Introduction: grounding governance and social marginality in the Arab world-a theoretical prologue

The Arab region, incorporating the diverse territories of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has long been a crucible for historical and geopolitical developments. Rooted at the intersection of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it has functioned as a locus for trade, culture, and the diffusion of political ideologies. Scholars such Edward Said in “Orientalism” ([1978] 1995) have critically evaluated the ways in which the region has been perceived and interacted with by Western powers, laying bare the effects of colonial legacies and geopolitical interests on the region. Over the past fifty years, the region has weathered an incessant cascade of crises that have drastically altered its social, political, and economic landscapes. What sets these crises apart is their interconnectedness, debunking the notion that they are isolated events. Complexity theory, which examines how different components of a system interact with each other, can be applied to grasp the full spectrum of crises affecting the region (Mitchell, 2009). From the era of colonization and world wars to the current day, each phase has had a cumulative effect, essentially creating a “deluge of crises” that has shaped and will continue to influence subsequent eras. The Arab region’s journey through the last century is a tale of remarkable resilience and adaptation. The early struggles for independence and statehood against colonial powers set the course for today’s geopolitical contours. Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth demonstrates a keen understanding of the psychological trauma and social chaos caused by colonization, which has had a lasting impact on the Arab world’s quest for self determination and sovereignty (Fanon, 1961). These seminal events initiated a wave of political and social metamor- phoses that laid the groundwork for contemporary complexities.