Anis Ben Brik - Böcker

This handbook provides an examination of the theoretical foundations, methodological innovations, and practical applications that are redefining evaluation in the Global South. It explores how scholars and practitioners are challenging conventional evaluation paradigms by centering indigenous knowledge systems, participatory approaches, and context-specific methodologies. Organized around three core principles--decolonization, adaptation, and systemic transformation--the volume articulates what distinguishes Southern evaluation practices, traces their historical development, and charts their future trajectories. Engaging with critical debates in development studies, public policy, and social justice, the book addresses fundamental concepts in evaluation theory including power, equity, validity, and use, while examining their application across diverse domains such as climate resilience, gender justice, health systems, and post-crisis recovery. Collectively, these contributions establish this handbook as an essential resource for understanding how evaluation is being reimagined to address the complex challenges of our time.This volume stands as a definitive statement on the evolving field of evaluation in Southern contexts. It moves beyond technical debates about methods to confront fundamental questions about knowledge production, power relations, and the purpose of evaluation itself. Through its critical engagement with both theory and practice, the handbook not only maps the current landscape but also points the way toward more equitable, responsive, and transformative approaches to evaluation. For scholars, practitioners, and policymakers alike, it offers an indispensable guide to understanding how evaluation can better serve the needs and aspirations of communities across the Global South while contributing to more just and sustainable futures.

The Oxford Handbook of Social Welfare in the Global South offers a critical examination of social protection systems across the Global South, interrogating their role in addressing inequality, mitigating crises, and fostering transformative development. Structured around three core themes--equity, resilience, and systemic change--the volume explores how social protection policies are designed, contested, and reconfigured in diverse political and economic contexts. Moving beyond technocratic assessments, it situates social protection within broader struggles over rights, governance, and social justice, revealing both the promises and limitations of these systems in an era of compounding global challenges.This handbook bring together leading scholars and practitioners to dissect the interplay between social protection and development across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Contributions interrogate how cash transfers, healthcare reforms, and labor policies function as instruments of both stability and exclusion, while probing the political tensions that shape their expansion or retrenchment. Case studies-from South Africa's contested welfare reforms to Thailand's rapid scaling of universal child grants-demonstrate how institutional legacies, advocacy coalitions, and crises reshape policy trajectories. At the same time, the volume highlights persistent gaps in coverage, particularly for informal workers, women, and displaced populations, arguing for rights-based approaches that transcend temporary fixes.Pushing the debate on social protection in bold new directions, this volume challenges conventional assumptions about targeting, conditionality, and fiscal sustainability while foregrounding questions of power, participation, and historical contingency. Taken together, the volume not only maps the current landscape of social protection but also redefines its future-as a dynamic field of governance, a site of political struggle, and a potential catalyst for more inclusive futures.

This timely volume explores the impact of dramatic social change that has disrupted established patterns of family life and human development in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It addresses several major deficits in knowledge regarding family issues in the Gulf countries, bringing a critical perspective to the emerging challenges facing families in this region. Lansford, Ben Brik, and Badahdah examine the role of urbanization, educational progress, emigration, globalization, and changes in the status of women on social change, as well as tackling issues related to marriage, fertility and parenthood, and family well-being. This book explores how family relationships and social policies can promote physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, safety, cognitive development, and economic security in the Gulf countries, placing a unique emphasis on contemporary families in this region. Families and Social Change in the Gulf Region is essential reading for scholars from psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy. It will also be of interest to graduate students in these disciplines.

This timely volume explores the impact of dramatic social change that has disrupted established patterns of family life and human development in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It addresses several major deficits in knowledge regarding family issues in the Gulf countries, bringing a critical perspective to the emerging challenges facing families in this region. Lansford, Ben Brik, and Badahdah examine the role of urbanization, educational progress, emigration, globalization, and changes in the status of women on social change, as well as tackling issues related to marriage, fertility and parenthood, and family well-being. This book explores how family relationships and social policies can promote physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, safety, cognitive development, and economic security in the Gulf countries, placing a unique emphasis on contemporary families in this region. Families and Social Change in the Gulf Region is essential reading for scholars from psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy. It will also be of interest to graduate students in these disciplines.

This book critically reflects on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by exploring the impact and possible future outcomes in a region already struggling with the effects of a decade of uprisings, failed or difficult political transitions, state collapses, civil war and international conflict. International scholars offer a comprehensive treatment of today's major societal issues and provide a unique, broadly comparative view on public policy responses in the MENA region. Addressing the implications and public policy responses to the crisis, they bring a critical perspective to the emerging challenges of evidence-based policy making; the locus of authority in transnational issues; the nature of governance; and the role of government and implications for civil society. Tackling the psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy issues related to the social and economic implications of the COVID 19 pandemic, this book will be of interest to scholars and students alike.

This book critically reflects on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by exploring the impact and possible future outcomes in a region already struggling with the effects of a decade of uprisings, failed or difficult political transitions, state collapses, civil war and international conflict. International scholars offer a comprehensive treatment of today's major societal issues and provide a unique, broadly comparative view on public policy responses in the MENA region. Addressing the implications and public policy responses to the crisis, they bring a critical perspective to the emerging challenges of evidence-based policy making; the locus of authority in transnational issues; the nature of governance; and the role of government and implications for civil society. Tackling the psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy issues related to the social and economic implications of the COVID 19 pandemic, this book will be of interest to scholars and students alike.

