1,720,974 research outputs found
Foreign Aid, Identities and Interests: Qatar and the UAE in Sudan
Full text linkThe entanglement of domestic and geopolitical dynamics with the evolution of the aid strategies of the Gulf States is particularly evident in the Horn of Africa (HOA), where the regional competition for exercising influence has affected the modalities of humanitarian and development interventions. A comparison of the foreign aid given by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Sudan in the context of its political and humanitarian crisis during three different periods (2014-17; 2017-19; and post-2019) allows a better understanding of these dynamics. By adopting a neoclassical realist and constructivist approach, it highlights similarities and differences in the domestic factors at play, including the ideological and security dimension, in both donor and recipient countries, as well as their overlapping with the regional and international spheres, which determine aid strategies in terms of the geographical, channel and sectoral allocation of aid resources
ISLAMIC AID IN PRINCIPLES, ACTORS, AND FINANCING. QATAR AND THE UAE IN THE SYRIAN EARLY RECOVERY
No full textLa ricerca ha l’obiettivo di elaborare un framework in grado di descrivere l’aiuto islamico nelle sue principali componenti: i principi che lo inspirano, gli strumenti finanziari in grado di supportare l’aiuto, e gli attori principali che operano in questo settore. La domanda a cui la ricerca vuole rispondere è se, assumendo come caratteristiche intrinseche dell’aiuto il contesto storico e l’interesse politico, possiamo pensare all’aiuto islamico come una alternativa a quello occidentale o come complementare ad esso, specialmente quando i donatori intervengono in contesti a maggioranza musulmana? Lo studio analizza, nella sua prima parte, l’evoluzione storica della carità a partire delle origini dell’Islam fino all’emergere degli Stati del Golfo come donatori cruciali nell’arena internazionale, e la loro capacità di affrontare le odierne crisi protratte. Nella seconda parte, la ricerca esplora i principi che hanno ispirato la filantropia e l’aiuto nella visione islamica e da cui derivano gli strumenti finanziari, in particolare la zakat e il waqf, che rappresentano meccanismi di distribuzione della ricchezza all’interno della società e che potrebbero rappresentare oggi risorse necessarie per colmare il gap del finanziamento nel settore umanitario. Riguardo gli attori coinvolti, l’analisi considera la dimensione regionale, osservando l’Organisation of Islamic Cooperation e l’Islamic Development Bank, e due stati del Golfo, il Qatar e gli Emirati Arabi Uniti nell’evoluzione del loro “spazio di aiuto” in una prospettiva storica e istituzionale. La crisi siriana rappresenta il caso studio scelto come scenario comune per analizzare e comparare gli attori regionali e i due donatori del Golfo, con l’obiettivo di comprendere meglio gli interessi e gli approcci che ispirano le strategie d’aiuto. La metodologia si basa sulla raccolta dati raccolti da interviste condotte con attori chiave a diversi livelli. La prospettiva di comparazione sullo stesso caso studio, la ripresa siriana, rappresenta un parametro utile per analizzare più accuratamente il comportamento degli attori e donatori in questa crisi protratta e complessa.This research aims at building a framework to describe Islamic aid in its main components: principles that inspire it, the financial instruments able to support charity and aid, and the actors who operate in this field. Assuming as intrinsic features of aid the historical context and political dimension, the main question the research wants to address is if we can consider Islamic aid as an alternative to the “Western” one or a complementary approach able to deal with humanitarian crises and development interventions, especially in Muslim majority contexts. The study starts with the historical evolution of charity from the beginning of Islam to the emerging role of Gulf States as crucial donors in the international framework, and their capacity to deal with current protracted crises. In the second part, it explores principles which have created the base for charity and philanthropy in the Islamic worldview and social financing instruments, especially zakat and waqf, which represent a tool for redistributing wealth and might be used today for responding to the gap in humanitarian financing. Regarding the actors involved, the analysis considers the regional dimension, looking at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Islamic Development Bank, and two Gulf States, Qatar and the UAE, and the evolution of their aid landscapes from the historical and institutional perspective. The Syrian crisis is the framework in which regional actors and bilateral institutions of Qatar and the UAE will be compared, in order to analyse a common case where donors are operating according to specific interests and strategies. The methodology is based on data collection and quantitative and qualitative interviews conducted with key stakeholders at different levels. The comparative perspective on the same case study, the Syrian recovery, represents a useful parameter for better understanding donors and actors' behaviours in a current protracted crisis
Qatar's foreign aid and political strategies in the Horn of Africa: The case of Somalia
