Transcript Arab-Islamic Public Administration

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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 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
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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
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Pop: 349,870,608
22 countries (Syria
suspended)
Aims: Economic develop;
dispute resolution;
coordinate political aims
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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)
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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
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Government job as entitlement
Favouritism (nepotism, influence
peddling, favour seeking & giving)
 [Uneasy translation from Tribal
structures to “modern” nation state]
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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]
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Democratisation
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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
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High % prof’l staff Western (not nec. highly
qualified)
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Assume Western models work unmodified
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Much knowledge is outdated (see Ali)
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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)
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Poor conceptualisation
Faltering
implementation
Political corruption
Govt ineffectiveness
Bureaucratic
incompetence
Public nonparticipation
Complaints (Jreisat, 1992)
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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
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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
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Sound decision-making
 Impersonal hierarchy
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Religious – grounded in
Muslim principles
Arabic cultures
 Service to society
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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
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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