...«IS IT AN ARAB SPRING OR BUSINESS AS USUAL? RECENT CHANGES IN THE ARAB WORLD IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT" By Michael B. Bishku* INTRODUCTION What began in Tunisia in December 2010 and continues most violently in Syria today has been labeled by observers of and experts on the Middle East as the "Arab Spring," but is that the correct term? (It should be noted that Lebanon engaged in the Cedar Revolution in 2005 - following the assassination of Sunni Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri by Hezbollah operativeswhich resulted in the withdrawal of Syrian froops after 30 years.) While Tunisia seems to be emulating Turkey as a historically secular country with mildly Islamist politicians exercising the greatest amount of influence in their country's respective foreign and domestic affairs, Egypt, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood, appears to be at the center of a struggle between the Islamists and the military, which has dominated politics in that country since the early 1950s, while secularists and the minority Copts feel as if they have been sidelined. Majority Shi'a in Bahrain were quashed in their attempt to have a minority Sunni government recognize their rights, while Yemen's longtime leader was replaced by that country's vice president. Libya toppled an erratic dictator, but has no experience with representative government and like in Yemen the population possesses tribal identities. Syria is now engaged in a brutal civil war in which at least 20,000 people have lost their lives by the...
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...turns 90 this year and his heir, half-brother Crown Prince Salman, turns 77. In February he named his youngest half-brother, Prince Muqrin, 70, as second deputy premier, a role often seen as making its holder second-in-line to rule. However, it is not certain that Muqrin will one day become king and the ruling al-Saud family is preparing for the moment when the line of brothers born to its founder Ibn Saud is exhausted and power must move to the next generation. By appointing Ibn Saud's grandsons to new roles, including interior minister and governor of Riyadh province, in recent months, Abdullah has already started the gradual transfer of power to younger princes. The second political risk is the domestic strains. King Abdullah has advanced some economic and social reforms to address youth unemployment, corruption and a lack of housing but offered no big political reforms. Riyadh plans to spend a record $219 billion on welfare and infrastructure in 2013. Tensions smoulder between those who want more social change, such as bringing more women into the workplace, and powerful conservatives who condemn such reforms as un-Islamic. Clerics have protested against the appointment of women to the advisory Shura Council and judicial reforms. The third political risk is the regional tensions. The aftermath of 2011's Arab uprisings has undermined old Saudi allies and destabilised the region against a backdrop of Riyadh's over-arching rivalry with Shi'ite Muslim power Iran. Riyadh has joined...
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...was populated by nomadic tribal societies in the inhospitable desert.[38] The Islamic prophet, Muhammad, was born in Mecca in about 571 A.D. In the early 7th century, Muhammad united the various tribes of the peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering huge swathes of territory (from the Iberian Peninsula in west to modern day Pakistan in east) in a matter of decades. In so doing, Arabia soon became a politically peripheral region of the Muslim world as the focus shifted to the more developed conquered lands.[39] From the 10th century to the early 20th century Mecca and Medina were under the control of a local Arab ruler known as the Sharif of Mecca, but at most times the Sharif owed allegiance to the ruler of one of the major Islamic empires based in Baghdad, Cairo or Istanbul. Most of the remainder of what became Saudi Arabia reverted to traditional tribal rule.[40][41] In the 16th century, the Ottomans added the Red Sea and Persian Gulf coast (the Hejaz, Asir and Al-Ahsa) to the Empire and claimed suzerainty over the interior. One reason was to thwart Portuguese attempts to attack the Red Sea (hence the Hejaz) and the Indian Ocean.[42] Ottoman degree of control over these lands varied over the next four centuries with the fluctuating strength or weakness of the Empire's central authority.[43][44] The emergence of what was to become the Saudi royal...
