Review of Political Alienation in Libya, by Zulaikha Abdullah for Middle East Monitor

This is Dr Mabrouka al-Werfalli’s timely offering for readers to gain a better understanding of Libya’s complex political, social and economic milieu in the wake of the 2011 revolution. The detailed findings of this empirical work are corroborated by Libya’s mass uprising and the bloody ensuing battle to wrest power from a regime popularly perceived as bereft of the moral and political legitimacy to rule. As a lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences at Libya’s Garyounis University over the last two decades, Dr al-Werfalli was well-placed to analyse and discern the sources of Libya’s shift towards the political discontent, resentment and alienation which led to the ousting of the Gaddafi junta. Al-Werfalli brings the full weight of her knowledge and experience to bear in this book which could have been read as a presentiment of events that were to come.

‘Political Alienation in Libya’ began as a first of its kind PhD research survey in 2001 to gauge local attitudes and behaviour toward the Gaddafi regime. Findings from the survey were developed subsequently into the book in its current form; it was completed in 2008

The book seeks to explore the relationship between popular recognition of a regime’s legitimacy and levels of political alienation, defined as a conscious rejection of the entire political system, by the population it purports to represent. Previous studies into the political legitimacy of Middle Eastern regimes have tended to approach the question on a systematic level. Conversely, ‘Political Alienation in Libya’ suggests consideration of the micro-level in efforts to conceptualise legitimacy and alienation as well as how to organise research into the subject. Accordingly, it represents a relevant and fresh contribution to research and understandings.

The longest section of the book is dedicated to the former regime’s long quest for legitimacy following the collapse of the short-lived Gadaffi personality cult and the subsequent loss of ideological ground. This collapse was precipitated by the repression which accompanied the ‘revolutionary transition period’ and undermined public support and trust for the regime. In turn, this increased the regime’s dependence on the so called ‘revolutionary legitimacy’ founded on a declaration of the people’s authority. However, this quasi-democratic system, based on a unique form of ostensible direct public participation in the decision-making process could not disguise the regime’s totalitarian character; as such, a popular view that the regime was the only real political actor prevailed. With the failure of this mode of legitimation, and no alternative in sight, the regime’s dependence on repression and coercion continued to deepen ever further.

Al-Werfalli’s central thesis holds that “the seeming stability and longevity of the political regime in Libya is not sufficient evidence for the existence of legitimacy. Stability and the absence of opposition for such a long period might indicate a lack of legitimacy – i.e. that the opposition might have been forcibly suppressed, and that the longevity of the regime might have been due to a constant application of force rather than to virtue of consent. The existence of the means of participation does not always indicate the existence of legitimacy when a state of abstentionism proliferates, since a regime’s legitimacy is affirmed by the political participation of the citizen.”

The predominant state of political alienation in Libya prior to the 2011 revolution is shown to have been the result of a range of inter-related factors exacerbated over time. These included continued authoritarian rule; the marginalisation of citizens and the means of their political participation; censorship of opinions and attitudes; dissatisfaction with the regime’s economic output; widespread unemployment and discontent over standards of living; and perceptions of endemic corruption and mismanagement of public funds. While an unrepresentative foreign policy was also shown to have played a role, it may be concluded that Libya’s 2011 revolution, like other uprisings of the Arab Spring, appears to have focused almost exclusively on domestic issues and demands for internal reform rather than external issues. This is quite significant given that in the past, Middle Eastern regimes have tended to emphasise external issues as a means of redirecting popular hostility and attention away from domestic concerns in order to avoid addressing them. (In this, such regimes are no different to successive US administrations which, post-World War Two, have always required a foreign ‘bogey’ to distract American citizens from their domestic problems.)

Quite indicatively, al-Werfalli points out that belated effort by Gaddafi towards political reform neglected the internal dimension in favour of securing international support through the re-orientation of his foreign policy. Rather than reflecting a genuine desire for reform or a redress of the crisis of legitimacy his regime faced, ‘reform’ represented a calculated effort to obtain international recognition and enhance its status while continuing to be repressive and authoritarian. Moreover, it was the result of external pressure from the international community rather than internal necessities.

