Research Papers
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Author: Abdullah Hamidaddin
This paper considers the various risks to a sustained peace in Yemen and the possibilities of a continuation of the conflict by other means, focusing on factors that may be unintentionally generated by the peace process itself. These factors include the quest for inclusiveness and transitional justice, both of which have the potential to legitimate and institutionalize conflict-generated fault lines and identities, creating new obstacles to stability and expanding the field for contentious politics amongst the powerful, incubating new militant expressions of grievances. The paper also focuses on a risk that is not given sufficient attention, namely dehumanization, which has inte
Number: 63
Author: Noura AlZaid
Saudi Arabia’s economic future is at a turning-point. As the country increases investment in innovation to stimulate growth in non-oil sectors, cultivating an effective innovation ecosystem is key. Intellectual property (IP) is a powerful tool for spurring innovation. The dominant narrative in mainstream IP discourse is that higher IP standards lead to greater innovation outputs. However, this study argues that weaker IP standards are appropriate at this stage of the country’s economic development because they allow for smoother technology transfer that is needed to build innovation capacity and bridge existing gaps. To demonstrate the non-exceptional character of an
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Author: Aisha Al-Sarihi
Saudi Arabia joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994 and, in 2016, ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, which was adopted in 2015. For a country that has not significantly contributed to the historic accumulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but at the same time has an economy underpinned by the windfall profits from hydrocarbon exports, Saudi Arabia has adopted a cautious position toward climate action. Specifically, Saudi Arabia’s cautious approach toward global climate change mitigation measures has allowed time for the Kingdom to strategically identify its own climate mitigation measures that take into considerat
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Author: Faris Al-Sulayman
As the global economy transitions away from fossil fuels, the six oil producing rentier states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have sought to diversify their dependent economies away from this resource and develop industrialized and knowledge based economies. Though much attention has focused on neoliberal pathways of development, beneath the surface new state capitalist modes of development have been deployed, sometimes resembling models deployed in other state capitalist economies, and sometimes in different and novel ways. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular, new modes of state capitalism have emerged, with the state increasingly assuming a role as an investor of
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Author: David R. Stroup
Since 2018, a campaign to “Sinicize” so-called “Arabic Style” mosques has been carried out in ethnic Hui minority communities in China. These mosques, built in the wake of China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) feature overtly Islamic architectural features: onion domes, tall minarets, spires topped by crescent moons. Building mosques in this style gained popularity over the last 40 years, and many Hui felt the buildings symbolized the re-emergence of Islam after years of suppression. Further, for numerous Hui communities, building in the “Arab Style” allowed congregants to feel a renewed connection to their Islamic heritage. In Siniciz
Number: 62
Author: Mohammed Al-Sudairi
The study reinscribes Northeast Asia onto our historical awareness of the global geographies of Muslimness. It highlights the dynamic and uninterrupted presence of Muslims in this part of the world since the thirteenth century, appearing recurrently as the upholders of (non-Muslim) dominus mundis and, more mundanely, as settlers, pilgrims, refugees, and prisoners of war. In sketching out a holistic narrative of the Muslim longue-durée in Northeast Asia, the paper argues in favor of the longstanding rootedness of Islam in the region. It also attempts to weave together the various micro-histories of Muslims in Northeast Asia into an integrated whole, provi
