Middle East and North Africa

Readings and class materials for Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Readings

  •  Ali Farazmand, “Bureaucracy and the Alternatives in the Middle East,” in Bureaucracy and the Alternatives in World Perspective, ed. Keith M. Henderson and O. P. Dwivedi (London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1999), 244–68, https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333983355_10.

  •  John Dixon, Shahjahan Bhuiyan, and Yılmaz Üstüner, “Public Administration in the Middle East and North Africa,” International Journal of Public Administration 41, no. 10 (July 2018): 759–64, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2018.1433207.

  •  Rahel M. Schomaker and Michael W. Bauer, “Public Governance in the MENA Region: Reform Trends and Patterns,” International Journal of Public Administration 43, no. 5 (April 2020): 378–91, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1669179.

  •  Hamid E. Ali, “State Transitions from Rigidity to Fragility and Failure: The Case of Middle East and North Africa,” International Journal of Public Administration 41, no. 10 (July 2018): 765–71, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1387150.

One of these country-specific articles:

  •  Ghada Barsoum, “Egypt’s Many Public Administration Transitions: Reform Vision and Implementation Challenges,” International Journal of Public Administration 41, no. 10 (July 2018): 772–80, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1387145.

  •  Jamil E. Jreisat, “Public Administration Reform in Jordan: Concepts and Practices,” International Journal of Public Administration 41, no. 10 (July 2018): 781–91, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1387991.

  •  Yılmaz Üstüner and Nilay Yavuz, “Turkey’s Public Administration Today: An Overview and Appraisal,” International Journal of Public Administration 41, no. 10 (July 2018): 820–31, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1387147.

  •  Abu Elias Sarker and Alaa Aldin Abdul Rahim A Al Athmay, “The Changing Facets of Public Administration in the United Arab Emirates,” International Journal of Public Administration 41, no. 10 (July 2018): 832–44, https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1387149.

Article discussion reminder

How to discuss an article in a seminar

  • Who wrote the article? What’s their background?
  • General summary of the article
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • How does it connect to other readings?
  • How does it connect to the broader course themes?
  • How does it connect to current events?
  • What does it add to our Global Bureaucracy Toolkit™?

Plan for the day

  • Mini presentation and group discussion

  • What even is the “Middle East”?

  • Orientalism, historical essentialism, and modernization theory

  • Public administration in the Middle East and North Africa

    • Farazmand, “Bureaucracy and the Alternatives in the Middle East.”
    • Dixon, Bhuiyan, and Üstüner, “Public Administration in the Middle East and North Africa.”
    • Schomaker and Bauer, “Public Governance in the MENA Region.”

  • Specific countries

    • Ali, “State Transitions from Rigidity to Fragility and Failure.”
    • Egypt
    • Jordan
    • The UAE
    • Turkey