The World Today Series: The Middle East and South Asia. More than a quarter of the world’s population live in the Middle East and South Asia, yet our knowledge and understanding of the region is often limited to news updates about the latest conflicts and crises. This edition of the annually updated volume of the World Today Series provides important insights that take the reader beyond the headlines. It offers detailed and up-to-date information about the politics, economies and societies of the twenty-four states that make up the region. Contemporary events are placed in their historical context, through an examination of major civilizations and key historical events. This volume introduces major themes that have shaped the region, including the struggles of ordinary people to achieve democratic rights; the role of oil in shaping society; burgeoning environmental threats; and the rise and fall of the Islamic State caliphate. While there is reason for optimism in regards to the Middle East and South Asia, this is tempered by the very real challenges that confront the region. The general reader will gain an understanding of these challenges and opportunities through an exploration of current and past developments.

In today’s world, it is crucial to understand how cities and urban spaces operate in order for them to continue to develop and improve. To ensure cities thrive, further study on past and current policies and practices is required to provide a thorough understanding. Urban Poetics and Politics in Contemporary South Asia and the Middle East examines the poetics and politics of city and urban spaces in contemporary South Asia and the Middle East and seeks to shed light on how individuals constitute, experience, and navigate urban spaces in everyday life. This book aims to initiate a multidisciplinary approach to the study of city life by engaging disciplines such as urban geography, gender studies, feminism, literary criticism, and human geography. Covering key topics such as racism, urban spaces, social inequality, and gender roles, this reference work is ideal for government officials, policymakers, researchers, scholars, practitioners, academicians, instructors, and students.

The Global Innovation Index 2022 (GII) tracks global innovation trends against the background of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, slowing productivity growth and other evolving challenges. The GII reveals the most innovative economies in the world, ranking the innovation performance of 132 economies, highlighting their innovation strengths and weaknesses, and pinpointing any gaps in their innovation metrics. This 2022 edition of the GII focuses on the effect of innovation on productivity and wellbeing of society over the coming decades.

In a world witnessing the transformative rise of China, the intricate dynamics of its soft power diplomacy have become a focal point of global attention. As geopolitical landscapes shift, the need to understand how China crafts its foreign policy, especially through the strategic use of soft power, becomes imperative. Soft Power and Diplomatic Strategies in Asia and the Middle East is a crucial resource to unraveling these complexities. The book addresses the post-COVID-19 changes in China's soft power application, providing an in-depth, comparative analysis of its diplomatic endeavors in the Middle East and East Asia. By exploring cultural exchanges, economic collaborations, and religious engagements, the book offers nuanced insights into China's strategies, making it an indispensable tool for academics, policymakers, diplomats, and those intrigued by contemporary geopolitics. This book aims to dissect the multifaceted approaches China employs to achieve its diplomatic objectives. From cultural initiatives to economic partnerships and religious engagements, the book unravels the adaptability and complexity of China's foreign policy mechanisms. Its primary objective is to provide a comparative framework for studying China's soft power diplomacy, filling a notable gap in existing scholarship. The interdisciplinary approach ensures rich, diverse analyses, fostering dialogues across international relations, Asian studies, and political science. By offering new theories, methodologies, and empirical data, the book not only challenges existing notions but also sparks further academic inquiry into the strategic use of soft power in foreign policy.

This open-access book presents cutting-edge research on securitization and democratic development in the OSCE Region. Gathering contributions by practitioners and researchers from various disciplines, it presents case studies and highlights recent activities of proactive engagement in democratic institution-building and responding to security threats from the Balkans to Central Asia. The volume is divided into three parts, the first of which focuses on security-related matters, armed conflicts, minorities, and women’s safety, as well as the roles that civil society, foreign governments, social media, and external donors play in this area. These contributions illustrate how the OSCE’s informal approach to peace, security, and securitization as norm entrepreneur is closely linked to the level of democracy among its member states. The second part presents a special section on the political implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), assessing the impact of this infrastructural program on the levels of democracy and/or autocracy in Eurasia. The third part consists of short chapters outlining future research and debates. The book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, security studies, and the human rights-politics nexus. This is the 2022 instalment in a series of books released by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. The OSCE works to promote Minority Protection, Security, Democratic Development and Human Rights, guided by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and to enhance securitization and development policies in Eurasia, Europe, Central Asia and North America. Since being founded in 1993, the OSCE and its agencies and departments have attracted a wealth of academic research in various fields and disciplines, ranging from economic development and election monitoring to enhancing global principles of human rights and securitization.

The MENA region is facing important vulnerabilities, which the current crises—first the pandemic, then the war in Ukraine—have exacerbated. Prices of food and energy are higher, hurting the most vulnerable, and rising interest rates from the global tightening of monetary policy are making debt service more burdensome. Part I explores some of the resulting vulnerabilities for MENA. MENA countries are facing diverging paths for future growth. Oil Exporters have seen windfall increases in state revenues from the rise in hydrocarbon prices, while oil importers face heightened stress and risk—from higher import bills, especially for food and energy, and the depreciation of local currencies in some countries. Part II of this report argues that poor governance, and, in particular, the lack of government transparency and accountability, is at the root of the region’s development failings—including low growth, exclusion of the most disadvantaged and women, and overuse of such precious natural resources as land and water.

This book examines the large-scale return migration of South and Southeast Asian workers triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring its causes, consequences, challenges, and policy responses. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global phenomenon emerged - the mass repatriation of migrant workers. This book offers a meticulous examination of this unprecedented migration reversal in South and Southeast Asia. Through the contributions of researchers spanning multiple geographies in prominent corridors of return, the book dissects the motivations behind this large-scale exodus, encompassing lost livelihoods and societal anxieties. Further, the book delves into the multifaceted challenges return migrants face, including the reintegration into their home economies and the arduous struggle for re-employment. The analysis also extends beyond individual experiences by meticulously exploring the broader socioeconomic repercussions on sending countries, along with a critical evaluation of government policies designed to facilitate the reintegration of this displaced population. Drawing upon diverse academic perspectives, this comprehensive volume serves as a vital resource for scholars and policymakers alike. It illuminates the pandemic's profound social and economic consequences, fostering a deeper understanding of migration patterns and the future of work in the post-COVID era. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

This decade has been marked by multiple, often overlapping, crises. The COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and the ongoing war in Ukraine have all threatened the fabric of our global food systems. But opportunities can be found amid crises, and the world’s food systems have demonstrated surprising resilience. With new evidence on what works, now is the time to rethink how we address food crises. Better prediction, preparation, and resilience building can make future crises less common and less devastating, and improved responses can contribute to greater food security, better nutrition, and sustainable livelihoods.

This book examines Israel's growing interaction with Asia's sub-regions and countries since the 1990s. It shows how these interactions have increased in recent years, both at government level and for companies, entrepreneurs, academic institutions, religious groups, tourists, and NGOs. Likewise, it discusses the evolving shared interests between Israel and Asian states and demonstrates how Asian countries adopted sophisticated policies that allowed them to get closer to Israel without compromising their traditional support of the pro-Palestinian position. It also explores how Israel differentiates between different regions, circles of importance, and countries in Asia rather than sees Asia as a monolithic whole. This groundbreaking book concludes by assessing the overall state of relations at present and likely future developments.