Absence of Violence or Sustainable Peace? Yemen’s Road to Peace – Part 1

Peace is often defined as the absence of violence. But the mere absence of violence may not lead to sustainable peace, especially when the underlying roots of violence are not addressed. This is nowhere relevant than in Yemen, whose civil war is entering its sixth year. Sooner or later the parties in the conflict will resort to negotiation. But will the peace deal be sustainable? This paper argues that to assure a sustainable peace, Yemen must move beyond a pattern of simple conflict resolution, which has so far failed to address the historical roots of Yemen’s recurrent crises, along with its intergroup grievances, and the elites’ manipulation of ethnic identities

The Yemeni Civil War

This book suggests an innovative theoretical framework to understand the meltdown and civil wars of countries such as Yemen, Syria, and Libya after their 2011 uprisings, using Yemen as a case study. The interaction between different types of state formation and regional rivalry can explain, respectively, the civil wars of these countries and the preservation of the Bahraini system, despite its ethnic nature. The analysis works on two interconnected levels: First, an internal level focusing on the state formation of the country in question; and second, a regional level examining the operational context within which each country functions, and the type of actors involved in its political affairs. The recurrent instability in Yemen has been a result of overlapping group grievances repeatedly rising to the surface. This reflects a process of different attempts at state formation that ultimately failed to produce a modern state, along with core elites defined by (and at the same time exploiting) ethnic markers, perpetually infighting throughout Yemeni history. These three elements—tensions between groups, unsuccessful state formations, and the ethnic markers of its elites—stand at the core of the Yemeni dilemma. This book is based on original archival research and more than 100 interviews conducted by the author with all parties of the Yemeni Civil War and with other regional actors

Application of islamic law in the Uk and universal human rights

Should Islamic Law be introduced into Western legal system? At the heart of the issue is a debate on legal pluralism, which envisions a society where different laws apply to different religious groups. This paper explores question using the British case of Sharia Councils. Building on the author’s knowledge of the situation of women in Middle Eastern and Islamic countries, she undertook firsthand analysis of the Islamic Sharia councils and Muslim arbitration tribunals in various British cities. She offers a pointed critique of legal pluralism, highlighting the type of Islamic law being used and its human rights ramifications

Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity: The Essentialist Paradigm

This article argues that much of the postmodern discourse on the Muslim woman and her veil is symptomatic of what I call the “essentialist paradigm”. The world is seen through the prism of a group’s religious/cultural identity and eventually constructs a Muslim identity – and with it an image of the Muslim Woman. The image of the oppressed veiled Muslim Woman and the treatment of a piece of cloth as synonymous with her whole identity and being are products of this paradigm of thought. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines discourse analysis and a case study of the construction of the British Muslim community, this article argues that the essentialist paradigm ignores the context of its subject matter with all its accompanying power structures, political and social factors, and the roles played by both the state and fundamentalist Islam in constructing a Muslim identity and with it the Muslim Woman and her dress code

Images of the Muslim Woman and the Construction of Muslim Identity: the Essentialist Paradigm

This article argues that much of the postmodern discourse on the Muslim woman and her veil is symptomatic of what I call the “essentialist paradigm”. The world is seen through the prism of a group’s religious/cultural identity and eventually constructs a Muslim identity – and with it an image of the Muslim Woman. The image of the oppressed veiled Muslim Woman and the treatment of a piece of cloth as synonymous with her whole identity and being are products of this paradigm of thought. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines discourse analysis and a case study of the construction of the British Muslim community, this article argues that the essentialist paradigm ignores the context of its subject matter with all its accompanying power structures, political and social factors, and the roles played by both the state and fundamentalist Islam in constructing a Muslim identity and with it the Muslim Woman and her dress code

The Arab Spring: One Year After. Transformation Dynamics, Prospects for Democratization and the Future of Arab-European Cooperation. Europe in Dialogue 2012/02

Europeans can be proud as they look back on fifty years of peaceful integration. Nowadays many people worldwide see the European Union as a model of how states and their citizens can work together in peace and freedom. However, this achievement does not automatically mean that the EU has the ability to deal with the problems of the future in a rapidly changing world. The European Union must continue developing its unity in diversity dynamically, be it with regard to energy issues, the euro, climate change or new types of conflict. Indeed, self-assertion and solidarity are key to the debates shaping our future. “Europe in Dialogue“ wishes to make a contribution to these open debates. The analyses in this series subject political concepts, processes and institutions to critical scrutiny and suggest ways of reforming internal and external European policymaking so that it is fit for the future. However, “Europe in Dialogue“ is not merely trying to encourage an intra-European debate and makes a point of including authors from non-EU states. Looking at an issue from different angle or from afar creates a shift in perspective which, in turn, renders Europe‘s development more meaningful as it engages in critical dialogue with other societies