Full text linkThe purpose of this article is to analyse the relationship between Qatar's foreign policy and foreign aid in the Horn of Africa (HoA), with a particular focus on Somalia. Since the 2017 blockade, the HoA has become increasingly important to Qatar's foreign policy and aid efforts, intensifying political and economic competition with other Gulf players. This research describes Qatar's foreign policy strategies and tools in the HoA from 2011 to 2021, observing the evolution of humanitarian aid interventions in Somalia and the impact of Gulf competition in the country. The research aims to combine neoclassical realism with small‐state theory in the analysis of foreign aid, examining Qatari foreign aid interventions in Somalia as a foreign policy tool for exercising autonomy and as an outcome of the Qatari elites' decision‐making process
Charity in Saudi Arabia: Civil Society under Authoritarianism
No full textn Charity in Saudi Arabia, Nora Derbal challenges the existing literature on Saudi Arabia’s civil society, giving space and voice to some of its more underappreciated actors. The book includes a mix of personal experiences, ethnographic observation, and detailed descriptions of four civil society organizations (CSOs) and their evolution from 2009 to 2020. In the aftermath of the 2009 flood in Jeddah, the author observed how individuals, organizations, and other civil society actors managed the response to a natural disaster beyond the state’s interventions, focusing on how religious values and charity are intertwined with everyday piety in an authoritarian state. Jeddah offers a particularly interesting case due to its multicultural nature and its link with pilgrimage for Muslims at large. Derbal illustrates the everyday rhythms of CSOs in Saudi Arabia and their charitable activities beyond Islam, authoritarianism, and the nation-state—even if the latter continue to influence CSOs’ activities and behaviors
Charity in Saudi Arabia: Civil Society under Authoritarianism
No full textn Charity in Saudi Arabia, Nora Derbal challenges the existing literature on Saudi Arabia’s civil society, giving space and voice to some of its more underappreciated actors. The book includes a mix of personal experiences, ethnographic observation, and detailed descriptions of four civil society organizations (CSOs) and their evolution from 2009 to 2020. In the aftermath of the 2009 flood in Jeddah, the author observed how individuals, organizations, and other civil society actors managed the response to a natural disaster beyond the state’s interventions, focusing on how religious values and charity are intertwined with everyday piety in an authoritarian state. Jeddah offers a particularly interesting case due to its multicultural nature and its link with pilgrimage for Muslims at large. Derbal illustrates the everyday rhythms of CSOs in Saudi Arabia and their charitable activities beyond Islam, authoritarianism, and the nation-state—even if the latter continue to influence CSOs’ activities and behaviors
The use of zakat in the pandemic response: the case of Islamic Relief and BAZNAS in Indonesia
No full textThis article compares two Islamic organisations, a non-governmental and a national one, in their methods of collecting and distributing zakat, and analyses how they addressed the COVID-19 crisis with these funds in the period 2020–2021. The study examines Islamic Relief as a Muslim non-governmental organisation involved in humanitarian response, and the National Board of the Zakat Republic of Indonesia (BAZNAS) as a centralised national institution. Both of them are working to improve zakat management, due to the awareness of its untapped potential, but the measure of impacts and allocation of resources diverge in strategies and efforts. Considering their different structures, a comparison based on parallel analysis of collecting methods, distributing channels and programmes financed shows the limits, potentials and best practices of these two institutions committed to zakat management and its improvement
Islamic Aid in Principles, Actors, and Financing. Qatar and the UAE in the Syrian early recovery
No full textLa ricerca ha l’obiettivo di elaborare un framework in grado di descrivere l’aiuto islamico nelle sue principali componenti: i principi che lo inspirano, gli strumenti finanziari in grado di supportare l’aiuto, e gli attori principali che operano in questo settore. La domanda a cui la ricerca vuole rispondere è se, assumendo come caratteristiche intrinseche dell’aiuto il contesto storico e l’interesse politico, possiamo pensare all’aiuto islamico come una alternativa a quello occidentale o come complementare ad esso, specialmente quando i donatori intervengono in contesti a maggioranza musulmana? Lo studio analizza, nella sua prima parte, l’evoluzione storica della carità a partire delle origini dell’Islam fino all’emergere degli Stati del Golfo come donatori cruciali nell’arena internazionale, e la loro capacità di affrontare le odierne crisi protratte. Nella seconda parte, la ricerca esplora i principi che hanno ispirato la filantropia e l’aiuto nella visione islamica e da cui derivano gli strumenti finanziari, in particolare la zakat e il waqf, che rappresentano meccanismi di distribuzione della ricchezza all’interno della società e che potrebbero rappresentare oggi risorse necessarie per colmare il gap del finanziamento nel settore umanitario. Riguardo gli attori coinvolti, l’analisi considera la dimensione regionale, osservando l’Organisation of Islamic