Efforts on the domestic front led by Gaddafi’s heir apparent Saif ul Islam, while reflecting the regime’s desperate need for political change, aimed at retaining and consolidating power under the guise of reform. Emphasising socio-economic development and modernisation, Saif ul Islam called for an end to the revolutionary era and stressed the need for a constitutional democracy. He also addressed other issues of concern, focusing on the youth in an effort to dull the appeal of opposition, win their support and justify his succession. However, he was the only person allowed to criticise the regime.

It may be argued that these efforts, rather than achieving their purpose, underscored other core issues of popular discontent such as nepotism and favouritism; abuse of authority; rampant corruption; and feelings of being politically inefficacious, thus exacerbating alienation. According to al-Werfalli, the youth were among the most discontented portion of society and displayed an acute trend toward political and ideological alienation and separation from the system; they tended to be the most revolutionary and supportive of violence. The most dissatisfied elements of society often perceived legitimate means for change as ineffective and moribund. This indicated that for those seeking a total change in the regime, violent means would need to be employed to bring it about.

According to al-Werfalli, “When citizens withdraw their loyalty from their political regime and leaders, they highlight their alienation from them. The link between legitimacy and political alienation is that the regime’s claim for legitimacy is in question when a state of political alienation prevails.” Alienation produces a kind of instability which results in yet more alienated political behaviour and criticism, while continually undermining the regime’s right to rule. Libya’s regime dealt with this through ever more repression. Over the past three decades, this cycle has manifested in ways such as attempted coups and student uprisings, as well as other forms of rebellion and disobedience including silent resistance. It culminated in the overthrow of Gadaffi and his regime.

Filed under: News

Early Arabic Poetry by Professor Alan Jones is here again

Early Arabic Poetry

Early Arabic Poetry: Select Poems
By Dr Alan Jones

Hardback
580 pp, Ithaca Press, ISBN: 9780863723872
November 2011
Read More and Order Here
Ithaca Press is pleased to announce the publication of Early Arabic Poetry: Select Poems by Professor Alan Jones. This new edition of Early Arabic Poetry combines the two volumes first published in 1992 and 1996, bringing them together with a new foreword and introduction by Professor Jones, which covers the major background problems faced by students of early Arabic poetry. The book will appeal to academics and students in the fields of Middle East Studies, Arabic, literature and poetry.
The book is divided into two main sections: the first section contains a study of fifteen poems from two of the more vivid genres: laments and poems by the outlaws. The second section focuses on famous odes. The poems are analysed in minute detail, providing the student with all the information needed to understand the texts and to consider each poem’s overall thrust and purpose.
The study of early Arabic poetry is a difficult one for a number of reasons; it is the work of people of a very alien milieu – the great composers were camel-dependant nomads; its grammar has many complications that do not survive in the later language; its texts were transmitted orally for up to two-and-a-half centuries; and there are serious problems about authenticity. It is nevertheless a fascinating and rewarding area of study, from which all later Arabic poetry stems.
This book provides unique insights into ideas prevalent in the region at the rise of Islam. In his introduction, Professor Jones describes how ‘Poetry had a number of facets that took it into the realms of magic’. As well as the inspiration of the poet by his own spirit, and the magic of the sound of poetry recitation, poetic utterances were believed to contain magical forces, particularly when the poem was intended to denigrate or curse. Thus the book transcends mere analysis of poetry to provide a rich critique of the complexities of the subject and the era.

Alan Jones taught Arabic, Turkish and Islamic Studies at Oxford from 1957 to 2000, when he retired from his post as Professor of Classical Arabic. Amongst his special interests are pre-Islamic poetry, the Qur’an, and the early growth of Islamic studies. He has also published key works on the poetry of Muslim Spain. His translation of the Qur’an was published in 2007.

