Middle East - Audio artwork

Conscription and the Social Contract in the Gulf

Middle East - Audio

English - May 01, 2018 13:15 - 16 minutes - 22.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 11 ratings
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In this episode, Jon Alterman is joined by Dr. Steffen Hertog, an associate professor in comparative politics at the London School of Economics. Steffen discusses the goals and long-term prospects of the UAE’s national service program in the context of shifting relations between Gulf militaries, governments, and societies. He considers how the UAE’s experiment in conscription as a nationbuilding tool could accelerate a broader effort by Gulf leaders to redefine the contract between citizens and the state—and also raises important questions about the challenges such efforts may face.

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