Reproductive Rights in a Global Context
Reproductive Rights in a Global Context

Author: Lara M. Knudsen

Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0826515282

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Examines women's access to sex education, maternity care, family planning, and abortion, and analyzes how much power women in diverse contexts have to negotiate sexual practices. This book is suitable for courses in women's studies, globalization, public health, and political science.

Jordan
Jordan

Author: Alan George

Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

Published: 2013-07-18

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 184813715X

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Jordan has played a bigger role in Middle Eastern affairs than its size and economy might warrant, due to its huge Palestinian population, its strategic location between Israel, the West Bank, Syria and Iraq, and its uniquely close relationship with successive British and US administrations. Drawing on numerous visits to the country and interviews with a diversity of people from King Abdullah down, Alan George describes how its reasonably stable monarchical system, unlike that in most Arab countries, has allowed the halting development of civil society and maintained control through the skilful co-option of opponents rather than heavy-handed reliance on its secret police. What is daily life like? How do its parliamentary system and political parties work? How free are the media? What are the future prospects of this buffer 'state without a nation'?

The Palgrave Handbook of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
The Palgrave Handbook of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Author: P. R. Kumaraswamy

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-11-30

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 9811391661

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This Handbook presents a broad yet nuanced portrait of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, its socio-political rifts, economic challenges, foreign policy priorities and historical complexities. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has traditionally been an oasis of peace and stability in the ever-turbulent Middle East. The political ambitions of regional powers, often expressed in the form of territorial aggrandisement, have followed the Hashemites like an inseparable shadow. The scarcity of natural resources, especially water, has been compounded by the periodic influx of refugees from its neighbours. As a result, many—Arab and non-Arab alike—have questioned the longevity and survival of Jordan. These uncertainties were compounded when the founding ruler, King Abdullah I, became involved in the nascent Palestinian problem at the end of World War II. The annexation of the eastern part of Mandate Palestine or the West Bank in the wake of the 1948 War transformed the Jordanian demography and sowed the seeds of an uneasy relationship with the Palestinian component of its population, citizens, residents and refugees. Though better natural resources and stronger leaders have not ensured political stability in many Arab and non-Arab countries, Jordan has been an exception. Indeed, since its formation as an Emirate by the British in 1921, the Kingdom has seen only four rulers, a testimony to the sagacity and political foresight of the Hashemites. The Hashemites have managed to sustain the semi-rentier model primarily through international aid and assistance, which in turn inhibits Jordan from pursuing rapid political and economic reforms. Though a liberal, multi-religious and multicultural society, Jordan has been hampered by social cleavages especially between the tribal population and the forces of modernization.

International Handbook of Population Aging
International Handbook of Population Aging

Author: Peter Uhlenberg

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-04-29

Total Pages: 758

ISBN-13: 1402083564

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The International Handbook of Population Aging examines research on a wide array of the profound implications of population aging. It demonstrates how the world is changing through population aging, and how demography is changing in response to it.

Gender and Violence in the Middle East
Gender and Violence in the Middle East

Author: Moha Ennaji

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2011-04-22

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1136824324

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This book explores the relationship between Islamism, secularism and violence against women in the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on case studies from across the region, the authors examine the historical, cultural, religious, social, legal and political factors affecting this key issue. Chapters by established scholars from within and outside the region highlight: the interconnections of violence and various sources of power in the Middle East: the state, society, and the family conceptions of violence as family and social practice and dominant discourse the role of violence as pattern for social structuring in the nation state. By centring the chapters around these key areas, the volume provides an innovative theoretical and systematic research model for gender and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Dealing with issues that are not easily accessible in the West, this book underlines the importance of understanding realities and problems relevant to Muslim and Arab societies and discusses possible ways of promoting reforms in the MENA region. As such it will be of great interest to students and scholars of gender studies, sociology, political science and criminal justice.

Poor Places, Thriving People
Poor Places, Thriving People

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2011-01-10

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0821384236

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Geographical differences in living standards are a pressing concern for policymakers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Economies of agglomeration mean that production is most efficient when concentrated in leading areas. So how can the region reduce spatial disparities in well-being without compromising growth? The solution to spatial disparities lies in matching the policy package to a lagging area s specific characteristics. Key questions include: is the lagging area problem really as serious as one thinks; is it a problem of low economic opportunity or of poor human development; are lagging area populations close enough to agglomerations to benefit from spillovers; and is there manifest private investor interest? Drawing on the World Bank s 2009 World Development Report, Reshaping Economic Geography, the book proposes 3 policy packages. First, all lagging areas can benefit from a level playing-field for development and investment in people. Geographic disparities in the policy environment are a legacy of MENA s history, and gaps in human development are a major component of spatial disparities. Smart policies for the investment environment, health, education, social transfers and urban development can therefore close spatial gaps in living standards. Second, lagging areas that are close to economic agglomeration can benefit from spillovers - provided that they are connected. MENA s expenditure priority is not necessarily long-distance primary connections, but infrastructure maintenance and short-distance connections such as rural roads and peri-urban networks. Public-private partnerships can also bring electronic connectivity to lagging areas. Third, shifting regional development policy away from spatial subsidies towards the facilitation of cluster-based growth will increase the chance of cost-effective impacts. The final chapter of the book examines the institutional prerequisites for effective spatial policy. It argues that MENA s centralized/sectoral structures are not always adapted to governments spatial development agendas, and describes alternative institutional options.