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Religion and Politics under the Būyids: The Case of al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and the Development of Twelver Shīʿism
No full textThis thesis aims to explore the religion and politics of tenth and eleventh-century Baghdad, with a main focus on Twelver Shīʿī doctrine, by shedding light on one highly significant family that was central to the regulation of the ʿAbbāsid and Būyid government. The ʿAlid Mūsawī brothers, al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā (d. 966/1044) and al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. 969/1015), were both influential figures amongst Baghdad’s scholastic community and were closely connected with the ruling elites. In this research, I examine three main activities that the brothers were involved in: their contribution towards Shīʿī law, the niqāba office, and Qur’ānic exegesis.
My thesis shall examine a discrete number of religio-political functions of the Sharīf brothers. For this reason, I look at three spheres of activity: (i) their role in Shīʿī legal doctrine, mainly al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā’s role as a jurist, where I will study his interaction with the Sunnī community through his legal text al-Intiṣār (ii) their position as nuqabā’, which often included other tasks, either with the government or the ʿAlid community. Within this activity, I will look at the appointment deeds of al-Sharīf al-Raḍī and his father, drafted by Abū Isḥāq al-Ṣābi’ (d. 384/994), and Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī’s (d. 450/1058) text on Islamic governance to further understand the role of the naqīb and how lineage and relations with the ruling elites play an integral part to securing the position; and (iii) The interplay between juridical matters and the functions of the naqīb, where I study al-Murtaḍā’s legal treatise on governance. While these activities are mainly religious functions, they have an overlapping role with the politics of Būyid Baghdad, especially as the Mūsawī family had a close relationship with the ruling elites and served as their emissaries. Although the Būyids fostered a cosmopolitan environment for scholars in Baghdad during their reign, I argue that the Mūsawī family used the existing political tensions between the ʿAbbāsids and Būyids to their advantage to develop their doctrine. Additionally, their lineage and close relationship to the ruling elites was another factor that contributed towards this growth
Reporting Sexual Violence: The Victim\u27s Right to Protection and Justice
Get PDFIncidents of sexual violence are still under-reported to legal institutions in Egypt despite the recent legal amendments. The reasons for under-reporting SV incidents to police stations appear to be the same that justifies victim’s non-reporting or resorting to various social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram as “Daftr Hekayat” and “AssaultPolice” which provided a safe space for them to reveal the assault incidents and warn potential victims from the shamed assailants. As successful as these accounts are, they have their drawbacks. It is not accessible to economically and educationally disadvantaged victims, and lately, the perpetrators started to file defamation lawsuits against the victims and the witnesses supporting them. Part of the healing process social movements provide is accountability, and this requires changing policies and laws to help the victims. This paper examines the loopholes in the recent legal amendments, the inefficiency of the current reporting mechanisms, and the personnel responsible for conducting the complaints procedures in sexual violence cases. It also highlights that besides legal factors. Other individual and societal factors pertain to the victim’s decision. This research answers these questions by conducting qualitative methods represented in focus groups and in-depth interviews with victims, psychologists, and lawyers working in the field
Harmony or Discord? A Study on the Alignment Between National Objectives and Reformed Social Studies Textbooks in Egypt
Get PDFEducation systems, in many parts of the world, have served as a channel for communicating national goals to students, and Egypt has not been an exception. This study examines how public textbooks effectively align with equipping future generations of Egyptians to fulfill the nation’s development policy goals set for 2030. Utilizing a qualitative research design, this study employed textbook and document analyses of the published national policy goals of the current administration, along with the most recently reformed social studies textbooks of Grades 4, 5, and 6, a product of EDU 2.0. Based on an analysis of national documents, the government intended values and skills required for future Egyptians to fulfill the nation\u27s policy goals were identified and presented. Accordingly, these values and skills were used as textbook analysis criteria to evaluate the newly reformed social studies textbooks\u27 contribution to fulfilling policy goals. The findings showed that the content of the newly reformed curriculum does indeed display alignment with the policies published and goals aspired, yet, it does that in a more external approach than a deeper-rooted one. Therefore, due to several limitations, it does not reach its full potential to foster skills and knowledge that can equip students to translate policy into effective implementation as envisioned. In conclusion, this study offers recommendations for future reforms to achieve national development objectives, arguing that social studies textbooks require more attention to the element of fostering skills to develop a generation capable of constructing a historical consciousness to be able to contribute effectively to society
