Technical University

2013

Two years after the start of the Arab uprisings, the Middle East remains as tumultuous as ever. Despite the uncertainty and flux, a number of emerging trends will influence the region in the post-revolutionary period and well into the future.The first trend is a marked uptick in sectarianism and sectarian violence. The second trend is a crisis within political Islam and a widening rift between secular and Islamist political forces. And the third trend is the gradual disengagement and declining influence of the US in the Middle East. This paper, by Lydia Khalil, looks at the road to revolution, the polarised politics of Islamists vs secularists, and sectarianism’s grip in the region. The events in Egypt and Syria illustrate the difficulties faced by policymakers around the world—options for intervention are limited. However, the international community continues to look for ways to encourage stability. Australia\u27s role is considered including its role on the United Nations Securit...

This paper aims to keep readers informed by addressing common views which are widespread not only among academics and politicians, but also amongst the Arab masses which have started to question and lose confidence in the current climate of Arab revolution. The paper will enunciate the term the "Arab spring" as a phenomenon, examining its contours though practical and theoretically accepted ‘norms’. Actual forces, whether internal or external, will be contextualized within a theoretical framework in order to introduce an innovative analysis of the current conditions in the region, in an effort to draw some relevant conclusions and provide a working prognosis of the future course of events. HEMISPHERES Vol. 29, No. 2, 2014

2021

This postgraduate course aims to address the major issues in the study of International Relations of the modern Middle East. Attending to profound regional change shaped by shifting geopolitics and capitalism, and the evolving politics and societies in the 20 th and 21 st centuries, the course will focus on a broad range of themes including state formation, war and conflict, political economy, identity, authoritarianism and democratization as well as foreign policies of regional and extra-regional actors in the making of the Middle East. It aspires to acquaint students with a comprehensive vista of the actors, issues and transformation of regional politics, bring together IR and Area Studies perspectives, and provide those who would like to pursue further studies on Middle East politics with the essential knowledge of the region.

The uprisings started in Tunisia in 2010 and quickly spread to other countries of the Arab world have been labeled as the "Arab Spring". The consequences of the upheavals are serious and significant: in some countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, the regime was overthrown, in other Arab states, governments launched political reforms. The situation in Syria is still complicated and far from a resolution. Events in Arab world have provoked wide range of questions and discussions among politicians and academia: from theoretical approaches to the conducting of foreign policy and from effectiveness of intelligence services to the causes of the events and interests of external powers in the region. Among all these discussions, we have to pay special attention to several key points: the roots of revolutions are within the Arab society and were not organized and led by external forces; rise to power of Islamist groups after the overthrow of regimes; interests of Russia and the U.S. in the region. In this paper I will examine these issues in an attempt to prove why they are of extreme importance.

The methodology used throughout this research paper is inclined to explore the particular dynamics between economic, state policy, and social development in the context of regional insecurity existing in the Middle East. There is a relative message to be further incentivized for the development, examination, and adaptation of current political policies, and structural economic social and development systems to enhance the overall regional decision making processes. The emphasis on providing this alternative regional perspective concept is to create strategies that may build greater resilience for those aspiring self-governing Arab states, on the path towards social and economic development for their respective modern day Arab nations. The purpose of my research paper is to establish a link between national, regional and economic security, with the need for enhanced policy-making mechanisms and establishment of competent institutions, so as to contribute in the process of security building and advancing of domestic and regional Arab societies. Taking into account historical context and existence of external actors, are milestone elements of consideration. There is a strong demonstration of critique theories of looking at the initial development of modern Arab states, and the main problematiqué: the democratic evolution of state institutions being heavily build on political power on their economic structures, ignoring some social and political aspects of national development. A constructivist view on globalization, nation building, inclusion, democratic processes and global governance, is presented throughout the paper, in hopes to shed light on some of the speculative rhetoric that applies to literature on Middle Eastern countries, and have a broader sense of contextualizing the challenges that tend to be commonly present to these countries in the region. Throughout the research, it becomes more clear that there is a need for reform for theoretical frameworks on liberalism, social class and domestic national interactions, as constructivist approach on the inclusion of other actors, and connecting both economic and social welfare to effective (or non-effective) governance. Apart from the need for economic growth by adopting models of governance that are able to react to potential challenges, given the vulnerable situation of many social and political economies existing till this day in many Arab nations.

