Reformism, Economic Liberalisation and Popular Mobilisation in Iran

Whereas in other MENA countries the impact of neo-liberal policies has been the subject of intense debate, there are at present few voices that directly analyse or critique its social and political consequences in Iran. This article seeks to address this lacuna by analysing the dynamics of reformism, economic liberalisation and popular mobilisation in Iran. It charts the country’s move from a post-revolutionary populism to a liberalised yet increasingly exclusivist model of politics and compares this to trajectories of economic liberalisation in Egypt. Two distinct outcomes of economic reform are analysed in the first part of the article: Socio-economic exclusion; and the contraction of political rights. In the second half, I investigate the ways successive post-war governments in Iran have packaged neo-liberal reforms, and how their re-imagining of the role of the state has led to differing levels of popular resistance. Finally I argue that under the present administration, political elites increasingly are oriented toward strengthening the state and seeking to limit opposition to their policies. However, the absence of neo-liberal hegemony in Iran means that growing mobilization on socio-economic issues is challenging these policies. The Right in Iranian politics is utilizing this mobilisation to present a populist challenge to the reformists in power

From North Africa to Latin America and back: comparative findings and theoretical reflections

Taking the different case studies of the book together, one general observation stands out: Key agents of socioeconomic contention, including movements by organized labor and the unemployed that were important in the run-up to the uprisings and that saw their political opportunities open up in the immediate aftermath of the revolutions, have since been effectively marginalized as political actors. The concluding chapter reflects on the causes of this weakness of socioeconomic contention by identifying comparative insights that emerge from the contributions to this volume and by situating them in the context of broader comparative and theoretical debates on the relationship between social movements and political change. More specifically, the chapter first discusses Egypt’s and Tunisia’s post-revolutionary trajectories from a comparative perspective. Second, it discusses these comparative findings in the light of experiences in Latin America. Third, drawing again on comparative scholarship on Latin America, the chapter offers a theoretical interpretation of some of the main dynamics observed in Egypt and Tunisia based on the notion of a popular-sector incorporation crisis. Fourth and finally, the chapter concludes with general implications and an outlook

Spinal Cord Injury Causes Sustained Disruption of the Blood-Testis Barrier in the Rat

There is a high incidence of infertility in males following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Quality of semen is frequently poor in these patients, but the pathophysiological mechanism(s) causing this are not known. Blood-testis barrier (BTB) integrity following SCI has not previously been examined. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of spinal contusion injury on the BTB in the rat. 63 adult, male Sprague Dawley rats received SCI (n = 28), laminectomy only (n = 7) or served as uninjured, age-matched controls (n = 28). Using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), BTB permeability to the vascular contrast agent gadopentate dimeglumine (Gd) was assessed at either 72 hours-, or 10 months post-SCI. DCE-MRI data revealed that BTB permeability to Gd was greater than controls at both 72 h and 10 mo post-SCI. Histological evaluation of testis tissue showed increased BTB permeability to immunoglobulin G at both 72 hours- and 10 months post-SCI, compared to age-matched sham-operated and uninjured controls. Tight junctional integrity within the seminiferous epithelium was assessed; at 72 hours post-SCI, decreased expression of the tight junction protein occludin was observed. Presence of inflammation in the testes was also examined. High expression of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 beta was detected in testis tissue. CD68+ immune cell infiltrate and mast cells were also detected within the seminiferous epithelium of both acute and chronic SCI groups but not in controls. In addition, extensive germ cell apoptosis was observed at 72 h post-SCI. Based on these results, we conclude that SCI is followed by compromised BTB integrity by as early as 72 hours post-injury in rats and is accompanied by a substantial immune response within the testis. Furthermore, our results indicate that the BTB remains compromised and testis immune cell infiltration persists for months after the initial injury

Il dilemma dell'Islam: politica e movimenti islamisti nel mondo arabo contemporaneo