This groundbreaking book sheds light on the alarming yet often overlooked issue of suicide in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It critically examines the role, limitations, and suicide prevention strategies of existing social welfare systems and uncovers the complex interplay of factors driving suicidal behavior.Providing a comprehensive analysis of the complicated landscape of suicide across the MENA region, the book identifies six main determinants: socioeconomic factors, political instability and conflict, family and social dynamics, religious beliefs and practices, gender disparities, and youth vulnerability. It explores the diverse suicide prevention efforts across stable monarchies, countries facing political and economic upheaval, and societies grappling with war. A clarion call for action, this pioneering book emphasizes the silent crisis of suicide in MENA societies and the urgent need for holistic, evidence-based, and culturally informed public policy agendas to strengthen social support, mental health services, and suicide prevention initiatives.Integrating multidisciplinary perspectives, this book is invaluable for students and scholars of public and social policy, public health, welfare states, middle eastern studies and development studies. Drawing upon sociological, epidemiological, and participatory research methodologies, its policy agenda serves as a roadmap for policymakers, researchers, and mental health professionals committed to suicide prevention worldwide.

This insightful Handbook delves into public policy evaluation in the Global South. Drawing on in-depth case studies, it analyzes the complex interplay of historical, political, economic, and social factors that shape evaluation practices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.Expert authors explore how colonial legacies, institutional frameworks, and international influences have molded public policy evaluation across diverse contexts. Chapters critically assess current challenges facing evaluators, including capacity constraints, political interference, and the tension between global standards and local realities. Integrating both political and technocratic perspectives, they consider emerging practices in the field, proposing innovative strategies for developing more effective and culturally responsive approaches to evaluation. Timely and perceptive, the Handbook ultimately emphasizes the need for more inclusive global discussions surrounding public policy evaluation.This Handbook is an important resource for students and academics in public policy, public administration, political science, international development, and sociology. Policymakers, government officials, and professionals will also benefit from the book’s theoretical and practical insights.

This book examines the progress of the development of public policy evaluation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from multiple perspectives. It describes both past developments and the current state of evaluation across the region, focusing on how political regimes, administrative traditions and policy advisory systems shape evaluation processes in different contexts. With contributions from a diverse list of international authors, it investigates the historical development of evaluation across the MENA region and analyses the political landscape, highlighting emerging trends and potential challenges that could influence the future of the field.An essential resource for researchers and practitioners in evaluation, public policy and the MENA region, the book also provides students with the practical knowledge and essential skills needed for careers in evaluation and policy analysis.

This book examines the progress of the development of public policy evaluation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from multiple perspectives. It describes both past developments and the current state of evaluation across the region, focusing on how political regimes, administrative traditions and policy advisory systems shape evaluation processes in different contexts. With contributions from a diverse list of international authors, it investigates the historical development of evaluation across the MENA region and analyses the political landscape, highlighting emerging trends and potential challenges that could influence the future of the field.An essential resource for researchers and practitioners in evaluation, public policy and the MENA region, the book also provides students with the practical knowledge and essential skills needed for careers in evaluation and policy analysis.

Explores the lasting echoes of an unprecedented pandemic that continues to shape politics in the MENA region todayFrom the Maghreb in North Africa to the Levant in the East, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted politics - and the promise of democratic governance - within the MENA region. In this edited volume, Anis Ben Brik assembles a group of scholars to explore how the Middle East and North Africa grappled with an unprecedented global health crisis that transcended medical dimensions and continues to manifest profound social, political, and economic implications for its people.Featuring timely original research, including in-depth case studies and cross-country comparisons, contributors take us inside a region already grappling with complex political systems, social structures, and historical legacies. They show us how the pandemic triggered widespread democratic backsliding in the region, as countries like Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia began to adopt emergency measures that extended well beyond the immediate public health crisis, including increased censorship, arrests of activists and journalists, and the suppression of political dissent. Contributors also examine how the pandemic impacted perceptions of political legitimacy within the region, shaping people's support and opposition to emergency measures, legislation, and regimes and governments themselves.Ultimately, the book captures the ways in which a global state of emergency created even more opportunities for political abuse and suppression, enabling authoritarian leaders to further consolidate their power within the region.

Explores the lasting echoes of an unprecedented pandemic that continues to shape politics in the MENA region todayFrom the Maghreb in North Africa to the Levant in the East, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted politics - and the promise of democratic governance - within the MENA region. In this edited volume, Anis Ben Brik assembles a group of scholars to explore how the Middle East and North Africa grappled with an unprecedented global health crisis that transcended medical dimensions and continues to manifest profound social, political, and economic implications for its people.Featuring timely original research, including in-depth case studies and cross-country comparisons, contributors take us inside a region already grappling with complex political systems, social structures, and historical legacies. They show us how the pandemic triggered widespread democratic backsliding in the region, as countries like Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia began to adopt emergency measures that extended well beyond the immediate public health crisis, including increased censorship, arrests of activists and journalists, and the suppression of political dissent. Contributors also examine how the pandemic impacted perceptions of political legitimacy within the region, shaping people's support and opposition to emergency measures, legislation, and regimes and governments themselves.Ultimately, the book captures the ways in which a global state of emergency created even more opportunities for political abuse and suppression, enabling authoritarian leaders to further consolidate their power within the region.