Filed under: Books, News , Arab Media, Arabic, Arts, Book Review, Islam, Islamic Studies, literature, Middle East, Middle Eastern Studies, Poetry

Ithaca Press has acquired the world rights to The Day Turkey Stood Still, by Richard Peres

Ithaca Press has acquired the world rights to The Day Turkey Stood Still, by Richard Peres.
On May 2nd 1999, Merve Kavakci walked into the Turkish Grand National Assembly to take her oath of office as a member of Turkish Parliament, wearing her Islamic headscarf (hijab) which is banned for civil servants in secular Turkey. A near riot ensued, and the Prime Minister told the crowd to ‘put this woman in her place’. Since then, Kavakci has become an outspoken critic of Turkey’s secularization policy, traveling the globe in support of Muslim women’s rights, especially regarding the hijab, which she promotes as a symbol of female empowerment.
The Day Turkey Stood Still is a unique behind-the-scenes story of the first headscarved woman to be elected into the Turkish Parliament, and the harsh reaction against her election. It reveals for the first time what happened behind closed doors to prevent Merve Kavakci from taking her oath of office, and deconstructs her vilification by the government, military, media and political parties.
Richard Peres also uses this fascinating true story to promote greater general understanding of contemporary Turkish politics, and to illustrate the ongoing tension between Turkey’s military-secular bloc and its predominantly Islamic population. This highly accessible book will resonate with Western readers who want to know more about this fundamental issue and gain a greater understanding of women’s issues, religious conflicts, political Islam, human rights and the struggle for democracy in the Middle East. The Day Turkey Stood Still is required reading for any academic who wants to understand the dynamics and undercurrents of Turkish politics today.
Richard Peres is an experienced author, civil rights activist, adjunct professor and international businessman. He has several years’ experience of teaching Communications and International Marketing in both the US and Turkey. He has an MA in International Politics, and is a feature writer for Today’s Zaman in Turkey, and a regular contributor to Turkish Review.
Ithaca Press is planning to publish this title in June 2012.

Filed under: Books, News , Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Merve Kavakci, Middle East, Turkey, Turkish Parliament

Anothe Review on Political Alienation in Libya

The book is very useful to learn more about Libya’s modern history and to understand how Gaddafi’s regime originally claimed its legitimacy, managed to stay in power for so long and how the people’s suffering had to lead to the recent uprising and new independence that we’ve just witnessed. Source: Nahla Ink Online Journal 27 October 2011

Author: Mabroka al-Werfalli
Review and In Conversation with the Author

The Libyan academic, Mabroka Al-Wefalli, took a big personal risk when she first conducted a local survey in 2001, to question the Libyan respondents’ attitude towards their political regime and participation – or lack thereof – in the system’s so-called grassroots democratic organs. She also examined their views as to how the regime must legitimize its rule – or not – to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

As she explains to Nahla Ink: “From the early 1990s, I observed as a teacher at the political science department at the University of Garyounis, that criticism of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime was secretly increasing. But the method of expressing resentment, under such a coercive regime, was not only by withdrawing from political participation and deserting the basic popular congresses, but also by a growing sort of silent resistance; a political behavior that associates with political alienation.”

Taking months just to get a security permit to distribute her questionnaire in the Al-Orouba district in Benghazi, Werfalli found people quite unwilling, resisting and suspicious of her motives. She had to use her social clout and family connections to gain trust in people; and, even so, when she got her results, she had to flee the country to avoid her work being confiscated and compromised.

Completing the PhD dissertation from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter in 2005, she turned it into a book in 2008 and only recently published it with a great Afterward. It comes at a perfect time for those who wish to understand the underlying political, economic and social forces that led to the current Revolution. She says: “The Libyan armed revolution has actually confirmed my findings. I had hoped that the Libyan regime would make use of the information in the book before it was too late.”

The book identifies theoretic and practical links between legitimacy and political alienation – or lack of participation – and questions the regime’s organs of government. Drawing on socio-political theory and Max Weber, it looks back to the 1969 coup and how Gaddafi had revolutionary and charismatic legitimacy to begin with; as he then reflected people’s sentiments towards pan-Arabism, anti-Zionism and anti-Imperialism and rode high on the Egyptian Jamal Abdul-Nasser’s popularity and influence.

But over time, the system turned into an oppressive apparatus and lost any authentic public support. It stopped delivering on its promises; and, instead, resorted to violence, oppression and corruption as well as confiscation of people’s wealth and property.