Exploring the Contributing Factors to Irregular Migration Towards Sweden Among Eritreans in Egypt
Get PDFThis thesis provides an understanding of the interplay between individual aspirations, social networks, and policy frameworks to explore the impact of such factors on the mobility of Eritreans from Egypt towards Sweden. Utilizing a qualitative research approach, the study engaged with twenty-four Eritreans through semi-structured interviews to delve into their lived experiences and decision-making processes. The research is underpinned by theoretical frameworks as follows: social network theory, and institutional theory, which collectively inform the analysis of the migratory phenomenon. The findings reveal that the decision to undertake irregular migration is driven by a confluence of factors in Egypt as a country of first asylum. Among these factors are the pursuit of safety, human rights, and improved living standards, which are perceived to be lacking in Egypt. Eritreans in Egypt face significant challenges including discrimination, limited access to essential services, and economic instability, which contribute to their decision to leave. Social networks emerge as pivotal in shaping migration decisions, providing information, financial support, and guidance, while also facilitating connections with smugglers. Policies and procedures in Sweden impact Eritrean migrants by offering varying degrees of protection and integration opportunities, influencing their choice of destination
Determinants of Physicians\u27 Brain Drain in Egypt
Get PDFEgypt is enduring a significant shortage of physicians, despite the annual graduation of approximately 10,000 medical students from its 27 medical schools. In 2016, the physician density was alarmingly low, with only one doctor per 12,285 people. This shortage is exacerbated by a physicians’ brain drain, as Egypt is a leading exporter of physicians to countries like the United Kingdom and Australia. As of 2020, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate reported 212,835 registered physicians, yet 56 percent of them work abroad, and only about 62,000 are actively employed in public hospitals, serving a population of over 110 million. The government’s efforts to address this shortage by increasing medical school admissions and expanding the number of medical schools are unlikely to be effective without deeper reforms. Additionally, as Egypt rolls out its Universal Health Insurance program, expected to be fully implemented by 2032, there is a pressing need for clear policies on the recruitment and retention of physicians to ensure the success of this initiative.
Through employing an exploratory study that adopts a mixed methods approach, this study examines why and how the physicians’ brain drain phenomenon occurs. Theories and factors that affect the physicians\u27 decision to migrate are explored to understand what pushes the Egyptian physicians out of Egypt, and what pulls them to their developed high-income country of interest. The study shows that poor healthcare facilities, unfavorable working conditions, low-quality training and limited educational opportunities, low remuneration, sociopolitical and economic issues in Egypt are the main factors that push Egyptian physicians out of Egypt. On the other hand, high-quality training and educational opportunities, well-developed health system, in addition to fair rewarding systems in the destination country are the main factors that pull Egyptian physicians to different high-income countries.
Physicians’ brain drain is a rapidly expanding phenomena that negatively impacts the health system, the economy and society. This study can help policy makers understand why and how the physicians’ brain drain phenomenon occurs in Egypt, and hence make the right policy changes. Therefore, the study offers the following recommendations: updated nationwide database for human resources for health; reforming the medical training program; reforming the benefit package for physicians; reversing the brain drain through capitalizing on the returning physicians; and enabling future research to further investigate such expanding phenomenon
Resilience and Strategic Agility in Family-Owned Firms : The African Expansion of a Moroccan Industrial Group
No full textResearch Questions and Objectives
Family businesses from emerging markets are increasingly pursuing regional expansion and strategic internationalization to diversify their activities, increase resilience, and reduce dependency on domestic markets. This research centers on a distinguished Moroccan family-owned enterprise specializing in manufacturing and consumer goods, which has systematically developed a sophisticated internationalization strategy spanning both African regional markets and global economic landscapes. The study aims to provide a comprehensive analytical exploration of the processes, strategic considerations, and organizational dynamics that support progressive business expansion. Specifically, the research seeks to address the following critical research questions:
• What motivational factors led to pursue international growth in African markets?
