Political Economy of Conflict and Conflict Resolution Between Islam,the Arab World,and the West

The problem studied in respect to politico-economic turmoil in an uneasy world centers around conflicts in the Arab world and between Islam and the West. In this respect, the Arab political economy is deeply embroiled in a quagmire of complex factors that have deepened and are confounded by Western political, strategic, and economic interests in the region. To study the topic of the politico-economic future of the Arab world is to delve into the study of complex factors. The present scenario of war, dissensions, power conflict, and Western belligerence with elitist self interest in the region is an example of a more permanent representation of the complexity of power, Western belligerence, regional interests, and religious conflicts. With respect to the political economy of conflict and conflict resolution concerning the West there is the uneasy alliance that has been unjustifiably established between the Arab world and the West. The conflict in this case rages around the spectre of political power and governance within which the cultural, religious, and economic forces tie in to generate the global political economic disorder. Conflict resolution in this arena requires an understanding based on acceptance of epistemological perspectives that wrap up the diverse oppositional factors into a discursive and consensual learning global social contract. This article studies this case of Arab political economy as a study of conflict and conflict resolution between contending forces and reconstructive politico-economic possibilities between the Arab world and the West and between Islam, the Arab world, and Occidentalism.     

The Coming Epoch of New Coalitions: Possible Scenarios of the Near Future

This article analyzes some important aspects of socioeconomic and political development of the world in the near future. The future always stems from the present. The first part of the article is devoted to the study of some crucial events of the present, which could be regarded as precursors of forthcoming fundamental changes. In particular, it is shown that the turbulent events of late 2010 and 2011 in the Arab World may well be regarded as a start of the global reconfiguration. The article also offers an analysis of some aspects of the global financial system that, according to the authors, notwithstanding all its negative points, performs certain important positive functions including the “insurance” of social guaranties at the global scale. The second part of the article considers some global scenarios of the World System's new future and describes a few characteristics of the forthcoming “Epoch of New Coalitions.” The article attempts to answer such questions as the following: What are the implications of the economic weakening of the United States as the World System center? Will the future World System have a leader? Will it experience a global governance deficit? Will the world fragmentation increase?     

Nonlinear synthesis and co‐evolution of complex systems

Today a change is imperative in approaching global problems: what is needed is not arm‐twisting and power politics, but searching for ways of co‐evolution in the complex social and geopolitical systems of the world. The modern theory of self‐organization of complex systems provides us with an understanding of the possible forms of coexistence of heterogeneous social and geopolitical structures at different stages of development regarding the different paths of their sustainable co‐evolutionary development. The theory argues that the evolutionary channel to the observed increasing complexity is extremely narrow and only certain discrete spectra of relatively stable self‐maintained structures are feasible in complex systems. There exists a restricted set of ways of assembling a complex evolutionary whole from diverse parts. The law of nonlinear synthesis of complex structures reads: the integration of structures in more complex ones occurs due to the establishment of a common tempo of their evolution. On the basis of the theory, we can see not only desirable but also attainable futures.     

A Phenomenological Study of Identifying as Lesbian,Gay and Bisexual in an Islamic Country

Ten adult Kuwaitis (four women and six men) who self-identified as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual (GLB) participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews examining their experience of being a sexual minority and living in a socially conservative Islamic country. The data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology and yielded four primary themes including the role of religion and culture, risks, coping, and influential political factors. These themes help understand the ways in which LGB individuals in Kuwait integrate their sexual identity with religious and cultural factors and navigate a socially conservative society. The results of the study have implications for political and social policies in Kuwait, and for more culturally-sensitive models of sexual identity development among Arab populations.     