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...An American Policy in Transitioning Middle Eastern Environments For many decades the Middle East region dealt with power struggles, badly drawn borders, and the Arab-Israeli conflict or Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These examples are just some of what plagues the region and attests to their continued unstableness. The Middle East will undoubtedly remain unstable now and through the near future as it tries to rewrite constitutions, call for reforms, and is engaged in ongoing protests. Regardless, building a stable economic power and government is not one simple solution and takes time. As some nations strive for liberal democracies or constitutional monarchies, there must be political pluralism and with that secularism or at least pseudo-secularism. All things equal, the U.S. foreign policy must see a change in its promotion— a different, new way to deal with the Middle East as a whole and the diverse specific countries. There is no question as to whether conflict will arise in other countries within the Middle East, we know it will, but how the U.S. chooses to position itself in the fight includes stability and democracy on the overall position and relationships and development in terms of specific countries. This paper explains steps that could be taken in forming a U.S. foreign policy in the emerging Middle East region. Some people educated or not about foreign affairs are pushing for the U.S. to take action and use the Middle East crises as an advantage. They want...
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...this page. Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Bahrain (disambiguation). Kingdom of Bahrain مملكة البحرين Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn Flag Coat of arms Anthem: نشيد البحرين الوطني Bahrainona Our Bahrain Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Location of Bahrain (circled in red)in the Arabian Peninsula (light yellow) Location of Bahrain (circled in red) in the Arabian Peninsula (light yellow) Capital and largest city Manama 26°13′N 50°35′E Official languages Arabic Ethnic groups (2010[1]) 46% Bahraini 45.5% Asian 4.7% other Arabs 1.6% African 1% European 1.2% Other Religion Islam Demonym Bahraini Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy - King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa - Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa - Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Legislature National Assembly - Upper house Consultative Council - Lower house Council of Representatives Independence - Declared Independence [2] 14 August 1971 - from UK [3] 15 August 1971 Area - Total 765 km2 (187th) 295.37 sq mi - Water (%) negligible Population - 2014 estimate 1,343,000[4] (155th) - 2010 census 1,234,571 - Density 1,626.6/km2 (7th) 4,212.8/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate ...
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...C200 Examination Name:_________________________________ Date:________ Purpose This assessment is used to gauge your understanding of the ideas introduced in the C200 lessons and using them to analyze strategic policy and plans. The exam is due at the end of C200. General Instructions * This examination is worth 35% of your C200 Theme grade. * You may use the C200 online lessons, readings, and references to complete the exam. * The DDE Support Team can only answer administrative questions. * All work must be your own. You are not to discuss this examination or your answers, in either draft or final form, with anyone else. * Answers must be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 2 pages in length per question. * Use Times New Roman size 12 pitch font. One inch margins. * Clearly identify the question you are answering. * Any quotations from the assigned student readings are to be parenthetical (Huntington, pg. 8). Quotations from sources outside assigned student readings are to have complete citation. * You are not authorized to copy, reproduce or share this examination. Answer These Questions 1. Based upon the attached Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan, what vital national interest does the President see at stake in Afghanistan and how does our involvement...
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...Profile Name of Country: Saudi Arabia Source: CIA Factbook (Factbook) Demographics: Population: 27,345,986 * note: immigrants make up more than 30% of the total population, according to UN data (2013) (July 2014 est.) Population Growth Rate: 1.49% (2014 est.) Major languages: Arabic (official) Major religions: Muslim (official) 100% Life expectancy: (at birth) male: 72.79 years ; female: 76.94 years (2014 est.) Literacy Rates: total population: 87.2% ; male: 90.8% ; female: 82.2% (2011 est.) Government: Type of Government: Monarchy Head of Government: King of Saudi : King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005) Geography: General features : Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen Climate : harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes Surface area: 2,149,690 sq km Population density: 12.91 / sq.km Largest city by population is: Riyadh Economics: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $927.8 billion (2013 est.) GDP Per Capita: $31,300 (2013 est.) GDP Growth Rate: 3.6% (2013 est.) Sectoral Share in GDP: Agriculture – 2%, Industry – 62.5%, Services – 35.5% (2013 est.) Major Industries/Products: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic...
