Arab-Islamic Public Administration

January 8, 2018 | Author: Anonymous | Category: Business, Economics, Macroeconomics
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From Islamic Roots and Arab Custom, through Colonisation, to Current Contradictions under Globalisation

Islamic Work Values

Caliphal Administration

Colonisation

Arab/Bedouin Custom

Current and Futue

Prophet Mohamed (PBUH/saws)  Qur’an  Sunna, Hadith

 Life

without work has no meaning  Engagement in economic activity an obligation  Honesty, justice in trade  Equitable, fair distribution of wealth (e.g., zakat)  Acquire skills & technology  Praises work as a virtue

Effort of the capable is obligatory  Cooperation & consultation  Social relations at work creates balance in life  Work source of independence, personal growth, self-respect, self-fulfillment  Measures intentions instead of results  Workplace governed by justice & generosity 

Defense against aggressors

Leader/Shaikh

loyalty

Followers

External Aggressors

Accessi bility (Majlis) & account ability

Transfer loyalty & territorial rights

New Leader/Shaikh

Black – Abbasid Caliphate

Green – Fatimid Caliphate

Red Hashemites White Ummayyad Caliphate









Caliph (Ar. Khalifa) Khalifatu Rasulil-lah = Successor to the Messenger of God Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Uthman, Ali (earliest, closest Companions of Prophet): simple and righteous lives, justice impartial; treatment of others kind, merciful; one with people first among equals Subsequently, Caliphs assumed manners of kings and emperors, spirit of equality diminished





Had only indirect influence on UAE area bedouin Until Ottoman Empire (still only indirect)

 Moral

character, visionary, caring  Father of the state & people  ‘Individual’ in community  Leadership inheres in personal qualities

Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Dubai)

 Consultative,

conciliatory, consensus-seeking  Selected for competences  Oriented to public good and welfare  Bedouin traditions (plus Arabic, Muslim)  Grounded in kin system  Personal style  Personal networks (trust systems): appropriate Wasta  Orientation towards quality

Ruling families est. by UK colonisers  Federated state of 7 member Emirates  Meritocratic: the competent selected as Crown Prince  Consultative  Negotiating & navigating among powerful tribal/family representatives  Negotiating among member Emirates 



 









Al-Khalili, J. (2010) Pathfinders: Golden Age of Arabic Science Crone, P. (2005) Medieval Islamic Political Thought Freely, J. (2009) Aladdin’s Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World Lyons, J. (2009) The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization Masood, E. (2009) Science & Islam: A History Morgan, M. (2007) Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists O’Leary, D. (2003) Arabic Thought and Its Place in History

Common Heritage: e.g., Plato, Aristotle (history, politics, sociology, cultural analysis) Arab Scholarship: e.g., Al-Farabi, AlGhazali, Ibn Khaldun, Western trad. built Islamic Humanist upon Arabic: e.g., tradition Renaissance scholars, Weber, Heidegger

Tribal Traditions

Post-Unification Shaikhdom (Shaikh Zayed)

Colonial Heritage

Weberian Valueorientation & Ideal Typing Saidian Humanistic Critique of Orientalist Hegemony

Goffman Microinteractionist Metaphors

Bourdieuian Intellectual Field





Limited/eliminated trad’l functions of shaikhs: ability to wage war, deal with foreign powers, raid commercial boats, engage in slave trading, depose or murder of rulers UK approval of successors, require agreement to treaties & conditions, accept British advice, protect UK interests





 



Selected shaikhs raised to unchallengable positions of power Prevented tribes from getting rid of unsatisfactory shaikhs Fixed territorial boundaries Replaced consultation & consensus with British force, colonial hierarchy [Bureaucratisation of traditional society]

Bombed the ports, disrupting trade  Restricted size of boats, diminishing pearl diving (only source of revenue)  Built no roads, no hospitals, no schools  Subsistence population sank further (i.e. camel milk and dates are not enough)  Significant rise in death rate 

