Abstract Relations between Arab countries and China have increased over the last two decades. This began with the strengthening of trade relations, then expanded to cultural and educational dimensions, and ultimately branched into industrial and technological ties. Examining how the Arab world is opening up to China, this article aims to explore the current trends in these relations. It finds that there are numerous opportunities for cooperation and rapprochement between the two sides. However, rapprochement at the government level faces several obstacles, including strong ties between Arab governments and the United States, which exerts diplomatic pressure to prevent its allies in the Arab world from deepening relations with China. At the popular level, rapprochement also faces barriers such as negative religious or political stereotypes about China.
Abstract This article examines the cultural dimensions of bilateral relations between Tehran and Beijing, assessing existing capacities, initiatives, and the future trajectory of cultural engagement. It explores the strategic role of cultural diplomacy in shaping modern Iran–China relations. The research highlights a history of cultural cooperation, with shared social and normative values. However, it finds that cultural diplomacy remains underused in strengthening bilateral ties. The article concludes that a more structured cultural strategy could enhance mutual cooperation and deepen future relations between the two nations.
Abstract This article examines China's shift from economic partner to diplomatic mediator in the Middle East through an anthropological and cultural political economy lens. Focusing on China's role in the 2023 Saudi–Iranian de-escalation, it asks how a culturally informed strategy shapes Beijing's mediation and regional power dynamics. The findings show that China draws on Confucian ideas of harmony ( héxié, 和谐), non-interference, Silk Road legacies, and sensitivity to local cultural systems, including kinship structures and negotiation rituals, to present itself as a neutral mediator distinct from Western interventionism. The Belt and Road Initiative strengthens this role by linking investment with cultural diplomacy. China's approach enhances trust, protects energy interests, expands influence, and contributes to emerging multipolarity in the Middle East.
Abstract The role of infrastructure is not limited to the material aspect alone; it extends to strengthening social cohesion and building trust between citizens and the government. Ultimately, investing in infrastructure is an investment in people – it unleashes creative and innovative potential, transforms challenges into opportunities and makes infrastructure a fundamental pillar for any society striving for progress and prosperity. This article examines the role of the Belt and Road Initiative and its associated infrastructure projects in social progress among citizens. particularly in countries where the Initiative is being implemented.
Abstract This article examines Tunisia's tourism transformation before and after the 2011 Arab Spring revolution, exploring the interrelationship between political transition and tourism industry resilience. Drawing on documentary analysis of official data, government reports, and scholarly literature, it examines how emerging markets, especially China, supported Tunisia's recovery. Results demonstrate the sector's vulnerability to political instability and terrorism, alongside adaptation through market diversification. While European markets recovered partially, Asian markets, especially China, offset substantial losses. Tunisia's democratic transition facilitated international cooperation and security improvements. The article identifies policy implications for sustainable tourism development during political transitions, with recommendations applicable to Mediterranean and MENA countries facing similar challenges.
Abstract This article examines how Middle Eastern states conceive and perform symbolic national roles within the regional security complex. Integrating regional security complex theory with national role conception and anthropological approaches, it argues that symbolic performances – from architecture and mediation rituals to revolutionary commemorations and humanitarian diplomacy – are constitutive of security politics. Through discourse analysis of seven cases (Iran, Israel, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the UAE), the article demonstrates how states use roles that shape threat perceptions, regional alignments and domestic legitimacy. Each case utilises a distinct symbolic repertoire to negotiate internal anxieties and shape the regional environment. Framing these actions as performative foregrounds the cultural dimensions of state behaviour and highlights symbolic statecraft as a strategic tool for navigating rivalry and projecting identity.
This article examines the acculturation of Yemeni refugees who arrived in Jeju, South Korea, in 2018 and their adaptation to Korean society five years later in 2023. Based on interviews conducted in 2024 with four Yemeni refugees and five Korean stakeholders, including government and private sector representatives, the article applies Ager and Strang's integration framework to analyse key factors influencing the refugees’ settlement. The findings reveal that state intervention was minimal, while private organisations and individual efforts played a significant role in integration. Factors such as language acquisition, employment, social networks and visa stability were crucial in shaping their adaptation. This article provides insights into how Korea, encountering large-scale refugee arrivals for the first time, managed this challenge and offers recommendations for future refugee policies.