Cooperation e l’Islamic Development Bank, e due stati del Golfo, il Qatar e gli Emirati Arabi Uniti nell’evoluzione del loro “spazio di aiuto” in una prospettiva storica e istituzionale. La crisi siriana rappresenta il caso studio scelto come scenario comune per analizzare e comparare gli attori regionali e i due donatori del Golfo, con l’obiettivo di comprendere meglio gli interessi e gli approcci che ispirano le strategie d’aiuto. La metodologia si basa sulla raccolta dati raccolti da interviste condotte con attori chiave a diversi livelli. La prospettiva di comparazione sullo stesso caso studio, la ripresa siriana, rappresenta un parametro utile per analizzare più accuratamente il comportamento degli attori e donatori in questa crisi protratta e complessa.This research aims at building a framework to describe Islamic aid in its main components: principles that inspire it, the financial instruments able to support charity and aid, and the actors who operate in this field. Assuming as intrinsic features of aid the historical context and political dimension, the main question the research wants to address is if we can consider Islamic aid as an alternative to the “Western” one or a complementary approach able to deal with humanitarian crises and development interventions, especially in Muslim majority contexts. The study starts with the historical evolution of charity from the beginning of Islam to the emerging role of Gulf States as crucial donors in the international framework, and their capacity to deal with current protracted crises. In the second part, it explores principles which have created the base for charity and philanthropy in the Islamic worldview and social financing instruments, especially zakat and waqf, which represent a tool for redistributing wealth and might be used today for responding to the gap in humanitarian financing. Regarding the actors involved, the analysis considers the regional dimension, looking at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and Islamic Development Bank, and two Gulf States, Qatar and the UAE, and the evolution of their aid landscapes from the historical and institutional perspective. The Syrian crisis is the framework in which regional actors and bilateral institutions of Qatar and the UAE will be compared, in order to analyse a common case where donors are operating according to specific interests and strategies. The methodology is based on data collection and quantitative and qualitative interviews conducted with key stakeholders at different levels. The comparative perspective on the same case study, the Syrian recovery, represents a useful parameter for better understanding donors and actors' behaviours in a current protracted crisis
UNHCR Refugee Zakat Fund in Bangladesh : Sustainable religious funds for stateless refugees
No full textThis chapter analyzes the UNHCR Refugee Zakat Fund and the use of Islamic Social Welfare Instruments as a tool for supporting the refugee issue. Looking at the Refugee Zakat Fund from a legal and practical perspective, the research will try to understand the experience of this international non-Muslim organization in managing religious funds for Muslim refugees. The study will address the following research questions: why and how does UNHCR use those funds in different contexts? Are zakat and sadaqat a sustainable solution for addressing the social protection of refugees? The religious component of donations can improve the predictability and continuity of these funds, filling the gap in humanitarian financing to address the refugee issue. However, the political sustainability of the refugee response should be considered as a key element in the analysis of these funds in each context. This chapter observes the case of Bangladesh, where almost 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees are dependent on humanitarian assistance and have no chance of integration in the country
Islamic Instruments for Refugee Financing: The IsDB and UNHCR Collaborative Approach
No full textConsidering the Islamic perspective on forced migration and displacement, along with the conceptual framework of Islamic social welfare instruments as tools for wealth redistribution to support those in need, this study explores the potential complementarity between Islamic and conventional financing in addressing refugees' basic needs and economic empowerment. Specifically, this research examines and compares programs implemented by the UNHCR Refugee Zakat Fund and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan from 2019 to 2022. To assess the effectiveness of different Islamic social welfare (ISW) instruments in responding to the Syrian refugee crisis, the study analyses projects financed by UNHCR and IsDB in both countries, focusing on the categories of beneficiaries targeted and the types of activities implemented. Which instruments are used by these two organisations, given their distinct mandates and approaches, in supporting Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan? How are they collaborating to establish a shared platform to tackle the global refugee crisis? Can secular and religious forms of financing be considered complementary tools for sustainable financial support? The research addresses these questions and identifies the limits and potentials of using Islamic social welfare instruments as a sustainable tool for refugee financing
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