Governance and Local Development in the MENA: Edited Volume

Status:

Ongoing (2019-2022) 

 

This project aims to enhance understanding of local governance in the MENA region, focusing on the experiences of individuals. Scholars from Europe, the MENA region, and the US utilize diverse methodologies to examine subnational governance, culminating in an edited volume exploring decentralization, state-building, gender, service provision, and social cohesion. The book will be published by the University of Michigan Press in January 2025. It will be available in English, with selected excerpts translated into Arabic; both the book and its translated chapters will be accessible as open-access resources. You can find more about ordering or accessing the book here.    

 

About the Edited Volume 

While decentralization is often seen as a means to enhance participation and representation, little is known about its local impact in the MENA region. This volume examines how citizens experience decentralization, highlighting the roles of individual factors (e.g., gender, education) and local contexts (e.g., development levels).

Featuring original research from Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia, the chapters are organized into three thematic sections: 

• The design and implementation of decentralization 

• Participation in the context of decentralization 

• Representation in decentralization 

These insights deepen the discourse on governance and local development, emphasizing the need to understand how decentralization policies affect citizens’ daily lives. 

 

The volume is co-edited by Ellen Lust and Kristen Kao (University of Gothenburg) and is set to be published by the University of Michigan Press in January 2025. Both the book and its translated chapters will be accessible as open-access resources. 

 

Publications:

Brooke, Steven and Monica C. Komer. (2021). How Gender and Local State Capacity Shape Citizens’ Use of the Mosque. The Program on Governance and Local Development Working Paper No. 37, University of Gothenburg, Available At: http://gld.gu.se/media/2025/gld-working-paper-37.pdf    

Kherigi, Intissar. (2021). "Municipal Boundaries and the Politics of Space in Tunisia," The Program on Governance and Local Development Working Paper No. 38, University of Gothenburg, Available At: http://gld.gu.se/media/2032/gld-working-paper-38.pdf

Barnett, Carolyn; Shalaby, Marwa. (2021). "Success Beyond Gender Quotas: Gender, Local Politics, and Clientelism in Morocco" The Program on Governance and Local Development Working Paper No. 48, University of Gothenburg. Available At: http://gld.gu.se/media/2303/gld-working-paper48.pdf 

Collaborators

Marika Sosnowski (University of Melbourne), 

Intissar Kherigi (Ibn Haldun University & Sciences Po, Paris) 

Sylvia Bergh with Francesco Colin (International Institute of Social Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam) 

Christina Parreira (Geneva Graduate Institute) 

Steven Brooke with Monica Komer (University of Wisconsin-Madison) 

Marwa Shalaby (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Carolyn Barnett (University of Arizona)  

Alexandra Blackman (Cornell University),  Aytug Sasmaz (Bryn Mawr College) and Julia Clark (World Bank) 

Matt Buehler (University of Tennessee) and Freddy Ghergis (Independent Scholar)  

 

  

Workshops and Seminars:

  • Middle East and North Africa Workshop, Sarajevo, August 7-9, 2019

  • Fall 2020 Weekly Seminar Series for the GLD in the MENA Edited Volume, September to December, 2020

      

    

Acknowledgements 

This project is supported by the Governance and Local Development in the Middle East and North Africa (Hicham Alaoui Foundation), PIs: Ellen Lust and Kristen Kao. 

Project Funders