This ethnographic article examines educational integration of Afghan special contributors in Ulsan, South Korea, through community mobilisation for children's education. Drawing on mobility justice and hospitality theories, it investigates how exclusionary Korean society made exceptional accommodations for Afghan refugees. Based on 2022-2025 fieldwork with educators, administrators, and Afghan families, the article analyzes transformation from local resistance to community engagement. The research highlights Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education's inclusive policy under ‘Not giving up on any child’, demonstrating collaboration among schools, government, private sector, and community organisations. While documenting successful Muslim immigrant integration, it critically examines the ‘special contributor’ designation's implications within Korea's refugee policy framework, contributing insights into overcoming cultural barriers and mobilising collective resources for refugee integration in East Asian
This special issue of Anthropology of the Middle East examines Middle Eastern migration to East Asia, especially South Korea and Japan. Using ethnographic approaches, it explores identity formation, religious practice, belonging, and transnational family ties. Articles analyze host–migrant relations, state policy regimes, public discourse, migrant agency, and settlement trajectories among Afghan evacuees, Yemeni refugees, and Muslim entrepreneurs. Case studies include entrepreneurial networks in Japan's automotive sector, Yemeni resettlement on Jeju Island, and anti-Muslim sentiment in Korea. Together, the contributions map how policy, civil society, economic opportunity, and everyday sociocultural dynamics interact to shape integration. The issue also probes local articulations of Islamophobia and the negotiation of culture in historically homogeneous settings. It advances theory on migration, belonging, and identity in East Asia today.
This study explores the poetry of Enderunlu F & acirc;z & imath;l, an 18th-century Ottoman poet. In his book H & ucirc;b & acirc;n-n & acirc;me (The Book of Beauties), he described the physical appearance and traits of men from different parts of the world. Despite his lack of interest in women, he also wrote Zen & acirc;n-n & acirc;me (The Book of Women) at his male lover's request. F & acirc;z & imath;l also wrote & Ccedil;engi-n & acirc;me (The Book of Dancers), which describes Istanbul's famous male dancers, and Defter-i A & scedil;k (Love's Register), in which he shared his own same-sex love stories. This article provides an overview of Enderunlu F & acirc;z & imath;l's perspective on gender and sexuality.It draws upon all of his writings to comprehensively examine his general opinions on men and women, his preferences and dislikes regarding both genders, and his perspectives on sexuality.
The topic of trans individuals in Iran has garnered significant attention in recent decades, primarily due to the context of the Islamic Republic, where gender affirmation surgery (GAS), or 'amali-ye tasdiq-i jinsiyat in Persian, has been legally permitted since 1982 under a fatwa. Despite this, there is limited literature on trans people and marriage in Iran. This article explores marriage and divorce among Iranian trans individuals, examining their experiences within the societal institution of marriage as a significant cultural milestone. The study utilizes qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted between 2016 and 2018 with fourteen Iranian trans individuals in both Iran and Denizli, Turkey. Additionally, online interviews were conducted in 2024 with Iranian trans individuals who are currently in relationships or who have been divorced.
This article will focuses on the persistence of the mukhannath and especially the khunth & amacr;, two different paradigms of non-binary from Early Islamic society, in two contemporary Arabic novels from the Gulf: Kh & amacr;tim (1991), by the Saudi novelist Raj & amacr;' '& Amacr;lim and H & amacr;b & imacr; (2019), by the Kuwaiti writer T & amacr;lib al-Rif & amacr;'& imacr;. In particular, I discuss the aims of the uses of these representations in contemporary literature and the articulation with modern terms and gender expressions from the LGBTQI+ community, such as the term mutahawwil used by the Kuwaiti writer al-Rif & amacr;'& imacr;. Thus, I analyse the choice to use or not use the classical terms and representations and what this choice translates into in terms of gender equality advocacy and feminist commitment.
This article explores the intersections of queerness and the 2011 revolution within two Syrian non-Arabic novels. Departing from traditional portrayals of male homosexual relationships in Arab literature, Le dernier Syrien (2020) and The Foghorn Echoes (2022) contribute to a broader effort to craft 'disclosed' representations of non-normative sexualities. By contextualizing queer narratives within the Syrian revolutionary process, these novels also enrich the uprising's discourses across individual, social, cultural, and political dimensions. As underscored by the LGBTQI+ series on Hik & amacr;ya m & amacr; inhakat/SyriaUntold (2013), archiving queer experiences related to the 2011 revolution is crucial for fostering a future collective memory that embraces inclusivity. These novels thus exemplify the role of literature in this archival endeavour, while illustrating the interconnections between discursive, sociocultural, and political forms of oppression.
