Decentralisation Hybridized
Decentralisation Hybridized

Author: Annina Aeberli

Publisher:

Published: 2012-07-31

Total Pages: 87

ISBN-13: 2940503028

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South Sudan is undergoing a process of internationally-supported state building of which decentralisation forms part. For the people, decentralisation is understood as a right to self-rule based on native–stranger dichotomies and as a means of appropriating and incorporating an abstract and distant state into the local context. The South Sudanese government, in contrast, sees decentralisation primarily as a tool for service delivery and development. Conversely, the international community, in its desire to guarantee international stability through the creation of Western-style states all over the world, sees decentralisation as one tool in the state-building toolbox. These different interpretations of decentralization may not only lead to misunderstandings, but different groups and different ways of understanding decentralisation have interacted throughout history, and attempts to impose a particular understanding on other actors continue. Annina Aeberli examines this hybridisation of state ‘decentralisation’ and argues that the international community and the government cannot and should not try to ignore people’s understandings and expectations: a state – in whatever form – always depends on the acceptance of the people.

Political Waters
Political Waters

Author: Anne-Sophie Beckedorf

Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 3643902166

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Political Waters examines how recent reforms of decentralization, privatization, and commercialization are initiated and implemented with regard to water management in Khartoum. In so doing, it uses the prism of water to gain insights into Sudanese (water) politics, power strategies, and state-society relationships. Drawing on detailed, actor-oriented, and ethnographic analyses based on political ecology and on organization sociology, the main findings develop important aspects of rule and emphasize the relevance of studying local micropolitical contexts in order to understand macropolitical dynamics. This work obtained the DAVO (German Middle East Studies Association) Dissertation Award 2012. Dissertation. (Series: Forum Political Geography / Forum Politische Geographie - Vol. 7)

Power and Democracy in the Sudan
Power and Democracy in the Sudan

Author: Oliver B. Albino

Publisher:

Published: 2006-05

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 9781420824025

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While, together on several camping trips, grandfather and grandson, John Moore and David John Eagleton, respectively, wondered what life would be like when David John is as old as his grandfather...in the year 2053. Around many campfires, they speculated about that future world, how it will change, and how David John's life would evolve. What began as whimsical speculations became more believable and from those, a story was born. It is the story of life in the mid-twenty first century, as it might exist for David John, who will then be in his sixties, and his teenage grandson, David John III. It is a story of a grandfather and grandson. But it is more than that. It is a commentary on what might come to pass in areas such as technology, politics, warfare, and human relations. If you have ever tried to imagine the future, you know it's relatively easy to dream but it's downright hard to be a credible visionary. However, the authors have woven a mosaic of adventure, romance, and challenge into a believable story. This book will challenge your imagination and your ability to project yourself into time, fifty years in the future. Read it. What you find may astound you.

Exploring Individual Modernity
Exploring Individual Modernity

Author: Alex Inkeles

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2010-06-01

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780231515344

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With contributions by David H. Smith, Karen A. Miller, Amar K. Singh, Vern L. Bengston, and James J. Dowd.

Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco
Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco

Author: Janine A. Clark

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2018-04-03

Total Pages: 402

ISBN-13: 0231545010

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In recent years, authoritarian states in the Middle East and North Africa have faced increasing international pressure to decentralize political power. Decentralization is presented as a panacea that will foster good governance and civil society, helping citizens procure basic services and fight corruption. Two of these states, Jordan and Morocco, are monarchies with elected parliaments and recent experiences of liberalization. Morocco began devolving certain responsibilities to municipal councils decades ago, while Jordan has consistently followed a path of greater centralization. Their experiences test such assumptions about the benefits of localism. Janine A. Clark examines why Morocco decentralized while Jordan did not and evaluates the impact of their divergent paths, ultimately explaining how authoritarian regimes can use decentralization reforms to consolidate power. Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco argues that decentralization is a tactic authoritarian regimes employ based on their coalition strategies to expand their base of support and strengthen patron-client ties. Clark analyzes the opportunities that decentralization presents to local actors to pursue their interests and lays out how municipal-level figures find ways to use reforms to their advantage. In Morocco, decentralization has resulted not in greater political inclusivity or improved services, but rather in the entrenchment of pro-regime elites in power. The main Islamist political party has also taken advantage of these reforms. In Jordan, decentralization would undermine the networks that benefit elites and their supporters. Based on extensive fieldwork, Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco is an important contribution to Middle East studies and political science that challenges our understanding of authoritarian regimes’ survival strategies and resilience.