Governance Uncovered: Local Politics and Development

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT In this episode of Governance Uncovered, we focus on refugee migration and integration as we're approaching World Refugee Day, which falls each year on the 20th of June. World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to acknowledge the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. Joining us today is Daniel Masterson, from the University of California, who will talk about his recently published paper in the British Journal of Political Science: Dynamics of Refugee Return: Syrian Refugees and their Migrant Intention. In this paper, Daniel and his co-authors, Ala Alrababah, Marine Casalis, Dominik Hangartner, and Jeremy Weinstein, look at what makes Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon decide to return home. Then, we'll hear from Isabell Schierenbeck and Andrea Spehar from the University of Gothenburg. They have looked at street-level bureaucrats in and Syrian refugee interactions in Sweden, Jordan, and Turkey. They have a book in Swedish publish on this work, called Migration i välfärdsstaten: att implementera integrationspolitik, (English translation: Migration in the Welfare State: To Implement Integration Politics).

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT It’s a mashup! GLD's Jeffrey Paller join up with the Ufahamu Africa podcast to talk to Prince Guma, Astrid Haas, and Patience Mususa. Each is an expert on the urbanization of the continent. The episode responds to Jeffrey’s recent article in This Week in Africa, “Five Trends that will Shape Urban Africa in 2023,” which highlights:Innovative forms of affordable housingGentrifying neighbourhoodsHeightened focus on emerging citiesConfronting floodingThe impact of big techPrince Guma is a researcher of cities, infrastructures and technologies in eastern Africa. Astrid Haas is an independent urban economist supporting cities and has worked extensively with city governments across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. And Patience Mususa is senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala.Books, Links, & ArticlesYoung Feminists Network (YFN)“Five Trends that will Shape Urban Africa in 2023.” by Jeffrey PallerPolitics and the Urban Frontier: Transformation and Divergence in Late Urbanizing East Africa by Tom GoodfellowGizo-Gizo!: A Tale from the Zongo Lagoon by Emily WilliamsonSeeing Like a City by Ash Amin and Nigel ThriftDisrupted Urbanism: Situated Smart Initiatives in African Cities by Nancy OdendaalFragments of the City: Making and Remaking Urban Worlds by Colin McFarlaneRethinking Smart Urbanism: City-Making and the Spread of Digital Infrastructures in Nairobi by Prince Karakire Gura

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTIn times of crisis, societies are forced to confront difficult challenges and make tough decisions. This episode delves into the complexities of crises, exploring different aspects of how they impact societies and the ways in which communities can recover and rebuild. Our first guest, Will Todman, discusses his research on how energy infrastructure is affected during conflicts. Next, we hear from Professor Rabia Polat, who shares her findings on Turkish local authorities' reception of Syrian refugees. The episode also includes a discussion on the recent earthquake in Turkey and the crisis response efforts that followed. Finally, Mohamad Alashmar brings a Syrian perspective to the table, discussing the impact of the earthquake on already fragile areas in Syria and exploring local initiatives and international aid. Together, these interviews and discussions provide a comprehensive look at crises and the complex road to recovery.GuestsWill Todman, fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.The mentioned report: Powering Recovery: Reform, Reconstruction, and Renewables in Conflict-Affected States in the Arab WorldThe mentioned project: Powering Recovery in the Middle EastRabia Polat, professor at Isik University in Instanbul, Department of International Relations.The mentioned research:Polat, R. K., & Lowndes, V. (2021). How does multi-level governance create capacity to address refugee needs, and with what limitations? An analysis of municipal responses to Syrian refugees in Istanbul. Journal of Refugee Studies, 35(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab101Lowndes, V., & Polat, R. K. (2020). How do local actors interpret, enact and contest policy? An analysis of local government responses to meeting the needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Local Government Studies, 48(3), 546–569. https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2020.1825386Mohamad Al-Ashmar, Ph.D. student and research fellow at the center for Syrian studies at the University of St Andrews, School of International relations.Mohamad is also a part of MERNID, the Middle East Research Network on Internal Displacement and SARN-UK, Syrian Academics and Researchers Network - UK.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT We'll start by covering the political crisis in Tunisia since president Saeid seized absolute power in 2021. Mohammed Dhia Hammami, PhD student in Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, joined GLD's founding director Ellen Lust to discuss the low voter turnout after the first round of Tunisia's parliamentary elections in December 2022, as well as the country's high unemployment rates, and the general disappointment in president Saeid among Tunisians. Disclaimer: This episode was recorded on January 23, before the second round of parliamentary runoffs on January 29. When recording this, it's been about six weeks since the FIFA World Cup in Qatar ended. But what impact did the tournament have on domestic politics and its influence beyond Qatar? GLD colleague and football fan Thabit Jacob met with Dr Danyel Reicheto to discuss the politics of sports focusing on last year's world cup in Qatar. Danyel is a Visiting Associate Professor at Georgetown University in Qatar. He has co-edited two books which came out recently, the first is Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change, and the second is the Handbook of Sport in the Middle East.  "The Effects of a Negative Economic Shock on Male Marriage in the West Bank" - is the title of Ayhab Saad's recent paper that we'll cover as our last segment for this episode. Ayhab is an associate professor of Economics at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. In this paper, which is co-authored with Amr Ragab, marriage rates among young men in the West Bank are compared before and after the sudden closure of the Israeli labour market for Palestinian male commuters from the West Bank in 2001. Ellen Lust met with Ayhab to talk about how the economic shock following the border closure has affected the decision to get married for both men and women and also, how social norms play a part in the declining marriage rates.  

