https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0054-094X
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Abstract
The article maps the relevant public administration (PA) research related to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by systematically analyzing international studies about PA in MENA between 1945 and 2019, complemented with findings from a newly-developed survey that sheds light on the activities of academics working in the region. We found PA research in MENA to be fragmented and isolated from international debates, and research about MENA being scattered. Finally, a modest proposal for a conceptual framework based on “functional equivalents” for traditional concepts and paradigms of PA research that may nudge cross-fertilization in both directions is discussed.
Acknowledgments
We thank the reviewers and the Special Issue editors for their valuable and encouraging comments.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
Data will be made available upon request by the corresponding author.
Notes
1 The definition of MENA for this article includes the following countries that display a Muslim majority: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, and Yemen. Ethiopia, Iran, Israel, Sudan, and Turkey are included in the definition of MENA by some institutions, but are not covered by the analysis.
2 Surely “Islamic” or “Muslim” does not automatically imply “Arab” or “Middle East and North Africa,” as many Muslim majority countries lay outside the MENA region. Nonetheless, the argument holds vice versa: due to the fact that all countries in MENA with the exception of Israel are severely characterized by Islam, having a population share of Muslims of about 93% on average, and often acting as a role-model for other Islamic countries as Islam had its origin in the Arab region, an “Arab” or “MENA” necessarily implies the legacy of Islam.
3 The phenomena as delineated are not unique to the MENA region; moreover, single manifestations are not bound to nationality, as, e.g., corruption is not only carried out by nationals in the MENA region, but also foreigners. Nonetheless, in sum these phenomena constitute shared characteristics of the countries in MENA.
4 The universe of articles that potentially deals with public administration in MENA is large and—because of its cross-cutting nature—difficult to isolate. Therefore, a purposive sampling (based on the author’s own research experience and knowledge of the literature and accompanied by the expertise of a second coder) is prone to selection bias and an underestimation of previous research efforts. Thus, we argue that the most suitable way to select relevant PA research output is to begin with an inclusive formal selection logic and then narrow it down to the most relevant publications.
5 While no selection logic is without its disadvantages, we rely on the fact that the peer-review process applied to these journals as an accepted quality check, and an individual’s reputation and career as a PA scholar depends to a large extent on whether he or she publishes in such journals. Therefore, the potential objection that relevant literature might be published as monographs or in edited volumes rather than as journal articles, biasing our sample, does not in our view hold true. We recognize that innovative ideas may initially be published through channels other than main peer-reviewed PA journals. Nonetheless, given the pressure from deans and research grant sponsors with respect to the impact and visibility of research results, it is plausible that mature research of some quality will sooner or later be submitted to relevant peer-reviewed journals in the field. This provides direction in disciplinary debates, which find their way into the top journals, where such debates and discussions take place.
6 The latter group comprises, e.g., articles that, e.g., focus on fiscal issues and mention Saudi Arabia or the Gulf Cooperation Council exemplarily as states that rely on resource rents.
7 This means that all articles that only mention the search terms, but do not really engage with the public administration or the administrative system as a whole were excluded, e.g., papers that focus on policy content in specific policy areas or developments on the political level, or discuss e.g. the role of corruption for economic development and growth without focusing on the role of the PA, but on the political level or market actors only. These articles sometimes have public administration or bureaucracy as a key word as it appears in the introduction or conclusion, but do not analyze the PA. To ensure that the coding process on both stages was unbiased, a sub-sample of 10% was re-coded by a second coder active in PA research, the deviation in the results was about 5% only. In doubt, the respective article was included in the sample.
8 Some studies include Israel, but not as a single case—they include Israel primarily in comparison to at least one Arab neighbor state, or with regards to administrative challenges occurring for the Arab minority in Israel.
9 Given the strategy of the survey distribution, e.g., via mailing lists, no clear-cut response rate can be determined. The answers from different countries are approximately uniformly distributed, with the exception of Djibouti, from each country 3 to 4 individuals participated.
10 As for the demographics of the scholars in the survey, the following picture can be drawn: The median age group of respondents is 36–45; a majority of respondents holds a Ph.D. as their highest academic credential; more than two-thirds are male. The answers were relatively equally distributed amongst countries, and no weight related to country size was done.
11 EGPA (European Group for Public Administration), MENAPAR (Middle East & North Africa Public Administration Research Network), PMRA (Public Management Research Association), IRSPM (International Research Society for Public Management), ASPA (American Society for Public Administration), ECPR (European Consortium for Political Research), IPSA (International Political Science Association), EGOS (European Group for Organizational Studies), IIAS (International Institute Administrative Sciences) Beyond this, open answer options were given, some scholars named that they attended, e.g., AMEPPA, IPSA or IPPA conferences, but not necessarily in the last 3 years.
12 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Governance, Journal of European Social Policy, Policy Sciences, Regulation & Governance, Climate Policy, Journal of European Public Policy, Public Administration, Public Administration Review, Environment and Planning, Public Management Review, American Review of Public Administration, Journal of Social Policy.
13 In the survey, it was not asked in which non-peer-reviewed journals the participants published, thus it is little know about this. Anecdotal evidence from free text answers shows that these outlets are, e.g., non-reviewed journals edited by institutions.
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Notes on contributors
Rahel M. Schomaker
Prof. Dr. Rahel M. Schomaker is a professor for economics and public administration at WSB University and Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, an adjunct professor at the German University of Administrative Sciences and a senior fellow at the German Research Institute for Public Administration. Her research focuses on administrative change, crisis governance, migration and trust. She is involved in several research projects funded e.g. under the EU Horizon2020 program, and serves as a consultant for different international organizations and national governments.
Volker Huck
Dr. Volker Huck works as a researcher and research coordinator at UKE Hamburg. His work has appeared in leading scientific outlets, and he is involved in different national and international research projects, inter alia founded by the German Research Foundation.