The book offers a view and analysis of the executive, legislative and judicial organs that were put in place by the regime and which, in theory, were to allow for people’s participation and especially through the Basic People’s Popular Congresses. However, it concludes that these had no say and no power, as they were overshadowed and controlled by the Revolutionary Committees that had their own ruthless agenda and answered directly to the top.

In a state of anarchic rule, people lost confidence in the system and feared it; the only way of resistance felt possible for a very long time took form in silence, private talk, political joking, satirical poetry and non-participation in anything governmental.

According to Werfalli, such were the seeds for a violent revolution as the only way out. Although more recently the regime seemed to offer reform through the apparent-heir Saif al-Islam, this proved ineffectual as the father and his old revolutionary guards kept a firm grip, overturned any modernising efforts and familial jealousies between the brothers led to nothing being done to appease the people’s desperate desire for change.

The book is very useful to learn more about Libya’s modern history and to understand how Gaddafi’s regime originally claimed its legitimacy, managed to stay in power for so long and how the people’s suffering had to lead to the recent uprising and new independence that we’ve just witnessed.

Interestingly, Werfalli herself took a positive role in this which is worth telling: “I and a female friend joined the demonstrations in Tripoli on February 20, but a few minutes later, we had to leave for the violent reaction by the regime’s security forces.

“We, as former members in the Revolutionary Committees Movement sent a message through al-Hurra channel and Facebook on February 24, declaring our support for the revolution and urging all RCM’s members to join the masses. But please note that I had actually withdrawn and stopped being involved in the movement since 1987.

“But because we did that while we were in Tripoli, where it was under the control of the Colonel forces, it was not safe at all and we kept shifting residence. Four weeks later, we were actually detained for a different reason though and when released, decided to flee the country out of fear that the security would find out about the call we sent, as we provided our personal details.”

As to the political future, Werfalli says: “I don’t expect a conflict-free future in Libya. On the contrary, I suppose the situation will get more complicated. There is blood involved. Unless the new government solves the tangled problems that rose with the Revolution successfully, the detestation and hostility will be the key element in determining the future tribal, rural-urban and regional relationships.

“I also fear that the blood shed may have planted an evil weed that would harm, if not kill, the seeds of democracy and tolerance; which would, in turn, affect the Libyans’ hope for quick recovery. However, the picture is not that gloomy. The passion that showed after each liberation of the cities, the longing for freedom, the immense number of martyrs would help the Libyans to regain trust in each other and overcome the torment.”

To purchase the book: Ithaca Press

Filed under: Books , Arab Spring, Book Review, Gaddafi, Government, Islamic Studies, Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Political Alienation in Libya, Tripoli

A Review on Political Alienation in Lybia: Book offers clues to Libyan politics after Gadhafi (United Press International)

Source: United Press International

LONDON, Oct. 14 (UPI) — NATO decision-makers hoping to forge a democratic and stable Libya after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi need to read “Political Alienation in Libya,” a new book analyzing the North African country shortly before the disastrous showdown that triggered the U.N.-mandated European intervention.

Political alienation was so widespread in Libya under Gadhafi that the outcome since the NATO bombing campaign began, the gradual crumbling of the strongman’s regime and the emergence of the National Transitional Council are hardly surprising, the book says.

Author Mabroka al-Werfalli, who teaches political science at the University of Garyounis in Benghazi, used different polling methods against heavy odds to gather opinions in Libya under Gadhafi.

She found public participation in Gadhafi’s Basic Popular Congresses, the regional and town-based political cells used by the regime to advance its aims, declined sharply as public alienation grew.

Even those who took part in the congresses’ activities did so out of fear of losing favor with Gadhafi’s political elite.

“From the findings it is clear that political alienation, defined as the conscious rejection of the whole political system, is the prevailing condition in Libyan society,” al-Werfalli writes.

In the run-up to Gadhafi’s downfall, she found through surveys that feelings of alienation were widespread among Libyans because of authoritarian control, marginalization of citizens and institutions of political participation, and a destructive censoring of opinions and attitudes.

In her book, al-Werfalli offers insight into the political mindset of the Libyan people in the lead up to the protests and the resulting civil war.

