Rob O'Brien

JINEL's goal is to emphasize and critically analyze all legal issues—social, political, civil, historical, economic and commercial—that are of particular relevance to Muslims and Near Easterners in both Muslim and non-Muslim societies.

China is in the late stages of developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is essentially a digital, sovereign currency lacking convertibility to physical cash. This initiative is a significant innovation in currency systems, not yet implemented by any other country. China will face unique challenges in its CBDC project. As a first mover in this space, Chinese leaders are no longer able to study the successes and failures of other nations who have previously attempted to launch a CBDC. Yet, Beijing leadership may draw on experiences from its own prior reforms and governance challenges. This article will highlight three governance principles, developed through the reforms of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, that will give Beijing a unique advantage as a first mover in the CBDC race: (1) dual-track transition systems, (2) regional experimentation, and (3) rapid construction of regulatory systems. This paper hopes to show how China is taking a distinct approach to the initiative compared to competing states, an approach that is engrained in China’s governance experience since the late 1970s. In conclusion, I argue that China’s recent experience in a variety of transformation initiatives provides its leadership and institutions unique principles that will advantage China’s CBDC project, especially when compared to competitors working to establish their own CBDC such as the United States and European Union.

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning 24 February, has turned the Russian energy trade upside down. Meanwhile, McKinsey estimates that Chinese demand for gas will double to 526 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2035. In this blog post I will review Sino-Russian energy in 2022 with an emphasis on developments after 24 February 2022.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914) was a U.S. naval officer and strategist whose works received widespread global acclaim. His contributions retain modern relevance, as shown by the stream of current commentary referencing Mahanian theory.[1] Mahan focused on strategy rather than tactics, rendering his contributions relevant today despite technological advancements changing the nature of naval engagements at the tactical level.

Given the central role the hadith tradition and sunna of the Prophet play in forming the doctrine of Islamic theology and law, they have been the focus of modern criticism and reinterpretation when it comes to the issues of women and gender in Islam. However, the thrust of- the hadith and sunna pull in different directions and can be read both to support and to undermine patri- archy. This Article, therefore, begins with a description of “tension reports” in the Islamic narrative tradition, arguing that there is just as much material that celebrates the memory of liberating moments for women as there are reports bolstering male dominance. Tension reports preserve moments defying the institutions of patriarch in early Islamic history. Next, I discuss what I describe as misogynistic traditions in the hadith and the three main interpretive strat- egies employed by Muslim women scholars in their approach to this material. I assess the merits of these strategies and offer an alternative. Rather than a wholesale rejection of the hadith and sunna, as some have proposed, I argue for a more circumspect approach. As critical components of the Islamic tra- dition, the hadith and sunna must continue to serve as the source for dynamic and inventive solutions even to deeply entrenched challenges such as patriar- chy. Reasonable interpretation offers the promise of maintaining an ethically sensitive and dynamic approach to resolving even the most intractable issues.

Speaker and Co-panelist