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This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial, populist and democratic pacts, suitable for analysis of state formation and nation-building through to the present period. The framework relies on historical institutionalism. The methodology, however, is Rokkan's. The initial conceptual analysis also specifies differences between European and the Middle Eastern state formation processes. It is followed by a brief and selective discussion of historical preconditions. Next, the method of plotting singular cases into conceptual-typological maps is applied to 20 cases in the Greater Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey). For reasons of space, the empirical analysis is limited to the colonial period (1870s to the end of World War 1). Three typologies are combined into one conceptual-typological map of this period. The vertical left-hand axis provides a composite typology that clarifies cultural-territorial preconditions. The horizontal axis specifies transformations of the region's agrarian class structures since the mid-19th century reforms. The right-hand vertical axis provides a four-layered typology of processes of external intervention. A final section presents selected comparative case reconstructions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a Rokkan-style conceptual-typological map has been constructed for a non-European region.

Fertility aspirations shape family planning behavior of a couple. Desire to have certain number of children is linked with various micro- and macro-level factors such as individuals’ characteristics, sociocultural contexts and unconscious personal motivations. Fertility aspirations are an important component of fertility decision-making and a major predictor of childbearing. In India, Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the most populated state with historically high levels of fertility rates as compared to national average. This research is a qualitative exploration of the perspectives and practices of women with respect to their fertility aspirations and family planning behavior in an urban setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2017 and July 2018 among married women and men of the reproductive age group of 17–49 years using qualitative methods. The study was done in Pakbara, a Census Town (has a minimum population of 5,000) in the district of Moradabad, situated in western UP. It was found that along with personal motivations of having a quality life change in objective circumstances has led to changes in the fertility aspirations of the participants, particularly women. Increasing education, more mobility in public spaces, aspirations for a quality life, exposure to mass media and new job opportunities generate revision of parental aspirations. Couples, particularly from middle and upper-middle classes, limit their family size to attain upward social mobility. Couples from lower economic class have realized that rise of household income has not been commensurate with rise in prices. Thus, restricted childbearing is one way to cope with the situation.

This paper investigates the ways digital media applications in rural areas have transformed the influence of social networks (SN) on farmers' adoption of various climate change mitigation measures (CCMM), and explores the key mechanisms behind this transformation.

The study analyzes data from 1,002 farmers’ surveys. First, a logit model is used to measure the impact of SN on the adoption of different types of CCMM. Then, the interaction term between digital media usage (DMU) and SN is introduced to analyze the moderating effect of digital media on the impact of SN. Finally, a conditional process model is used to explore the mediating mechanism of agricultural socialization services (ASS) and the validity of information acquisition (VIA).

The results reveal that: (1) SN significantly promotes the adoption of CCMM and the marginal effect of this impact varies with different kinds of technologies. (2) DMU reinforces the effectiveness of SN in promoting farmers' adoption of CCMM. (3) The key mechanisms of the process in (2) are the ASS and the VIA.

This study shows that in the context of DMU, SN’s promotion effect on farmers' adoption of CCMM is strengthened.

The basic unit of the family is the married couple who are brought together through various means, the internet being an additional medium. This study is an attempt to capture changes in the realm of family through a detailed analysis of the matrimonial websites in India from a sociological perspective. With the advent of the internet technology, it explores whether and how the internet as a new medium of spouse selection influences marriage choices and family dynamics during match-fixing. It seeks to unweave the individual–family–community dynamics in the context of changing gender norms. The findings of the study are based on mixed-methods through the use of both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from the website and personal interviews. These data were further strengthened through the walkthrough method and participant observation. The findings of this study reflect upon the prescriptive, restrictive and supportive role played by the family in the context of online spouse selection. It also documents resilience and change (in terms of family structure and norms) in the realm of the family in the context of changing matrimonial preferences.

Drawing on indigenous theory of Ibn Khaldun, the rise and fall of States, this paper explores the agency of women entrepreneurs in family business in Bahrain and the underlying enablers in supporting and facilitating the exercise of this agency. This study attempts to move beyond the Western-centric studies to reflect and bring to light the unique institutional settings of the Gulf States.

The research builds on a rich qualitative single case of a family business based in Bahrain. The single case study methodology was motivated by the potential for generating rich contextual insights. Such an approach is particularly valuable to gain a more holistic and deeper understanding of the contextualized phenomenon and its complexity.