This episode covers political participation and activism among youth, focusing on local perspectives from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Iraq. And also, an interview with Senior lecturer Hanna Leonardsson, whose book on local peacebuilding in Lebanon was recently published. This fall semester, GLD held its first policy roundtable in Arabic. The topic was youth engagement in the Middle East and North Africa. Luckily, for those who don't speak Arabic, Ghadeer Hussien summarised the most important takeaways from this roundtable. She spoke with Marwa Shalaby, Assistant Professor at the department of gender and women's studies and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And Dina Shehata, senior researcher and editor-in-chief of Al Malaf Al Masry (the Egypt File) at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. You can watch the recorded policy roundtable (in Arabic) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAbxPdg-FEc&t=187sHow is peace built at the local level? Hanna Leonardsson, Senior lecturer at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, asks that question in her new book: Navigating the Local, Politics of Peacebuilding in Lebanese Municipalities. Ellen Lust met with Hanna to talk about this book of hers. You can find Hanna's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Local-Peacebuilding-Municipalities-Development/dp/1529224268

This 43rd episode of Governance Uncovered reflects on COP27, the UN climate summit held between the 6th and 18th of November in Cairo, Egypt. Researchers Rabab El-Madi and Nadim Farajalla discuss the Loss and Damage fund, climate justice, and the future of fossil fuels. All with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa region. Then we'll hear an interview with Professor Jillian Schwedler on her latest book, "Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent." A book based on her twenty-five years of field research. It examines protests as they are situated in the built environment, bringing together considerations of networks, spatial imaginaries, space and place-making, and political geographies at local, national, regional, and global scales. Finally, GLD Director Ellen Lust spoke with Bekka Ross Russel, founder and Executive Director of The Small Things Tanzania and the Families and Future Coalition in Tanzania – two organizations that aim to support families who cannot take care of their children.

We are excited to let you know that GLD is introducing a new podcast format this month! From now on, you'll hear three shorter segments from three different guests on current events, academic publications, new research, and policy-targeted content. So, in this episode, we'll hear from Rouzbeh Parsi on the protests in Iran: is it a revolution happening or not? Then, I spoke to my GLD colleagues Ghadeer Hussein and Thabit Jacobs about the policy roundtable series GLD and Alternative Policy Solutions recently held on climate change and environmental justice in the MENA region. Finally, Ellen Lust met with GLD associate Lauren Honig to talk about her new book on land titling and customary authorities in Senegal and Zambia called "Land Politics: How Customary Institutions Shape State Building in Zambia and Senegal." We hope that you enjoy this episode and the new format. And if you are interested in working with GLD, head to our website. We have a lot of opportunities out right now! https://gld.gu.se/

The podcast guest of the month is the GLD associate Dr. Adam Harris. Adam is an Associate Professor in Development Politics at the Department of Political Science, University College London. He is also an associated researcher at the Centre for Social Change at the University of Johannesburg. Adam's research focuses on development, ethnic, and African politics, and his work has been published in several political science journals. Ellen and Adam will be talking about his book "Everyday Identity and Electoral Politics: Race, Ethnicity, and the Bloc Vote in South Africa and Beyond" (Oxford University Press, 2022), in which he seeks to understand why some voters do not vote along ethnic lines. Episode photo: National and Provincial Elections in South Africa 2019. Photo Credit: GovernmentZA, via Flickr.