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...The British, tainted with years of influence and covert action themselves, to this day, claim that the doings of Mr. Grobba had a fundamental part in uprooting the peace in Iraq during the war years and that he played an important role in destabilizing the Iraq government and leading anti British sentiment during the inter-war years during his stationing in Baghdad. Grobba himself who in his work, Männer und Mächte im Orient, claims that he did not commit any such actions contested this. He goes onto to argue that it was in-fact the British that were the main conspirators of any covert political actions that led to both the destabilization of Iraq which indirectly also led to the rise of National sentiments that had at their heart an anti British Agenda. To this day this question remains of Importance, as the question of German involvement and the seeding of propaganda for the Hitler Reich and for Nationalism would have had an implicit role in creating the Farhud massacre of 1941 of the Jewish population in Iraq. If there exists such a correlation the descendants of the Jewish victims would have the right to compensation and would officially be considered victims of the Jewish Holocaust. While the question of the Farhud is important, it has to be remembered that with the beginning of the war in all German children, women, and Men had been expelled. This means that the only way that the Farhud can be explained in terms of German agitations is if they had been profound and prolific...
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...Speech by Haim Harari on War on Terror HAIM HARARI, a theoretical physicist, is the Chair, Davidson Institute of Science Education, and Former President, from 1988 to 2001, of the Weizmann Institute of Science. During his years as President of the Institute, the Institute entered numerous new scientific fields and projects, built 47 new buildings, raised one Billion Dollars in philanthropic money, hired more than half of its current tenured Professors and became one of the highest royalty-earning academic organizations in the world. Throughout all his adult life, Harari has made major contributions to three different fields: Particle Physics Research on the international scene, Science Education in the Israeli school system and Science Administration and Policy Making. A View from the Eye of the Storm Talk delivered by Haim Harari at a meeting of the International Advisory Board of a large multi-national corporation, April, 2004. As you know, I usually provide the scientific and technological "entertainment" in our meetings, but, on this occasion, our Chairman suggested that I present my own personal view on events in the part of the world from which I come. I have never been and I will never be a Government official and I have no privileged information. My perspective is entirely based on what I see, on what I read and on the fact that my family has lived in this region for almost 200 years. You may regard my views as those of the proverbial taxi driver, which...
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...The Role of New Media in Arab Uprisings: Al-Jazeera focus by [Author’s Name] [Faculty Name] [Department or School Name] [Month Year] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible. DECLARATION I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University. Signed __________________ Date _________________ ABSTRACT This research is focused on analysing the role played by Social media in the Arab Uprisings. During l8-day period, the Egyptian protesters succeeded to a large extent in achieving maximum publicity and attracting the attention of the world by mobilizing news media coverage of their protests. The role of media is to provide information and communicate messages to others. Media played a significant role in ringing political changes to the countries belonging to Arab region. Since a long time, the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other countries were facing problems due to the unequal and biased policies developed in the country by the leaders. These riots turned out to be an outcome of the frustrations and annoyance which were filling up the people...
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...qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer...
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...Germany has decided to phase out its all the nuclear plants by 2022. This decision, prompted by Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, will make Germany the first major industrialized nation to go nuclear-free. Germany (Europe’s largest economy) is determined to replace its nuclear power with renewable energy resources. . Swiss parliament has approved amendments to tax treaties with other countries, including India. This makes easier access for India, to collect information about the illegal funds held by the Indian nationals in Swiss private banks. The Swiss parliament endorsed amendments to double-taxation agreements (DTAAs) in line with internationally applicable standards. The beneficiaries from the new amendments include India, Germany, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, Uruguay, Kazakhstan, and Poland. French Nationals to Sue Sarkozy over Crimes in Libya Two French lawyers have said that they are planning to sue French President Nicolas Sarkozy against the Humanity crimes over the military campaign in Libya that was led by NATO. Jacques Verges and Roland Dumas two of the French lawyers have decided to represent the families of the victims during the military campaign. Constitution (15th Amendment) Bill, 2011 passed in Bangladesh The Parliament of Bangladesh, the Jatiyo Sangsad, passed the Constitution (15th Amendment) Bill, 2011 on 30 June 2011 to amend its constitution under which the caretaker government system for holding general elections was scrapped...