Promettendo la restaurazione del "vero Islam" a società traumatizzate dalla modernizzazione e beneficiando dello scontento popolare verso i regimi in carica, negli anni ottanta i movimenti islamisti si sono affermati come principale forza politica di opposizione nel mondo arabo. "Sì, ma solo a certe condizioni" è la risposta che emerge dagli studi raccolti in questo volume, che analizzano sia il caso di paesi, come Egitto, Tunisia e Algeria, in cui la competizione politica si è trasformata in scontro aperto con gli islamisti, sia il caso di quei paesi, come Giordania e Libano, in cui la partecipazione politica degli islamisti ha contribuito sinora ad un nuovo, più democratico consenso nazionale. Accusati di sovvertire gli Stati, reprimere le minoranze, intensificare i conflitti regionali, contrastare con ogni mezzo l'Occidente, l'islamismo e i regimi che lo incarnano in Sudan ed Iran, sono davvero una minaccia per la pace in Medioriente? In questo libro, frutto della ricerca di politologi, sociologi e studiosi di strategia di fama internazionale, sono riunite le informazioni necessarie per una risposta a questa domanda cruciale. Il volume, coordinato da Laura Guazzone, ospita i i contributi di Tyad Barghouti, Ali Dessouki, Abdelbaki Hermassi, Michael Hudson, Shireen Hunter, Gudrun Kramer, Hala Mustafa, Ahmed Rouadjia. Prefazione, di Laura Guazzone Gli islamisti in politica • I movimenti islamisti nel mondo arabo contemporaneo, di Laura Guazzone • I movimenti islamisti in politica: teoria e pratica, di Gudrun Krämer • I regimi arabi e la democratizzazione: le risposte alla sfida dell'islamismo, di Michael C. Hudson Cinque casi nazionali • Discorso e strategia dell'islamismo algerino (1986-1992),di Ahmed Rouadjia • Ascesa e declino del movimento islamico in Tunisia, di Abdelbaki Hermassi • Il ruolo politico degli islamisti in Giordania e nei territori palestinesi occupati, di lyad Barghouti • I movimenti islamisti sotto Mubarak, di Hala Mustafa • Islamisti e politica internazionale • L'impatto dei movimenti islamisti sulle relazioni interarabe, di Ali E. Hillal Dessouki • L'ascesa dei movimenti islamisti e la risposta occidentale: scontro di civiltà o scontro di interessi?, di Shireen T Hunte

The Islamist Dilemma: The Political Role of Islamist Movements in the Contemporary Arab World

since the 1980's, the emergence of Islamist movements as the main opposition forces in the Arab world as contributed to an often violent polarization of domestic political struggles, as higly ideologized Ilamist movements clhashes wit the ruling elites. This book considers the effects of this clash, while also explorng the new divide in regional politics and gorwing perceptions of mutual threats between the West and the Islamic World

The Middle East in Global Change: The Politics and Economics of Interdependence Versus Fragmentation

This book is about the epochal transition which the states and societies of the Middle East and North Africa have been undergoing since the late 1980s when the region began transforming 'from a warfare to a welfare' system as a result of profound local and international change. Change in the Middle East has taken on distinct local characteristics - for instance in the relationship between religious cultures and politics - and yet is increasingly interdependent with international changes, particularly with competing trends towards globalization and regionalism. The key issue analyzed by the twelve multidisciplinary studies presented in this volume is the interaction between the economic, political, cultural and strategic forces working for and against integration (as yet unexploited) in the Middle East and North Africa

L'Europa degli anni Novanta. La geopolitica del cambiamento

Scritto da storici, giuristi, politologi ed economisti italiani, questo libro è un'indagine sul passato e sul futuro prossimi dell'Europa, considerata nella sua interezza oggi possibile, ma anche nelle sue riemergenti differenziazioni. Dalle prospettive per l'Unione politica ed economica europea ai nazionalismi balcanici, dalla difficile cooperazione tra le due sponde del Mediterraneo ai rapporti tra Europa, Giappone e Stati Uniti, dalla riforma dell'Unione Sovietica alla politica europea dell'Italia, i nove studi raccolti in questo volume indicano le prospettive dell'Europa degli anni Novanta attraverso l'analisi della storia recente delle sue regioni interne e delle sue relazioni con il resto del mondo. Questo libro è dunque rivolto a tutti coloro i quali, studiosi o semplicemente attenti alle vicende della politica internazionale, desiderano poter dare una risposta documentata alla domanda: «Cos'è oggi l'Europa? E cosa sarà domani?». II volume contiene scritti di Maria Valeria Agostini, Federigo Argentieri, Stefano Bianchini, Marco Carnovale, Andrea de G uttry, Ettore Greco, Marinella Neri Gualdesi, Laura Guazzone, Giuseppe Pennisi. Laura Guazzone, responsabile per lo lai del programma Mediterraneo - Medio Oriente, ha curato il progetto di ricerca «Europa '90», di cui questo volume raccoglie la prima parte dei risultati. La seconda parte è presentata, in questa stessa collana, dal volume L'Europa degli anni Novanta. Scenari per un futuro imprevisto, a cura di Cesare Merlini. Indice: Gli Autori Prefazione introduzione, di Laura Guazzone 1. Il sistema occidentale: Stati Uniti, Europa e Giappone, di Ettore Greco 2. La Comunità europea e i suoi membri, di Marinella Neri Gualdesi 3. I paesi dell'Efta e lo spazio economico europeo, di Andrea de Guttry 4. L'Italia e l'Europa, di Maria Valeria Agostini 5. L'Europa centro - orientale, di Federigo Argentieri 6. I Balcani tra rinnovamento e destabilizzazione, di Stefano Bianchini 7. L'Unione Sovietica e i primi cinque anni di Gorbaciov, di Marco Carnevale 8. Il Sud del mondo nella sua interrelazione con l'Europa, di Giuseppe Pennisi 9. Il Mediterraneo e l'Europa comunitaria, di Laura Guazzon