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​The constructivist approach provides several perspectives to study sports as a complex social phenomenon. Beginning with the conditions of modernity, which is usually defined as a Western product, and its dominance over narratives surrounding the emergence and rationalisation of sports, the West has traditionally defined the region and history of sports. While recognising Western contributions to modernisation, this paper addresses the need to consider the influence of other cultures and civilizations in the genesis of modernity through knowledge, science, and innovation. In the West itself, differences prevail regarding the concepts of the body (and the soul in the spiritual and religious sense) and productivity, and how to express them in sporting traditions. Any kind of general assessment of sporting culture and practice in Western Europe and beyond is thus no easy task. This short introduction provides an overview of the richness and limitations of constructivist epistemology as an entry point to studying sports. It discusses the concepts of pluralism and otherness in sports studies, applying discourse analysis to the study of sports in different cultural and linguistic traditions, and engages in criticism regarding its potential relativity.

Why did the January 25, 2011 revolution in Egypt descend into a state of violent oppression of the revolutionaries on the grounds of securing stability and fighting terrorism? This paper examines how the manner in which regime change took place following the January 25 revolution impacted on the democratic transition and its trajectory. The author looks specifically at those transformations which served to divert the course of revolutionary momentum, turning an uprising previously centered on "democratization" in the broadest sense, including the change in the system of government and the protection of personal and social liberties, into a movement which is often described in academic literature as an "electoral revolution". In other words, revolutionary momentum was focused exclusively on procedural questions and the filling of vacant executive and legislative positions following the collapse of the Mubarak regime before the more fundamental precursors to democracy could be established. This first transformation took place before the "electoral revolution" was itself diverted into a "counter revolution" which targeted all of the revolutionary forces behind the original uprising, making way for the establishment of a totalitarian mode of government.

Milestones in Democratic Transition in the Arab World March 1th - April 30 th, 2021.

This study reassesses the experience of political openness in Algeria within the analytical and explanatory categories of political economy. It is built on the premise that the transition from a totalitarian authoritarian regime to a democratic one presupposes the transition from a rentier economy linked to the external market and dominated by rentier groups, to a productive economy based on the national bourgeoisie exploitation of local labour to create wealth. The study argues that the experience of democratic transition in Algeria faltered due to the failure of the rentier groups to undergo capitalist transformation that could have allowed the emergence of the two main sides of the democratic equation: the bourgeoisie and the working class. The political elites that control the rentier economy were willing to accept political but not economic reforms that could have led to a reconsideration of the hegemonic relations within society and liberated it from the grip of power. In this regard, the failure of the economic reforms introduced by the Hamrouche government (1989 - 1991) was a prelude to the disruption of the democratic transition and prevention of the development of a civil society capable of gaining its independence from authority and, on the other hand, the independence of the Algerian state from the global market.

In this book François Burgat presents a number of arguments and logical motives, which prompted him to delve into the study of the phenomenon of political Islam.

This report highlights some of the major milestones of the Arab democratic transition. The countries covered include Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

There exists an ongoing dispute in academia about the underlying reasons behind growing Chinese influence in Africa and the success of the foreign policy of the emerging Asian giant, China, in the wealthy continent. The findings of this study reveal that despite China’s huge geo-economic progress in Africa, its foreign policy is still a far cry from making it a decisive key player in its influence on Africa’s political systems. African countries have to face global challenges and handle political and economic reform through adopting a united vision of development and security and assuming historical responsibility to defend their independence and dignity. This is how they can live up to the slogan “Africa for Africans” and make the fortunes and resources of this rich continent beneficial for everyone.

From a purely political perspective, tyranny and oligarchic rule have continued to be the dominant characteristic of Arab politics. Authoritarianism has “strangled” the Arab citizen. Will an over-arching Arab liberal tendency be able to overcome sectarian, political and religious tensions to affect a comprehensive reform of Arab political culture? The search for a definitive answer to this question proves difficult. The presumed link between the question of (political) reform within the Arab countries, in general terms, and a liberal perspective from foreign cultural contexts is supported by only a tenuous hypothesis. Such a presumptive hypothesis cannot guarantee results in a cultural and social environment completely alien from the one in which the principles of liberalism first emerged. This author calls for a revitalized conceptualization of liberty which is culturally appropriate to the Arab context while maintaining its connection to global contemporary civilization: it would be a conceptualization which liberates Arab societies from historicism and a blatant emulation of the West.

The Assad regime was quick to accept the terms of a Russian proposal to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons following a chemical weapons attack on civilians under siege in East and West Ghouta. Within days of the attack on August 21, 2013 the regime’s chemical weapons stockpile was made available to international observers, with the Syrian regime even making an application to join the Chemical Weapons Convention on September 20 of the same year—Damascus had previously insisted that Israel join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty before it signed up to the CWC. This paper seeks to understand (the possible) increased acceptance of Bashar Al Assad by the global media, which might presage a rehabilitation of his image, pending his presentation on the world stage as a legitimate head of state for Syria in the wake of the chemical weapons deal his country has struck.

​This report highlights some of the major milestones of the Arab democratic transition during 1/11/2015- 27/12/2015