Changing Regime Discourse and Reform in Syria

1. Introduction: Changing Discourse under the Ba’thRaymond Hinnebusch2. Ideology And Discourse in the Era of Ba’thist Reforms: Towards an Analysis of Authoritarian GovernmentalityAurora Sottimano3. It’s the Mentality, Stupid: Syria’s Turn to the Private Sector Kjetil Selvi

Destructive competition : factionalism and rent-seeking in Iran

Empirical evidence shows that countries richly endowed with natural resources like oil and gas tend to have slower economic growth than resource poor countries. The present paper focuses on rentseeking as a source of the “resource curse”, using Iran as a case in point. Iran is an interesting case, both because it is a rentier economy in the oil rich Middle East, and because its political system is highly factionalized. The distortions from the factionalized political system are threefold. First, resources are wasted in the competition for rents. Second, the lack of property rights protection results in less (private) investment at the aggregate level. Third, imbalances in the distribution of political power between groups lead to a distortion in the allocation of investment funds

Destructive competition : oil and rent seeking in Iran

In countries with poorly developed institutions, rent seeking may impose serious costs for the economy. Our analysis demonstrates how rent seeking distorts the economy through two channels. First, there is the direct cost of the resources wasted in the rent seeking contest. Second, rent seeking distorts firms’ investment decisions, and leads to underinvestment. We conduct a case study of rent seeking in Iran in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon. Iran is an interesting case, both because it is a rentier economy in the oil rich Middle East, and because its political system is highly factionalized

Religiøs autoritet og tynnslitt stat. Valgkamp i sjia-Irak

Religiøs autoritet er politisk valuta i Irak. Hvordan brukes den når setenei landets nasjonalforsamling står til valg?Religiøs autoritet er politisk valuta i Irak. Hvordan brukes den når setene i landets nasjonalforsamling står til valg

It’s the Mentality, Stupid: Syria’s Turn to the Private Sector

Kjetil Selvik analyses the subsequent change in discourse accompanying Bashar alAsad’s economic liberalization after 2000. The old populist social contract is to be replaced with a new one that allows the bourgeoisie access and activism while the workers and peasants are being de-mobilized; the state no longer claims to represent them but they are not to be allowed greater freedom to strike, lobby etc. The discourse of the new liberalizing Five Year Plan talks about changes in mentality needed for development, targeting the regimes old constituencies of civil servants and workers as the problem. On the other hand entrepreneurship is to be fostered. These changes opened the door for the emerging bourgeoisie to promote a similar discourse: the main obstacle to development is bureaucrats who, being poor students, were trained in the East bloc and just want an easy job. Or it is laziness of workers. Some businessmen advocate a social Darwinism in which the entrepreneurs benefit from the transition to the new market economy while the rest have to pay its price. The new disciplining is aimed mostly at labour and on behalf of capital

Mediemakt og politisk krise i Kuwait

Private aviser og tv-kanaler er ettertraktede maktmidler, og brer hurtig om seg i Kuwait. I hvilken grad utfordrer de nye eierstrukturene det politiske systemet

Religious authority and the 2018 parliamentary elections in Iraq

This research brief analyzes the discursive production of, and political struggle over, religious authority in Shia Iraq. It examines Friday sermons held in the run-up to the May 2018 parliamentary elections

On digital media in Lebanon's political crisis

The technology-driven transformation of the media environment is changing politics worldwide. Yet everywhere is not the same. The digital revolution yields different results in different political contexts. This policy brief analyses digital media’s role in the political crisis unfolding in Lebanon – a weak, divided and contested state. It discusses the implications for Norwegian development aid to the country