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TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA
The Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago were rooted in demands for dignity and economic opportunity, both of which are complex concepts linked to the relationship between citizens and the state. A new book, ‘Routledge Handbook of Citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa’ (Routledge 2021), co-edited and co-written by QF partner Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) researcher Zahra Babar, highlights how various conceptions of citizenship played critical roles in these events as well as other contemporary issues in the region, knowledge that contributes significantly to the field.
The newly published edited volume provides a comprehensive overview of the political, social, economic, and legal dimensions of citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa from the nineteenth century to the present.
“For some time, the trend has been to study residents of Gulf and Middle Eastern countries as subjects of monarchical and authoritarian regimes, with little attention paid to their role as active participants. Using the lens of citizenship to study the social and political dynamics in the region brings the focus back to the people who live here,” said Babar, Associate Director for Research at GU-Q’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS).
She explained that the region exhibits nuanced and diverse expressions of belonging and identity that must be examined and understood. Citizenship studies have traditionally been wedded to the concept of political citizenship as it exists in liberal democracies, ignoring the many diverse forms of citizenship that have evolved in other contexts.
“So many issues we are dealing with, from migration, to education, social change and economic development, to shifting geopolitics, are closely tied to evolving conceptions of citizenship. Understanding this relationship and moving beyond oversimplifications is therefore critical to understanding the current trends and challenges faced by the region.”
The book’s five themes cover critical aspects of citizenship in the region, such as the evolution of citizenship beginning with the Ottoman Empire, citizenship in the postcolonial era, social activism and citizenship, exclusion mechanisms, and current citizenship, nationality, and migration politics. Babar hopes the book will be useful to students and scholars interested in citizenship, politics, economics, history, migration, and refugees in the Middle East and North Africa. Babar contributed a chapter on “Economic Migrants and Citizenship in the GCC” in addition to serving as co-editor.
Roel Meijer, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies at Radboud University, Nijmegen, and James N. Sater, Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at the University of Malta, also co-edited the volume.
Zahra Babar is the author of several articles on citizenship, including “Enduring ‘Contested’ Citizenship in the Gulf Cooperation Council” in The Middle East in Transition: The Centrality of Citizenship (2018), “The ‘Enemy Within’: Citizenship-Stripping in the Post-Arab Spring GCC” in Middle East Journal (2017), and “The Cost of Belonging: Citizenship Construction in the State of Qatar” in The Middle East Journal (2017). (2014). She edited a special issue of the Middle East Journal titled “Citizenship” (2019).
DOHA
The Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago were rooted in demands for dignity and economic opportunity, both of which are complex concepts linked to the relationship between citizens and the state. A new book, ‘Routledge Handbook of Citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa’ (Routledge 2021), co-edited and co-written by QF partner Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) researcher Zahra Babar, highlights how various conceptions of citizenship played critical roles in these events as well as other contemporary issues in the region, knowledge that contributes significantly to the field.
The newly published edited volume provides a comprehensive overview of the political, social, economic, and legal dimensions of citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa from the nineteenth century to the present.
“For some time, the trend has been to study residents of Gulf and Middle Eastern countries as subjects of monarchical and authoritarian regimes, with little attention paid to their role as active participants. Using the lens of citizenship to study the social and political dynamics in the region brings the focus back to the people who live here,” said Babar, Associate Director for Research at GU-Q’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS).
She explained that the region exhibits nuanced and diverse expressions of belonging and identity that must be examined and understood. Citizenship studies have traditionally been wedded to the concept of political citizenship as it exists in liberal democracies, ignoring the many diverse forms of citizenship that have evolved in other contexts.
“So many issues we are dealing with, from migration, to education, social change and economic development, to shifting geopolitics, are closely tied to evolving conceptions of citizenship. Understanding this relationship and moving beyond oversimplifications is therefore critical to understanding the current trends and challenges faced by the region.”
The book’s five themes cover critical aspects of citizenship in the region, such as the evolution of citizenship beginning with the Ottoman Empire, citizenship in the postcolonial era, social activism and citizenship, exclusion mechanisms, and current citizenship, nationality, and migration politics. Babar hopes the book will be useful to students and scholars interested in citizenship, politics, economics, history, migration, and refugees in the Middle East and North Africa. Babar contributed a chapter on “Economic Migrants and Citizenship in the GCC” in addition to serving as co-editor.
Roel Meijer, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies at Radboud University, Nijmegen, and James N. Sater, Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at the University of Malta, also co-edited the volume.
Zahra Babar is the author of several articles on citizenship, including “Enduring ‘Contested’ Citizenship in the Gulf Cooperation Council” in The Middle East in Transition: The Centrality of Citizenship (2018), “The ‘Enemy Within’: Citizenship-Stripping in the Post-Arab Spring GCC” in Middle East Journal (2017), and “The Cost of Belonging: Citizenship Construction in the State of Qatar” in The Middle East Journal (2017). (2014). She edited a special issue of the Middle East Journal titled “Citizenship” (2019).