 First

Settlement: 5,500 BCE  Pop. 2011: 7.2 Million (Expats 88.5%)  Urban: 88%  32nd Human Develop Index (of 169)  Life Expectancy: 78.5 years  Literacy Rate: 93+%  Health & Educ (to BA) free  GDP per cap: 17th world; 3rd Middle East





• • •



They drive Are increasingly in workplace (glass ceiling?) Travel abroad (many regularly) 80% Emirati grad students Assertive in doctoral seminar UAE is (relatively) uxorious society

UAE Admitted to UN 1971

 



Pop: 349,870,608 22 countries (Syria suspended) Aims: Economic develop; dispute resolution; coordinate political aims

     

Kingdom of Bahrain Kuwait Sultanate of Oman Qatar Kingdom of Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates

The New Imperialism (Jreisat, 1992)

Affect

Traditional

Rational

Valuational (higher order)

 

  





Avoid responsibility & risk Prefer stable life to rewarding, challenging work Highly concerned with job security Reluctant to delegate authority Believe centralisation builds respect Priority to friendships & personal consideration over org goals & performance Higher commitment (than Westerners) to principles, but not in practice

Observation of rules & regs  Sociocentric & existential values versus conformity, manipulation, egocentric  Teamwork 



Government job as entitlement

Favouritism (nepotism, influence peddling, favour seeking & giving)  [Uneasy translation from Tribal structures to “modern” nation state] 

Create prosperous, tolerant, well-governed state  Achieve highest international standards  Diversify economy  Sustainable development  Promote compromise, reason & dialogue regionally, internationally (diplomacy)  Assist developing countries (strong UN supporter)  Protect environment  [Integration of women into leadership] 

Democratisation

     

Concentrated, rapidly diversifying economy (hub, financial & industrial – light to heavy) Deal with Western political & military designs for control & influence Respond to declining work ethic with high consumption patterns Huge costs in security & defence Tensions between Islamic/Arabic values & “Western” values Security, security, security

Provide labour opportunities for nationals (Brown & Lauder, p. 252)  90% foreign labour in UAE  Women > 50% university graduates; 80% of UAE in grad degrees  “Public ownership” of all development sectors (real estate, utilities, industry, etc.): tension with “laissez-faire capitalist” pressures & negative intl press  Drive high tech 



High % prof’l staff Western (not nec. highly qualified)



Assume Western models work unmodified



Much knowledge is outdated (see Ali)





Primary concern economic develop: 1.) economy funds develop; 2) globalisation market model NPM; 3) oil running out Stress: leap from economic backwardness to high development (Gerfschenkron)

1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6.

Poor conceptualisation Faltering implementation Political corruption Govt ineffectiveness Bureaucratic incompetence Public nonparticipation

Complaints (Jreisat, 1992)

1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6.

Sand to city in 40 years Intensive rapid societal transition in every sense Outdated and incompetent Westerners High employee diversity Loss of UAE culture Geopolitical position & security issues

Complexity



• •







Almost exclusive use Western scholarship & curric dependency Knowledge transfer uni-directional Emiratis not taught UAE history (“golemisation” of history & scholarly trad’s) Arab scholars used to illustrate western adoption English replacement of Arabic (religious implications) Globalised educ. strong market model: Hidden curric. of capitalism & consumerism

Secular, ‘legal’, technical-rational principles  Anglo-Saxon norms  Efficiency, effectiveness



Sound decision-making  Impersonal hierarchy







Religious – grounded in Muslim principles

Arabic cultures  Service to society 

Wisdom, judgment  Personal interaction, family connections

Socio-cultural Impact

Globalisation/ Commercialisa tion

Sovereignty The “Reproductive” Role of Educational Institution

Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre Design (Schumacher & Hadid)

Dubai Islands: 43 → 600 miles coastline





• •

Necrocapitalism – dispossession modified to “social” or “cultural” death (Banerjee, 2008) Cultural & intellectual colony Commodified education & culture Reproduces foreign socio-cultural & educ’l structures, governance, responsibilities, roles, practices

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