The resulting apathy was not evidence of loyalty but of estrangement. The methods adopted by citizens to express their resentment under coercion included not only retreat from the political processes but also silent resistance.

The book concludes with the final stages of Gadhafi’s rule and outlines not only the government’s slide from legitimacy but also its last-ditch attempts for survival and reform under Gadhafi’s son Saif al-Islam.

“Saif al-Islam outlined plans for Libya to move from autocratic rule to a constitutional democracy as part of the country’s modernization process,” writes al-Werfalli. “He emerges as the only actor who has managed to criticize the malfunctions of the regime without being punished” by his father.

In the aftermath of Gadhafi’s crackdown on popular uprisings, Saif al-Islam is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity against the Libyan people, including torture and killing of civilians.

Unconfirmed rebel reports claim Gadhafi is being protected by a loyalist tribe and Saif al-Islam is holding out in Sirte, one of the last strongholds of his regime.

The NTC leadership that succeeded Gadhafi is facing criticism that it has used tactics familiar to victims of Gadhafi and calls to reform its ranks to suit democratic ideals expected of its leadership.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/10/14/Book-offers-clues-to-Libyan-politics-after-Gadhafi/UPI-88311318621930/#ixzz1bhLH87nC

Read more about the book here.

Filed under: Books , Arab Spring, Benghazi, Book Review, Gadhafi, International Criminal Court, Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi, NATO, Political Alienation in Libya, Saif al-Islam

Refusing to Be Enemies – Book Review by Jim Miles, Palestine Chronicles

Source: Palestine Chronicles

Refusing to be Enemies – Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation.  Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta.  Ithaca Press (Garnet Publishing, Reading, UK), 2011.

Israel has always indicated that there is no partner for peace in its relationships with the Palestinian people.  Refusing to be Enemies refutes that idea solidly through its investigation into the non-violent resistance movement taking place in Palestine and in Israel. It also clarifies the nature of the Palestinian resistance and the nature of what non-violence truly stands for.   As cited from Mohammed Khatib, “what the state of Israel fears most of all is the hope that people can live together based on justice and equality for all.”

A forward by Ursula Franklin points out that “it is the violent response, the abnormal, that is recorded, and analyzed and taught.”  It is also the corporate media that finds the violence agreeable to its narrative of events which for the most part, as indicated by Jeff Halper, depicts “Israel as an innocent democracy and a victim of terrorism that is simply defending itself,” rather than the reality of Israel using “occupation as a pro-active policy by an ethnocracy that is the strong party in the conflict and is engaged in ethnic cleansing.”  The “lethal dynamic” of having “Palestinians resisting violently and resisting through things like suicide bombings,” supports the innocent victim narrative.  It helps create inside Israel a “war culture that is perpetrating wars.”

Filed under: Books , Book Review, Israel, Israeli, Israeli-occupied territories, Maxine Kaufman Lacusta, Palestine, Palestinian people, Refusing to be Enemies, Ursula Franklin

10 Rules and 10 Translations from Dr. Issa J. Boullata

Dr Boullata has translated several books in the series Great Books of Islamic Civilization, by Garnet Publishing Ltd.

He has written and article called 10 Rules and 10 Translations on the Arab Lit blog. Here’s an excerpt:

Dr. Issa J Boullata is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian writer, literary scholar, critic, educator and translator. He started his career with a PhD in Arabic literature from London University in 1969 and went on to be a Professor of Arabic Literature at McGill University in Montreal. He introduced and translated the groundbreaking poetry anthology Modern Arab Poets, 1950-1975 (1976) and has given a number of contemporary Arab authors award-winning translations. He has also published his own novel and short stories, including the novel عائد إلى القدس and the English-language short-story collection A Retired Gentleman and Other Stories.

Ten Rules for Translation

Some translations from Arabic to English are commissioned by publishers or by interested institutions, and have therefore a sort of assured publication and remuneration. Others are ones of texts chosen by the translator, who has then to look for a publisher and negotiate terms and royalties. In all cases, my rules are the same.

(1) Translate only a text that you like and that gives you satisfaction on being published.

