ABSTRACT

Focusing on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which comprises some of the world’s richest countries next to some of the poorest, this book offers excellent insights into the discriminatory consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a geographic focus on the MENA region, the multidisciplinary case studies collected in this edited volume reveal that the coronavirus’s impact patterns are a question of two variables: governance performance and socioeconomic potency. Given the global, unprecedented, complex, and systemic nature of COVID-19 – and its long-term implications for societies, governments, international organisations, citizens and corporations – this volume entails a relevance to regions undergoing similar dynamics. Analyses in the book, therefore, have implications for the comparative study of the pandemic and its impact on societies around the globe. Understanding related dynamics and implications, and making use of lessons learned, are a pathway to deal with future similar crises.

Questions covered in the volume are relevant to geopolitics, social implications and the relations between political leaders and citizens as beings embedded in various strategies of communication. The volume will appeal to scholars of international politics, political science, risk or crisis governance, economics and sociology, human rights and security, political communication and public health.

The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivatives 4.0 licence.

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

The MENA region and COVID-19 – concept and content of this book
ByZeina Hobaika, Lena-Maria Möller, Jan Claudius Völkel
Size: 0.65 MB

part Part I|35 pages

Geopolitical implications

chapter 2|17 pages

The COVID-19 temptation?

Sino–Gulf relations and autocratic linkages in times of a global pandemic 1
ByThomas Demmelhuber, Julia Gurol, Tobias Zumbrägel
Size: 0.76 MB

chapter 3|16 pages

The reverse impact of politics on the COVID-19 response

How Hezbollah determined the choices of the Lebanese government
ByNassim AbiGhanem
Size: 0.67 MB

part Part II|52 pages

Communication strategies

chapter 4|17 pages

‘American Corona' vs. ‘The Chinese virus'

Blaming and othering in Arab media
ByCarola Richter, Abdulrahman al-Shami, Soheir Osman, Sahar Khalifa Salim, Samuel Mundua
Size: 0.65 MB

chapter 5|16 pages

Securitisation dynamics and COVID-19 politics in Morocco

Old wine in new bottles?
ByGiulia Cimini, Beatriz Tomé Alonso
Size: 0.71 MB

chapter 6|17 pages

Status-seeking in times of a global pandemic

The United Arab Emirates' foreign policy during COVID-19
ByAlexander Lohse
Size: 0.73 MB

part Part III|71 pages

Social response

chapter 7|18 pages

Religion and pandemic

State, Islam and society in Saudi Arabia and Iran during the coronavirus crisis 1
ByNoël van den Heuvel, Ulrike Freitag
Size: 0.78 MB

chapter 8|16 pages

‘On the horns of a dilemma'

Human traffickers, the COVID-19 pandemic and victims of trafficking in Khartoum
ByManara Babiker Hassan
Size: 0.65 MB

chapter 9|15 pages

A paradoxical management of COVID-19 in Lebanon

Challenges and lessons learnt
ByMichèle Kosremelli Asmar, Joumana Stephan Yeretzian
Size: 1.09 MB

chapter 10|15 pages

Digital learning under COVID-19

Challenges and opportunities – the Lebanese case
ByFadi El Hage, Fouad Yehya
Size: 0.82 MB

chapter 11|5 pages

Conclusions

The MENA region and COVID-19 – lessons for the future
ByZeina Hobaika, Lena-Maria Möller, Jan Claudius Völkel
Size: 0.56 MB