Sources of politico-economic attitudes: students’ introspections

Our aim is to shed more light on university students’ sources of attitudes towards the market economy, social inequality, and the responsibilities of the state. Analyzing survey data of almost 500 students at a German university, we identify those sources the subjects report to be important in the process of forming their politico-economic attitudes. We explore the differences between our sample of local students and the German General Social Survey, as well as the characteristics of subjects expressing no opinion. We also examine whether the sources which were reported to be important significantly contribute to the prediction of conservative political attitudes, concentrating specifically on the attitude effects of economic education.     

Understanding Anti‐Arab Reactions Post‐9/11: The Role of Threats,Social Categories,and Personal Ideologies1

This study examined social psychological processes associated with anti‐Arab reactions (prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination) following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Participants (N= 201) responded to an online survey. Perceived threats, self‐categorization, social dominance orientation, and just‐world beliefs were tested for their effectiveness in predicting anti‐Arab reactions. The results reveal that self‐categorization and social dominance orientation each individually accounted for a substantial percentage of the variance, while perceived threats accounted for a relatively small amount of the variance in anti‐Arab responses. However, an integrated model demonstrated that social dominance orientation, threats, self‐categorization, and a threat by self‐categorization interaction provided the best prediction of anti‐Arab reactions. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical applications for understanding out‐group derogation following political‐cultural world events.     

Group Identity and Conflicting Expectations of the Future in Northern Ireland

Much of the conflict in Northern Ireland is based on investments in one of three opposing political futures possible for the region: remaining part of Britain, joining Ireland, or becoming independent. Speculative scenarios describing each of these futures were randomly assigned to equal numbers of Protestant and Catholic undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and their expectations regarding material and civic improvement for their ingroup and peace and reconciliation between the groups were assessed. Two dimensions of religious identity, measured by the Identity and Public subscales of Luhtanen and Crocker's (1992) Collective Self-Esteem Scale (CSES), moderated the differences between groups, but only for their expectations of peace and reconciliation. Stronger expectations of improvement for the ingroup were related to higher scores on the Public subscale, regardless of religion or the political future presented. Thus, group identity had a complex, context-dependent relationship to intergroup conflict.     

The power of prospection: mental contrasting and behavior change

People often immerse themselves in dreams and fantasies about a desired future. Though such future fantasies are pleasant, they do not necessarily lead to the effort required to attain the desired future. Indeed, the more positively people fantasize about their desired futures, the less effort they invest and the less successful they are in realizing these futures. However, when fantasies about a desired future are complemented with a clear sense of reality, people find the direction and energy needed to realize their fantasies. We review Fantasy Realization Theory, which explicates these ideas and led to the discovery of mental contrasting future and reality, a self‐regulation strategy of behavior change. Mental contrasting helps people figure out what they really want and wisely select, commit to, and actively pursue prioritized wishes while constructively dealing with setbacks. It helps them live a rewarding life through work, play, health, and relationships.     

Israeli Psychotherapy,Politics and Activism: Is There a Way Out of the Trap?

This article examines psychotherapy in context—political, social, cultural and historical. It does so by taking a close look at the Israeli psychotherapeutic community and how it changed over the years. Through this narrative and analysis the author wishes to illustrate how social-political context and professional practices plug into each other. It will be demonstrated how at difficult times when their country faces internal and external hardship and threats, Israeli psychologists have tended to withdraw and, whether unwittingly or not, affirm and support the status quo. This is paradoxical: when mostly needed psychotherapists may become silent and socially or politically passive. A possible way out of this trap, through a change in psychotherapists’ professional position and views, will be discussed. In addition, a politically sensitive alternative will be presented, one that may enable psychotherapists to maintain an independent praxis, which models a proactive and optimistic stance while serving society as agents of personal, social and political change.     