In this study the authors show how women entrepreneurs take two different paths to enter and become involved in the family business, the barriers they are subjected to and the active role they play in dismantling the challenges to the extent that they become the main mediators between the family business and central institutions in society.

By incorporating indigenous theory with Western family business concepts, the study extends existing understanding of women entrepreneurs in family business by underscoring the agency that women entrepreneurs have in “doing context” and the role that women play in strengthening common cause and destiny within the family and the business by building and drawing on different forms of loyalty.

This study aims to understand the social cooperative model's empowerment and social cohesion impacts based on the case of a cooperative with the partnership of local and refugee women in southern Türkiye to give evidence for the potential and challenges of women cooperatives.

The authors conducted surveys and focus group interviews with both members and board members. The authors grounded the findings in dimensions extracted from literature on the impact of cooperatives on their members and the wider community.

The social cooperative economically empowers women through employment and income generation, and skill training while enhancing them socially with increased decision-making power, autonomy, self-esteem and respect. It fosters social cohesion between local and refugee members by building trust and peace, solidarity, knowledge sharing and collective action. However, the cooperative faces challenges in managing sustainable business models, and cooperative membership does not ensure a steady income, social security, economic independence or a fairer division of domestic work.

The challenges and limited outcomes of social cooperatives are primarily due to resource scarcity. Hence, these needs must be considered by policymakers and sponsors of women empowerment programmes so that they can offer response actions to empower social women cooperatives. During the research period, the COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant threat to the survival of the cooperative. Moreover, the restrictions imposed by the pandemic made it impossible to engage Syrian women in focus group discussions. Consequently, the focus group interactions were limited to two Palestinian members, while Syrian members were included in survey interviews.

This study is one of the few attempts to examine the social cooperative model’s impact on women’s empowerment and social cohesion in the context of a mixed membership of local and refugee women in Türkiye. Fieldwork evidence on cooperatives that improve gender equality and inclusive growth can contribute to the advocacy of support for women’s cooperatives in the context of refugees.

This study aims to investigate the role of ethnic networking ties in immigrant entrepreneurship literature, shedding light on insights that have been overlooked in existing literature.

A systematic literature review was conducted using a sample of 127 articles sourced from the Web of Science database. This review used a combination of bibliometric and content analysis.

The findings revealed the underproduction in this research field. The authors identified the dual characteristics and different types of ethnic ties, presented across various stages of immigrant business, the aspects often overlooked in current research. Drawing from these results, the authors proposed a conceptual model introducing four interconnected dimensions – local context, personal level, ethnic enclave and business development stages – that collectively shape the examination of ethnic ties and suggest avenues for further research to understand their role in the immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.

This study offers three notable contributions to existing literature. Firstly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that systematically reviews the current research status of ethnic ties in immigrant entrepreneurship. Secondly, it uncovered the dynamic nature of ethnic ties and their roles across various immigrant business stages. Thirdly, it introduces a conceptual model that serves as a framework for future investigations, addressing the under-explored multidimensional nature of ethnic ties, thereby presenting several practical, social and theoretical implications.

This study aims to examine whether skilled female migrants can overcome gender constraints and social stigma attached to women’s service work in host societies.

Based on interviews with 40 women who moved from mainland China and entered Hong Kong’s cross-border insurance business, the study examines how highly educated young women negotiate gender expectations and mobilize social networks in doing business.

This study finds different strategies women used in mobilizing social networks and constructing gender identities: some relied heavily on the warm market – networks of their family, relatives and friends – in doing business and developed careers by performing dutiful daughters, considerate “nieces” and caring “sisters”; some women also relied on the warm market but their jobs were regarded as nonconventional, and they had to deal with suspicions of inappropriate and instrumental womanhood and tried to prove themselves and gain support in the warm market; some women relied mainly on the cold market – connections with strangers – and performed feminine affinity to expand client networks away from judgments of families and friends; and some other women chose to expand the cold market by cultivating a professional image among strangers.

The findings speak to previous research about women’s subordinate roles in migrant networks and their devalued femininity in service work by illustrating women’s diverse forms of agency in negotiating gender identities in the stratified service sectors.