed great emphasis on the possible impact of the Arab Spring on the U.S.’s continued deterrence of radical Islam and terrorism, but essentially none on the possible impact these events might have on the U.S.’s continued dependence on Middle East oil. The opinion journalism of U.S. elite papers is largely determined by journalists, ex-government officials, and scholars within the ʻmedia organizationalʼ and ʻsocial institutionalʼ levels, as well as American ideologies and interests on the ʻsocial systemʼ level.

The Impact of the Arab Spring on the Tunisian Economy

This paper uses Synthetic Control Methodology to estimate the output loss in Tunisia as a result of the “Arab Spring.” The results suggest that the loss was 5.5 percent, 5.1 percent, and 6.4 percent of GDP in 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively. These findings are robust to a series of tests, including placebo tests, and are consistent with those from an Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model of Tunisia’s economic growth. Moreover, this paper finds that investment was the main channel through which the economy was adversely impacted by the Arab Spring.

Framing the Arab Spring: Partisanship in the news stories of Korean Newspapers

This study explored how the Arab Spring coverage by South Korean newspapers was influenced by the ideological orientations of those newspapers. Employing quantitative content analysis of the news stories, it compared the coverage by two major conservative papers ( The Chosun Daily and The Joongang Daily) and two major liberal papers ( The Hankyoreh Daily and The Kyunghyang Daily). The findings show that the partisanship of these newspapers resulted in divergence of the news framing by the conservative and liberal papers. Specifically, the liberal papers tended to present the Arab uprisings as being due to economic insecurity, including factors such as poverty, unemployment, and income inequality—more frequently than did the conservative papers. They were also somewhat critical of the U.S.’s role in the Middle East as being a facilitator of the Arab dictatorships. In contrast, the conservative papers put an emphasis on the possible impact of the Arab Spring on democratic movements in countries such as North Korea or China. This tendency may have originated from the conservative papers’ support of confrontational foreign policies toward North Korea. This study elaborated on the ‘hierarchy of influence’, in which ideology is a variable at the environmental level, while the partisanship of news outlets is a variable at the organizational level.