Journal Article 1: Mohamed, A. H., & Omer, M. R., (2000). Texture and culture: Cohesion as a marker of rhetorical organisation in Arabic and English narrative texts. RELC Journal, 31, 45–75.

Abstract: This paper claims that the differences at the cultural level between the Arabic-speaking and the English-speaking communities have a direct effect on the rhetorical organisation of Arabic and English texts as evident in the different ways in which cohesive devices are used. It is suggested that the two speech communities differ along the following cultural dimensions: oralised v. literate, collectivism v. individualism, high-contact v. low-contact, and reader-responsible v. writer-responsible. In order to test the influence of these cultural differences on the use of cohesive devices on written texts produced in the two languages, translationally-equivalent parallel texts comprising three Arabic short stories and their English translations, as well as a contextually-equivalent parallel texts consisting of three Arabic short stories and three English short stories (unrelated by translation) were analysed in terms of the cohesive devices that they used. This analysis revealed that Arabic and English use different cohesive patterns. Arabic cohesion is characterised as context-based, generalised, repetition-oriented, and additive. In contrast, English cohesion is described as text-based, specified, change-oriented, and non-additive. It is argued that the cultural differences between the two speech communities are directly responsible for the different use of cohesive devices in the two languages.

Journal Article 2: Kapiszewski, A. (2006). Saudi Arabia: Steps toward democratization or reconfiguration of authoritarianism? Journal of Asian and African Studies, 4, 459–482.

Abstract: Saudi Arabia has since the beginning of the 1990s, despite the autocratic character of the regime, witnessed political activities that, while not directly questioning the Islamic base of the country's identity, have called for changes in the manner in which the state is governed. The study analyses petitions to the King and other actions undertaken by the opposition demanding reforms as well as responses of the authorities, which in effect led to the broadening of the political participation of the Saudis, culminating in municipal elections in 2005. Impact of international events on the political situation inside the Kingdom, like 9/11 and the Iraqi war, is also examined.

Journal Article 3: Ali, S. (2010). Permanent impermanence. Contexts, 9, 26–31.

Abstract: I was standing on the helipad of a new, swanky highrise apartment building in the Dubai Marina with my friend Vishul in the summer of 2006. We took in the panoramic, nighttime view of skyscrapers in the making, each capped with cranes lit red and white like so many giant Transformer action figures. Vishul, who'd grown up in Dubai, turned three hundred and sixty degrees and jokingly exclaimed, “This is the future!” And, until the global economic meltdown hit in late 2008, it probably was.

Journal Article 4: Etling, B., Kelly, J., Faris, R., & Palfrey, J. (2010). Mapping the Arabic blogosphere: politics and dissent online. New Media & Society, 12, 1225–1243.

Abstract: This study explores the structure and content of the Arabic blogosphere using link analysis, term frequency analysis, and human coding of individual blogs. We identified a base network of approximately 35,000 Arabic-language blogs, mapped the 6000 most-connected blogs, and hand coded over 3000. The study is a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arabic-speaking world, which mainly clusters nationally. We found the most politically active areas of the network to be clusters of bloggers in Egypt, Kuwait, Syria, and the Levant, as well as an ‘English Bridge’ group. Differences among these indicate variability in how online practices are embedded in local political contexts. Bloggers are focused mainly on domestic political issues; concern for Palestine is the one issue that unites the entire network. Bloggers link preferentially to the top Web 2.0 sites (e.g. YouTube and Wikipedia), followed by pan-Arab mainstream media sources, such as Al Jazeera.

Journal Article 5: Ciffci, S. (2013). Secular-Islamist cleavage, values, and support for democracy and Shari’a in the Arab world. Political Research Quarterly, 66, 781–793.

Abstract: Public opinion polls demonstrate that Arab citizens support both democracy and shari’a. I argue that individual values related to the secular-Islamist cleavage are instrumental in explaining this joint support. The analysis of the Arab Barometer Survey shows that individuals holding Islamic values are more favorable of shari’a, whereas those with secularist values tend to support democracy. However, the bivariate probit estimations also confirm that Arab opinion about these governing principles is more complementary and less divergent. The results imply that constitutional models combining Islam and democracy, rather than strictly secular institutions, may be more acceptable to Arab citizens.