Political Expectations and Cultural Perceptions in the Arab-Israeli Peace Negotiations

In the various Arab-Israeli peace negotiations that have taken place since the late 1970s, each party entered the process, and continues to function within it, from the vantage point of different political expectations and cultural perceptions. These differences derive from the political features and social structures of the Arab parties and the Israeli side, which range from hierarchical to networked. Israel leans toward hierarchical order, whereas the Arab parties are more networked; these differences in the social and political environments influence the negotiating culture of each party. Hierarchical states develop goal-oriented negotiating cultures, whereas networked states have process-oriented negotiating cultures. The expectations that each side has of the other side to fulfill its part of the bargain are different as well; in hierarchical states such expectations are based on contracts, whereas in networked states such expectations are based on trust. Because it is unlikely that different cultural perceptions and the gap between the parties can be significantly bridged, it may be possible to cope with mutual problems if all parties were willing to accept a reality of perceptional pluralism (i.e., negotiating asymmetric arrangements, rather then each party insisting on mutual accommodation based on its own perspective).     

How should utilitarians think about the future?

Abstract

Utilitarians must think collectively about the future because many contemporary moral issues require collective responses to avoid possible future harms. But current rule utilitarianism does not accommodate the distant future. Drawing on my recent books Future People and Ethics for a Broken World, I defend a new utilitarianism whose central ethical question is: What moral code should we teach the next generation? This new theory honours utilitarianism’s past and provides the flexibility to adapt to the full range of credible futures – from futures broken by climate change to the digital, virtual and predictable futures produced by various possible technologies.     

The political crowd: Theorizing popular revolt in North Africa

This paper uses an interdisciplinary approach to show why Western social scientific explanations of political crowds in North Africa and the Arab Middle East have failed to provide an understanding of the causes and effects of popular revolt. I trace these misunderstandings to an inherited body of European writings on crowd theory and on Islamic and Muslim political power. Some scholars who have also criticized mainstream analysis of the so-called “Arab Street” are shown as relevant to a new understanding of political crowds.     

IS POLITICAL ACTIVISM STILL A "MASCULINE" ENDEAVOR?

High school political activists (40 female, 46 male) completed extensive questionnaires. Differences between participants with moderate/conservative, liberal, and left perspectives were analyzed as were gender differences on the Bem Sex Role Inventory and other politically associated behaviors. Males and females described themselves as masculine; females also described themselves as feminine. Conservative males described themselves as most masculine and least feminine. No gender differences were found on extent of political activity. But, females were more likely to be active in feminist organizations and causes, to label themselves as feminists, and to describe their mothers as feminists, and were less likely to have a group of friends they hang out with compared to males. Females were more doubtful than males about mixing marriage, children, employment, and politics in the future. Females more often presented future family life as a source of limitation on their political futures compared to males.     

Changing epistemologies under conditions of social change in two Arab communities in Israel

The study of epistemic thinking focuses on how people understand and coordinate objective and subjective aspects of knowing and make sense of multiple and discrepant knowledge claims. Typically described in terms of normative development, cross‐cultural studies show differences in epistemic development and characteristics of epistemic thinking. This study focuses on within‐culture variations of epistemic thinking, with the assumption that social change will produce changes in development. Arab society in Israel has undergone notable change over the last half century. In this cross‐sectional research design, cross‐generational comparison and rural–urban comparison were used as proxies for longitudinal social change. Three generations of Muslim Arab women in a village in Israel (20 adolescents, 20 mothers and 20 grandmothers) and 20 Muslim Arab adolescents from a large, mixed city in the same region responded to six dilemmas invoking epistemic thinking. Village adolescents were more subjectivist than their mothers and grandmothers. Sociodemographic characteristics representing greater exposure to diverse people and ideas accounted for generational differences. Both urban and rural adolescents tended towards subjectivist perspectives, and they did not differ. Parents' education levels emerged as the sociodemographic variables most consistently related to epistemic thinking. Epistemic thinking mediated the relationship between generation and gender role/cross‐sex relation values.     