This ethnographic article examines educational integration of Afghan special contributors in Ulsan, South Korea, through community mobilisation for children's education. Drawing on mobility justice and hospitality theories, it investigates how exclusionary Korean society made exceptional accommodations for Afghan refugees. Based on 2022-2025 fieldwork with educators, administrators, and Afghan families, the article analyzes transformation from local resistance to community engagement. The research highlights Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education's inclusive policy under 'Not giving up on any child', demonstrating collaboration among schools, government, private sector, and community organisations. While documenting successful Muslim immigrant integration, it critically examines the 'special contributor' designation's implications within Korea's refugee policy framework, contributing insights into overcoming cultural barriers and mobilising collective resources for refugee integration in East Asian
This special issue of Anthropology of the Middle East examines Middle Eastern migration to East Asia, especially South Korea and Japan. Using ethnographic approaches, it explores identity formation, religious practice, belonging, and transnational family ties. Articles analyze host-migrant relations, state policy regimes, public discourse, migrant agency, and settlement trajectories among Afghan evacuees, Yemeni refugees, and Muslim entrepreneurs. Case studies include entrepreneurial networks in Japan's automotive sector, Yemeni resettlement on Jeju Island, and anti-Muslim sentiment in Korea. Together, the contributions map how policy, civil society, economic opportunity, and everyday sociocultural dynamics interact to shape integration. The issue also probes local articulations of Islamophobia and the negotiation of culture in historically homogeneous settings. It advances theory on migration, belonging, and identity in East Asia today.
Afghans in Japan tend to cluster in two adjacent cities, Yotsukaido and Sakura, in Chiba Prefecture. The population of Afghans has increased rapidly since the 2010s and reached six thousand in June 2024. The main reason for this concentration is primarily the economic background. Chiba Prefecture has many used car and auto parts traders, and most Afghans are engaged in these businesses. The traders with ties to Japan have decided to move to Japan with their families. Chain migration through kin-based networks of compatriots has accelerated international population movement. Since 2011, the author has conducted sociological qualitative research on Afghan migrant entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates and Japan. This article examines the background of and issues related to the increase in Afghan migrants in Chiba Prefecture from a sociological perspective.
This article examines Japan's racialised border control, which has manifested in the aftermath of the political changes occurring in Afghanistan in 2021. Although Japan has been the fourth-largest donor to Afghanistan for the past 20 years, many Afghanistan citizens with a 'well-founded fear of persecution' were confined within an immobility regime following the political crisis. Upon arriving in Japan, they were then confined amid socio-economic immobility due to a lack of substantive resettlement policies. A juxtaposition with the favourable treatment of Ukrainians constitutes the core of this racialised border control, wherein Japan's past engagement with Afghanistan's reconstruction has been conveniently forgotten. Within the increasingly unstable and fragile international order, where different policies are interconnected, it is not possible to commit to international development or international student policy without a substantive refugee policy.
This article investigates the role of the Protestant Right in fostering Islamophobia in South Korea. It demonstrates that right-wing Protestant groups have strategically utilized their organizational networks to disseminate anti-Islamic rhetoric through three primary methods. First, they construct a narrative of 'Islamization' by invoking Europe's 'failed multiculturalism' as a cautionary example. Second, they employ nationalist discourse to portray Islam as a threat to Korean sovereignty. Third, they manipulate the language of human rights to exclude Muslims and prioritize the rights of Korean nationals. The article analyzes two key sources of data: (1) online ethnographic data from far-right Protestant speakers who have been vocal on the issue of Islam, and (2) ethnographic data collected from Daegu prayer rallies opposing mosque construction or a halal food complex.
This article examines the acculturation of Yemeni refugees who arrived in Jeju, South Korea, in 2018 and their adaptation to Korean society five years later in 2023. Based on interviews conducted in 2024 with four Yemeni refugees and five Korean stakeholders, including government and private sector representatives, the article applies Ager and Strang's integration framework to analyse key factors influencing the refugees' settlement. The findings reveal that state intervention was minimal, while private organisations and individual efforts played a significant role in integration. Factors such as language acquisition, employment, social networks and visa stability were crucial in shaping their adaptation. This article provides insights into how Korea, encountering large-scale refugee arrivals for the first time, managed this challenge and offers recommendations for future refugee policies.
This article is a reflection on the precarious lives of the transpuan community in Indonesia focused on four ethnographic case studies from Bali, a place often romanticized as a refuge for queer identities. We reveal the multifaceted experiences of transpuan individuals who navigate their lives differently in circumstances marked by both resistance and misrecognition. Together, these narratives confront systemic inequalities and discrimination, disrupting the dominant discourse that frames transpuan lives as mere tales of victimhood. Instead, they celebrate the joy, creativity, and empowerment that flourish within this community. This exploration advocates for a more nuanced recognition of transpuan identities that urge society to embrace their vibrant existence and acknowledge the profound complexities that shape their experiences.