(2) Read the text well and, if possible, ask the author about meanings you may have missed or wanted explained.

(3) Accept the fact that cultures are different from one another, and that each has its own way of saying the same thing in possibly different words or ways.

Read the rest of the rules here.

Filed under: Opinion , Arabic, Arabic Literature, English language, literary translation, McGill University, Middle East, Middle Eastern Studies, Publishing, Translation

Claim your free copy of A Star and a Cross at Garnet Publishing or Ithaca Press

A Cross and a Star: Memoirs of a Jewish Girl in Chile, by Marjorie Agosín

To celebrate the launch of the new website of Garnet Publishing, you can receive a free copy of the memoir of the acclaimed Chilean auhor Marjorie Agosín by ordering a book from either www.garnetpublishing.co.uk (for general fiction and nonfiction)or www.ithacapress.co.uk (for academic monographs on Middle East studies).

In this unique memoir, renowned poet, fiction writer, critic, and activist Marjorie Agosin writes in the voice of her mother, Frida, the daughter of European Jewish immigrants, living in Chile in the years before, during, and after World War II.
Frida recounts stories from her family’s Jewish/Chilean history: of her father, who had to leave Vienna in 1920 because he fell in love with a Christian cabaret dancer; of her paternal grandmother, who came to Chile later with a number tattooed on her arm; and of her great grandmother, an immigrant from Odessa, who learned to speak Spanish in Chile and loved the language so much that she repeated its harmonious sounds even in her sleep.
Frida’s stories of the past soften the realities of present times, when some immigrants from Germany still display portraits of Hitler m their homes and Jews still remain, after two generations, strangers in their own land. These stories are permeated with the shadow of faraway war in Europe, which haunts Frida’s dreams and is a vivid presence in the everyday life in this Chilean town. For Frida the cross and the star of the title come to define two worlds that are for her distinct, yet inexorably entwined.
Agosin’s poetic reflections reveal a culture and a landscape little-known outside of her native land, explore the boundaries of “voice”, and create a moving testament to endurance and to the power of memory and of words.

Filed under: Books, News

Not loyal but estranged; a study of the Libyan political mindset and its repercussions

Political Alienation in Libya: Assessing Citizens’ Political Attitude and Behaviour

Political Alienation in Libya

Assessing Citizens’ Political Attitude and Behaviour

Hardback   240pp   235 x 155mm

Ithaca Press

ISBN: 978-0-86372-372-8

Reading, UK,   October 2011.

Ithaca Press is pleased to announce the publication of Political Alienation in Libya by Mabroka al-Werfalli.    This highly topical and up-to-the-minute publication should appeal to followers of contemporary politics who value a more in-depth consideration of how the current climactic situation in Libya has come about.   The book provides a unique insight into the political mindset of the Libyan people, which has led up to the 2011 protests and the resulting civil war.

The book is an assessment of Libyan citizens’ political attitudes and behaviour, and features interviews and surveys of Libyan people from across the board, thus presenting a true cross-section of the nation’s political mindset.

Filed under: Books, News , Africa, Libya, Libyan, Middle East, Middle East Crisis, Middle Eastern Studies, Muammar al-Gaddafi, NATO, Political science, Publishing, The Middle Eastern Studies Association, United States

Book Review: Book on Armenian factor in Caucasus published in London

Source: News.Az

Three-volume set “The Armenian Question in the Caucasus, Russian Archive Documents and Publications (1724-1914)” was published in London.

The three-volume set prepared by the European Azerbaijan Society was published in English by Ithaca Press (http://www.ithacapress.co.uk/epages/es109086.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es109086_es120187592164/Products/9780863724091).

‘The Armenian Question in the Caucasus, Russian Archive Documents and Publications (1724-1914)’ is issued in this three-volume collection as a special topic of study for the first time in world historiography. The problem is presented basing on about 300 rare documents, materials of periodicals and publications collected from various archival files, which were revealed in Russian State History Archive (St. Petersburg) and Russia State Military History Archive (Moscow) and kept “confidential” and “strongly confidential” for a long time.

Filed under: Books, News , Armenia, Armenian, Armenian Question, Azerbaijani, Caucasus, Russians