THE EFFECT OF CULTURE AND GENDER ON SELF-REPORTED ASSERTIVE BEHAVIOR

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between cultural affiliation, gender and assertive behavior in two distinct socio-cultural groups. Ninety-seven Israeli Arab students and 97 Israeli Jewish students, of both sexes, filled out the Assertion Inventory (Gambrill and Richey 1975) during a class meeting. Analysis of the results indicated differences between the two cultural groups. In general, Arab participants showed a lower level of assertiveness than their Jewish counterparts. Differences between gender and interaction of culture x gender were found in certain factors related to behavior in specific social situations. These findings were discussed on the basis of accepted social behavior within various cultural contexts.     

Feminist Biologies: Revising Feminist Strategies and Biological Science

Rebecca Hannagan’s analysis of gender and leadership based in evolutionary biology challenges scholars to integrate research in biology with feminist insights. This commentary argues that this is a timely challenge and that that the project of integrating feminism and evolutionary biology in accounts of gender is necessary for bringing about more equitable futures. However, the commentary also suggests that biological inputs should be understood as operating within categories that feature substantial variation, that change through time, that are not independent and complete sources of human outcomes, and that biological factors interact with language and culture.     

The Suppression and Justification of Prejudice as a Function of Political Orientation

Politically conservative (versus liberal) individuals generally report more prejudice towards various low‐status out‐groups. Three studies examined whether prejudice suppression factors—specifically, internal and external motivation to suppress (IMS and EMS, respectively) prejudice—can help explain the relationship between political orientation and prejudice. Study 1 showed that IMS and EMS partially mediated the relationship between political orientation and affective prejudice towards Arabs. Study 2 demonstrated that when justification [right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation] and suppression (IMS and EMS) factors are simultaneously tested as mediators, only RWA partially mediated the relationship between political orientation and prejudice towards deviant (e.g. gay men) out‐groups, whereas RWA and IMS fully mediated the relationship between political orientation and prejudice towards derogated out‐groups (e.g. Blacks). Intriguingly, IMS rendered social dominance orientation effects non‐significant for derogated out‐groups. Study 3 showed that anticipating an out‐group interaction (with a Black or lesbian confederate) diminished the mediational contribution of IMS in the political orientation–prejudice relationship because of increased IMS among participants; yet the increases in IMS did not completely eliminate differences in prejudice as a function of political orientation. Ultimately, these three studies demonstrate that suppression (in addition to justification) factors do help explain the relationship between political orientation and prejudice. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology.     

Cultural inertia: The effects of cultural change on intergroup relations and the self-concept

Throughout the world, immigration and the ensuing political reactions have become dominant social problems in the 21st century. One contributor to these problems includes the continual social change. In the United States, ethnic minority populations are growing while the White majority is becoming proportionally smaller. It is proposed that change, in and of itself, can produce intergroup tension. Here, the concept of cultural inertia is introduced as one contributor to intergroup prejudice. Cultural inertia entails a resistance to change, unless change is already occurring. Change is perceived differently across groups as a function of how well the groups already match the current dominant culture. Cultural inertia causes differential preferences for cultural change as a function of the extent to which people identify with a cultural group, their sense of esteem for a cultural group, and the perception that a culture is (or is not) already changing. Three studies manipulated participants' perception of cultural change and show that cultural change influences inter-group prejudice, group esteem, and engagement with the culture. The implications of cultural inertia for models of intercultural ideologies are discussed.     

Anthropology as a weapon of social combat in late-nineteenth-century France

The evolutionary anthropology and radical political commitment of Gabriel de Mortillet and his colleagues at the École d'Anthropologie in Paris played a major role in the growth of anthropology in late-nineteenth-century France. They combined leftwing politics and philosophical materialism with their studies in the physical and cultural evolution of mankind to create a combat anthropology. Their battles to establish a new science of man were constantly interwoven with their struggles against an anti-evolutionary scientific establishment, the Second Empire, the Catholic clergy, and the conservative forces of the Third Republic. As a result, their evolutionary theories were inseparable from their vision of anthropology as a weapon to promote social change.