Research

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Global autocratic collaboration in times of COVID19: game changer or business as usual in Sino-Gulf relations?

Co-Applicants: Tobias Zumbrägel, CARPO Bonn and Julia Gurol, University of Freiburg

Within the framework of the call “Corona Crisis and Beyond – Perspectives for Science, Scholarship and Society”, the project  on “Global autocratic collaboration in times of COVID19: Game changer or business as usual in Sino-Gulf Relations?” builds on the premise that COVID19 acts as a booster for processes of global autocratization in which autocratic protagonists present themselves as more effective role models in fighting the pandemic. This is particularly observable in Sino-Gulf relations that challenges Europe’s and Germany’s international alliances and partnerships. Using tracing apps and surveillance technologies as examples, we look at the transregional corridors of exchange between China and the Arab Gulf States to examine how the Chinese narrative of a more powerful governance model diffuses.

Decentralization in the Arab World

The following publications present the results of the research project:

T. Demmelhuber and R. Sturm (2021): Decentralization in the Middle East and North Africa. Informal Politics, Subnational Governance, and the Periphery, Nomos: Baden-Baden 2021

E. Vollmann, M. Bohn, R. Sturm (2020) and T. Demmelhuber: Decentralisation as Authoritarian Upgrading? Evidence from Jordan and Morocco, in: The Journal of North African Studies, 2020, online first: DOI 0.1080/13629387.2020.1787837

T. Demmelhuber, R. Sturm and E. Vollmann (2018): Decentralization in the Arab world: Conceptualizing the role of neopatrimonial networks, in: Mediterranean Politics, 2018, online first, DOI: 10.1080/13629395.2018.1559391

E. Karmel and M. Bohn (2020): Decentralization in Jordan, in: M. Shalaby, C. Weiss, E. Lust, K. Kao, E. Vollmann, S. Bergh, E. Karmel, M. Bohn, I. Kherigi, and Z. Kadirbeyoglu: The Dynamics of Decentralization in the MENA: Processes, Outcomes, and Obstacles. GLD Working Paper No. 31 2020, Gothenburg: GLD, 40-53

E. Vollmann (2020): Comparative Decentralization in the MENA, in: M. Shalaby, C. Weiss, E. Lust, K. Kao, E. Vollmann, S. Bergh, E. Karmel, M. Bohn, I. Kherigi, and Z. Kadirbeyoglu: The Dynamics of Decentralization in the MENA: Processes, Outcomes, and Obstacles. GLD Working Paper No. 31 2020, Gothenburg: GLD, 9-22

R. Sturm and E. Vollmann (2020): Dezentralisierung – die pragmatische Alternative zum Föderalismus in Autokratien? Der Fall Marokko, in: Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismusforschung (Hrsg.), Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2020, Nomos: Baden-Baden, 179-194

M. Bohn, T. Demmelhuber, R. Sturm, and E. Vollmann (2018): Dezentralisierung in der arabischen Welt: ein konzeptioneller Zugang, in: Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismusforschung (Hrsg.), Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2018, Nomos: Baden-Baden, 157-171

T. Demmelhuber (2018): Die politische Ordnung in Tunesien und die Beziehungen mit der EU seit 2011: Dezentralisierung als Blaupause?, IEP Research Paper No. 03/18. Berlin

Authoritarian Gravity Centres

The following publications present the results of the research project:

T. Zumbrägel and T. Demmelhuber (2021): Temptations of Autocracy: How Saudi Arabia Influences and Attracts Its Neighbourhood, in: Journal of Arabian Studies 10, no. 1, 51-71

M. Kneuer and T. Demmelhuber (2020): Authoritarian Gravity Centres: A Cross-Regional Study of Authoritarian Promotion and Diffusion, Routledge: New York

M. Kneuer, T. Demmelhuber, R. Peresson and T. Zumbrägel (2019): “Playing the regional card: why and how authoritarian gravity centres exploit regional organisations.” Third World Quarterly 40, no. 3, 451-470

T. Zumbrägel and E. Vollmann (2018): „Die Erfindung des Wir: Ideelles Identitätsmanagement als Legitimationsstrategie Saudi-Arabiens.“ Zeitschrift für Politik 65, no. 3, 265-282

M. Kneuer  (2017): “Legitimation beyond Ideology: Authoritarian Regimes and the Construction of Missions.” Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft 11, no. 2, 181-211.

M. Kneuer and T. Demmelhuber (2016): “Gravity Centres of Authoritarian Rule: A Conceptual Approach.” Democratization 23, no. 5, 775-796