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

This chapter serves as the intellectual bedrock for the theoretical framework that guides the entire book which investigates social vulnerabilities that affecting marginalized populations in the Arab world. Focusing on six groups - migrant workers, refugees, internally displaced persons, children, youth, and women - it provides an unflinching evaluation of public policy mechanisms in the domains of social protection, labor market governance, and political reforms. Utilizing case studies as real-world litmus tests, the book scrutinizes the resilience and legitimacy of governance structures. This assessment is rendered all the more critical by the occurrence of two seismic crises - the Arab Spring and the COVID-19 pandemic - that have convulsed the region. This introductory chapter discusses a theoretical framework that highlights the interplay between sociological theories - structural functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminism, and social constructionism - and risk management concepts - governance capacity and legitimacy - to offer a comprehensive understanding of these complex social vulnerabilities. This chapter emphasizes the need for an intellectual framework that acknowledges the cumulative and complex ecosystem of interrelated crises that perpetuate marginalization in the Arab world. Serving as a prologue to the book, this chapter emphasizes the need for resilient and adaptive governance systems capable of navigating the complex crises that define the contemporary Arab world.