• How does CEO manage its family governance model while adapting to diverse African business environments?
• What significant operational, institutional, and strategic challenges emerged during phased international expansion across different geographical and institutional landscapes?
Theoretical Background
This case study draws upon a multifaceted theoretical framework to comprehensively analyze internationalization strategy. The Uppsala model of internationalization provides a foundational perspective, explaining firms\u27 gradual market expansion through incremental learning and experiential knowledge accumulation (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977). Critically, the model introduces the concept of psychic distance (Ojala and Tyrvainen, 2009), a nuanced construct that captures the cognitive, cultural, and institutional distances between home and host markets, rather than mere geographical proximity.
Dynamic capabilities theory emerges as a crucial element for understanding the firm\u27s adaptive strategies and international operation entry modes (Teece et al., 1997). The firm\u27s ability to identify, assess, and respond to market opportunities demonstrates the dynamic capability framework\u27s core principles.
The network approach provides additional insights, emphasizing the critical role of local partnerships and informal institutional networks in emerging markets (Johanson and Mattson, 1988). The firm’s strategic collaborations with local distributors and carefully selected joint ventures underscore the importance of embedded relational networks where trust often come after formal legal mechanisms.
Socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory offers a unique perspective on family business internationalization strategies (Gomez-mejia et al., 2007; Berrone, Cruz and Gomez-Mejia, 2012). The firm’s approach demonstrates a delicate balance between financial objectives and non-economic goals, preserving family control and legacy through strategic oversight and direct involvement in decision-making. Unlike depersonalized multinational corporations, the firm maintains a distinctive approach that prioritizes identity preservation and long-term strategic orientation.
The resource-based view (RBV) further enriches our understanding by highlighting how the firm leverages its internal capabilities (Wernerfelt, 1984). The firm\u27s competitive advantage stems from its distinctive resources, including manufacturing expertise, strong brand equity, and efficient logistics systems. Rather than competing solely on price, The firm differentiates itself through product quality, innovation, and market responsiveness (Helfat et al., 2023), particularly in its core sectors of furniture, foam, and bedding.
Methodology and Research Design
This qualitative case study employs a documentary and comparative research methodology to investigate the firm’s internationalization process. The research design strategically leverages publicly available sources, including journalistic articles, corporate communications, and secondary market reports, to construct a comprehensive analytical narrative of the firm\u27s cross-border expansion.
The empirical investigation focuses on The firm’s operational experiences in three strategically selected African markets: Côte d\u27Ivoire, Cameroon, and Kenya. These contexts were purposively chosen to capture geographic, linguistic, and economic diversity, enabling a rich comparative analysis that transcends simplistic linear narratives of international business expansion. By examining these distinct national contexts, the research seeks to illuminate the complex interplay between organizational strategy, institutional environments, and family business internationalization processes.
The analytical framework is structured around critical thematic axes that provide a systematic approach to understanding the firm’s international strategy. These thematic dimensions include a detailed examination of entry modes, governance decisions, operational challenges, and strategic adaptations encountered during the firm\u27s African expansion. This approach allows for a nuanced interpretation of the firm\u27s internationalization journey, revealing the subtle mechanisms through which a family business navigates the intricate landscape of cross-border market engagement.
Through this methodological approach, the study aims to generate sophisticated insights into the strategic logic and organizational dynamics that underpin family business internationalization in emerging market contexts.
Findings:
The firm’s African expansion was initially motivated by market saturation in Morocco and the ambition to secure a pan-African industrial footprint. The firm identified a strong demand in sub-Saharan Africa for high-quality, affordable manufactured goods, particularly in home furnishing and industrial components. Its choice of countries was influenced by market size, ease of doing business, trade agreements, and political stability.
In West Africa, the firm began with export-driven market testing before shifting to local distribution partnerships. This low-commitment entry mode allowed it to understand consumer preferences and regulatory conditions. Over time, the firm expanded its footprint through franchising and co-investment in logistics infrastructure. In Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, the firm leveraged a growing middle class and urban development to promote its furniture and foam products.