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...| Suicide Bomber Profile | Suicidal Tendencies of Suicide Bombers | | | | | Tendencies of Suicide Bombers Suicide terrorism is the targeted use of self-obliteration of human beings against non-combatant individuals (usually civilian populations) with the objective of causing political change within a country. Even though a suicide attack is aimed to destroy an initial target, its primary use is a weapon of psychological warfare intended to affect a larger public audience. The main target is not those who are killed, instead it is aimed at those made to witness it. In the last 3 decades, it is estimated that there has been around 1200 suicide attacks taking place in different parts of the world, making up about 4% of all terrorist attacks but 32% (14,599 individuals) of all terrorism-related deaths. Approximately 90% of these attacks have occurred in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Israel alone. Although there is an association between suicide and suicidal behavior and homicide and violence to others, few studies on suicide comment on the phenomenon of the ‘suicide’ bomber. In the absence of any universally agreed definition of the term ‘terrorism’, the term tends to be very subjective: One person's terrorist may be another's freedom fighter. According to some authors on the history of terrorism, suicide or self-sacrifice associated with terrorist violence is not a new phenomenon. [1] In fact, suicide attacks are very old modus operandi. In...
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...certifications in the Disclosure appendix, and with the Disclaimer, which forms part of it Economics Global 11 January 2012 abc From the Top 30 to the Top 100 Attention will increasingly turn to the ‘new emergers’ as the world economy undergoes a seismic shift Demographics to play a crucial role, helping parts of Africa finally emerge from economic obscurity When we published ‘The World in 2050’ a year ago (4 January 2011), we gave a projection for the Top 30 economies by size in 2050 from a pool of the largest 40 economies today. This update casts a wider net and seeks to identify the Top 100 economies by size. A larger universe increases competition for the Top 30 and allows us to consider the ‘new emergers’ in the coming decades. Our ranking is based on an economy’s current level of development and the factors that will determine whether it has the potential to catch up with more developed nations. These fundamentals include current income per capita, rule of law, democracy, education levels and demographic change, allowing us to project forward GDP to 2050. We assume that policymakers will continue to make progress in addressing economic flaws and that they avoid wars and remain open to...
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...Dystopia Regrettably it is at this point that we find a gradual switchover from Utopia to Dystopia - societies whose planning is far from ideal, and which all too often come to grief. As a concept, Dystopia emerges at the end of the long Eighteenth Century, possibly as a result of social upheaval and the long wars. it comes to the fore towards the end of the Nineteenth Century with gloomy forebodings as to the impact of industrialisation. Some go for a mechanical paradise. Others foresee a world order where things have got beyond repair - and that's not just the machines. Jack London in The Iron Heel (1908)sees the collapse of the American republic between 1912 and 1932 with the rise of 'The Oligarchy' (though he also thinks that international worker solidarity will avert a world war in 1913). Dystopia is highly pessimistic in tone. It traces what happens when things go wrong, either in an ideal world which has gone into crisis or decline, or else is a portrayal of of a world where society has collapsed at some time in the past. It is form of writing with a moral - and a warning. The irony is that reality can be stranger than fiction. The finale of The Mission is a case in point. The humanitarian goals of the Jesuit Fathers ironically contained the seeds of destruction for the Missions. The presence not only of rational Indians, but Christianised ones who were highly skilled proved to be too much of a temptation for the bandeirantes, slavers who came across from Brazil and...
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