In East Africa, particularly in Kenya, the firm adopted a more ambitious model. It created a local subsidiary with full operational capacity, including warehousing, distribution, and localized marketing. The firm aimed to position itself as a long-term industrial partner, signaling a shift from opportunistic exports to embedded presence. This model required significant investment in talent recruitment, legal compliance, and institutional engagement.
Throughout its expansion, the firm faced multiple challenges: currency volatility, customs procedures, fragmented logistics, and varying consumer behavior. However, the company navigated these obstacles by appointing experienced regional managers, building strong relationships with local authorities, and investing in supply chain resilience. Family oversight remained central, with top management in Casablanca closely monitoring each regional development.
Originality and Scholarly Contribution
This research makes a distinctive scholarly contribution through its comprehensive analysis of a Moroccan family business\u27s strategic internationalization across African markets. While the extant internationalization literature predominantly focuses on North-South investment flows or multinational corporation strategies, this study offers a nuanced investigation of an emerging South-South strategic paradigm characterized by cultural proximity, regional strategic ambitions, and experiential learning processes. The firm’s empirical case provides valuable insights into the sophisticated mechanisms through which African enterprises can systematically develop cross-border operational capabilities while preserving the integrity of family-centered governance structures.
The study further illuminates a distinctive hybrid internationalization logic that transcends conventional theoretical categorizations. While manifesting the characteristic risk-sensitivity and control-orientation typically associated with family enterprises, the firm demonstrates remarkable strategic adaptability through its deployment of diversified market entry configurations—ranging from graduated export strategies and collaborative joint ventures to wholly-owned subsidiary establishments. This strategic flexibility enables the organization to respond effectively to heterogeneous country-specific institutional environments without compromising its foundational identity or established governance paradigm. Such findings contribute substantially to the theoretical discourse on family business internationalization by revealing the complex interplay between preservation of organizational essence and adaptive strategic evolution in cross-cultural business contexts.
Theoretical, Managerial, and Social Implications
From a theoretical standpoint, this case study offers a significant contribution to the family business internationalization literature by developing an integrated framework that synthesizes socioemotional wealth theory with institutional and resource-based perspectives. The research illuminates how family enterprises navigate the complex tension between preserving core identity and adapting to diverse institutional environments. The firm’s internationalization trajectory demonstrates that family firms often pursue non-linear expansion patterns, strategically alternating between cautious incrementalism and decisive market penetration when environmental conditions align with organizational capabilities. This nuanced approach extends current theoretical understanding by revealing the dynamic interplay between family governance mechanisms and strategic decision-making in cross-border contexts.
Managerially, the study generates valuable insights for family enterprises pursuing regional or continental expansion strategies. The firm’s experience underscores the critical importance of sophisticated market selection methodologies, adaptive entry mode configurations, and governance continuity as fundamental pillars for successfully navigating Africa\u27s heterogeneous business landscapes. The case illustrates how judicious professionalization of local operations, when balanced with centralized strategic oversight, can effectively maintain brand integrity and organizational value consistency across diverse institutional environments. These findings provide actionable strategic frameworks for family businesses seeking to expand beyond their domestic markets while preserving their distinctive organizational character.
From a social impact perspective, The firm’s expansion strategy manifests substantial developmental implications through employment generation, technological diffusion, and enhanced regional economic integration. The firm\u27s demonstrated commitment to establishing sustainable long-term operations across African markets aligns with Morocco\u27s broader geopolitical vision of South-South cooperation and inclusive economic development. By successfully transplanting a sophisticated model of family entrepreneurship that harmoniously integrates traditional values with innovative business practices, the firm contributes to a transformative reconfiguration of perceptions regarding African business capabilities and competitiveness in the global marketplace
Estimating the number of clusters in multivariate data by various fittings of the L-curve
No full textThe goal of this paper is to estimate the true but unknown number of clusters K in multivariate data. The contributions are two folds. The first is to narrow the search space for the estimates k^ to 1≤k^≤Kmax. We propose a new method for finding Kmax, which is better than the existing ones. The second is to propose three indices for computing k^ within the range 1≤k^≤Kmax: The R-Index, the FB Index, and the CSum Index. All three indices are based on the L-curve (the plot of Wk vs. k), where Wk is the total within-cluster-similarity (withinness), for values of k in the above range. We give the rationale for each method. We investigate the performance of these three indices and compare them with six of the most commonly used indices using both real benchmark datasets and a challenging synthetic data of varying sample sizes (n=200 to n=3600) and varying number of true clusters K ranging from K=2 to K=36. We use both the Hierarchical clustering and the k-Means clustering algorithms, but the approach can also be used with other clustering methods. The three indices are shown to outperform the existing ones. An additional advantage of our indices is computational complexity, where it is shown that they take much less time to compute than the existing ones
The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Inflation in the MENA region: Oil vs Non-oil countries
Get PDFThe study examines the impact of financial inclusion on inflation as a tool for monetary policy effectiveness in the MENA region, separating the analysis into oil and non-oil countries from 2004 to 2022. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique is used to create a multidimensional index of financial inclusion through usage and access dimensions. Additionally, PVAR GMM estimation and Granger causality tests are implemented to analyze the dynamics and causality between financial inclusion and inflation, while controlling for other variables such as broad money, real effective exchange rate, and real GDP growth, which may influence the relationship according to the theoretical and empirical literature discussed in this study. The main findings show differences based on regional structure: in oil rich countries, financial inclusion is linked to rising inflation, whereas in non-oil countries, it tends to decrease inflation. The impulse response function (IRFs) results indicate that financial inclusion stabilizes inflation in the long run in oil countries. While, it lowers inflation in the short run in non-oil countries. The conclusion restates that financial inclusion can be an effective tool for monetary policy only in non-oil countries, along with a discussion of the study\u27s limitations and recommendations for further research
Toward Understanding the Experience of Upper Egyptian Female Domestic Workers Internally Migrating to Cairo
No full textAbstract
This thesis examined the journeys of a group of female Egyptian domestic workers who had internally migrated from their respective rural communities in Upper Egypt to Cairo. It employed a rapid ethnographic design to attempt to better understand their migration experience. By investigating what prompted them to migrate and their agency in how they networked and what social remittances they transmitted, it aimed to empower this group of women by giving them a voice to share their narratives and help them become more cognizant of their identity and agency as they reflect on their respective journeys (Reinhartz & Chase, 2002)
Navigating Trauma: A Linguistic Exploration of Bilingual Trauma Expressions
Get PDFThis study explores the relationship between language, trauma, and emotional expression among bilingual Arabic-English speakers, focusing on code-switching patterns and euphemisms, and more broadly the emotional roles of native and non-native languages in trauma narratives. Through qualitative interviews with 20 Egyptian participants, the research reveals that code-switching serves as both a linguistic and emotional tool, allowing speakers to navigate trauma by creating distance or engaging more intimately. Such codeswitching patterns include the integration of English content words within Arabic structures, morphosyntactic innovations, and gender agreement applications, reflecting the creative adaptability of bilingual speakers in emotionally charged contexts, in line with Myers-Scotton’s (1993) Matrix Language Framework. Additionally, culturally embedded euphemisms highlight sensitivity in discussing difficult topics like death and loss, offering insight into how language reflects cultural values and emotional mediation. Arabic is perceived as a language of immediacy and intimacy, enabling profound personal expression, while English provides a neutral, protective buffer that facilitates cognitive distancing and emotional regulation. These findings potentially contribute to sociolinguistics and trauma studies, shedding light on how linguistic strategies intertwine with cultural and emotional contexts to help individuals process and articulate their trauma. Practical implications extend to teaching Arabic as a foreign language, emphasizing the importance of cultural and emotional perceptiveness to prepare learners for sensitive conversations. This research also offers insights for future therapeutic and humanitarian research, where understanding the emotional weight of language can improve communication with trauma survivors. Ultimately, the study underscores the transformative power of language in articulating, surviving, and healing from trauma, showcasing its critical role in navigating human resilience and recovery