Journal of Islamic Studies, 2014

More than four years after the so-called "Arab Spring" began, headlines across most of the Middle East seem depressingly retro. The United States is fighting Sunni extremists in Iraq. Activists imprisoned for peacefully protesting a repressive government in Egypt are on hunger strike. Gazans are digging out from the most recent Israeli bombardment. People from Morocco to Oman face poor job prospects and rising living costs. In 2011, people in the region argued over which dictator would be the next to fall. Today, activists breathe a sigh of relief when colleagues are released from prison on bail, even if they still face farcical trials. The sole bright spot is Tunisia, where despite setbacks , a genuine political (if not yet social) transition continues. Both because of the depressing nature of current events and the ease with which they overwhelm, Dispatches from the Arab Spring: Understanding the New Middle East1 2 offers a head-clearing experience. Reading it is a bit like looking at a wedding album amidst divorce proceedings. It's a reminder of 1 Carolyn Barnett is a Fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 2 Paul Amar and Vijay Prashad (eds.), Dispatches from the Arab Spring: Understanding the New Middle East (Minneapolis, m n : University of Minnesota Press, 2013).

Centre for Mediterranean, Middle East and Islamic Studies, 2021

On the eve of the ten-year anniversary of the Arab Uprisings of 2011, CEMMIS has opted to commemorate the event via a series of analyses focused on the repercussions and developments related to Middle Eastern countries during the previous decade. One should note that the CEMMIS Middle East Bulletin 39 is titled The Arab uprisings: Break on through to the other side for several reasons. The first is that it is a very catchy title and references to a song which – as the Arab uprisings – influenced an entire generation. The second is that the purpose of the Bulletin is to shine a light on the countries, as well as on the people directly affected by the Arab uprisings but were nonetheless subjected to their aftereffects. The third reason is that although the Arab Spring is commonly associated with the countries which saw their regimes toppled, its repercussions influenced and still drive policies and social movements throughout the Middle East and beyond. As a result, the current issue will abstain from examining Tunisia, Egypt, Libya or Syria, as these countries bore the immediate brunt of the Arab Spring developments, for better or for worse.

2015

in Re-Conceptualizing Orders in the MENA Region: The Analytical Framework of the MENARA Project, ed. Eduard Soler i Lecha, Silvia Colombo, Lorenzo Kamel, and Jordi Quero (Barcelona: The Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture Project, 2016), pp. 7-32.

Mail: 313 355 5115

Book Teaser, 2014

Since it was first published in 2006, this concise overview of the making of the contemporary Middle East has become essential reading for students and general readers who want to gain a better understanding of this diverse region. Writing for a wide audience, Mehran Kamrava takes us from fall of the Ottoman Empire to today, exploring along the way such central issues as the dynamics of economic development, authoritarian endurance, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. For this new, thoroughly revised edition, he has brought the book fully up to date by incorporating events and issues of the past few years. The Modern Middle East now includes information about the June 2009 Iranian presidential elections and their aftermath, changes precipitated so far by the Obama administration, Israel’s attack on Gaza in 2008, the effects of globalization on economic development, and more.

Regularly, when spring comes, people expect flowers and green shoots and optimism prevails. Alas, things in the Middle East are quite different. With every spring that comes, people recall the outbreak of the first spark of the current "Arab Spring" that started in Tunisia 2011 and swept Arab countries, wondering what will come after and where it will hit next. After being caught by surprise, numerous scholars and observers have been writing extensively about the "Arab Spring", trying to uncover its wellsprings and link it to other incidents and circumstances, in an attempt to read the portents of the rough and tumble of the Middle East. Yet, I contend, this pursuit is often a vain one especially given that the available literature is not yet adequate to explain the various aspects of what has gone before. Fully aware of this gap, I aim to reveal first of all a number of the missing contours and dynamics in order to further articulate the term "Arab Spring". In the same vein, I will also try to analyze the current political and geopolitical conditions in the Middle East in an effort to draw some relevant conclusions and provide a working prognosis of the future course of events in the region.

Course Description This course is an invitation to reconsider our preconceived notions about the modern Middle East, by way of introduction to the rich history of the region since 1900. You will learn about the legacies of the Ottoman Empire and of Pan-Arabism in the era of decolonization. We will also pay close attention to the lingering involvement of the US in the region, from its support for Israel, the politics of oil in the Gulf to the occupation of Iraq and beyond. We will examine the impact this presence has had over the lives of millions in the region and beyond. This course will also focus on state violence: the authoritarian state (especially Syria and Iraq), and the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Significantly, I will highlight the social and political struggles of folks and consider the dynamics of popular uprisings, revolutions and rebellions, both failed and successful ones. Course Evaluation 4 Reading quizzes (Blackboard) (5% each) = 20% Map quiz (in class) 5%

is study has aimed at increasing familiarity of students with regard to major issues in Middle East politics, and providing a framework that would help to analyze regional politics. In this regard, there are two points to be considered. e first one is the necessity of addressing an issue regarding the region th- rough a synchronic and comparative perspective. e second is the fact that any issue addressed in political analyses is a part of a complicated process shaped by interaction of a number of factors in a specific place and historical context. In this study, firstly main factors that are e ective in Middle East politics, such as physical and human geography, economy and history are examined. In the second part, leading actors that play criti- cal roles in regional politics, i.e. states, international organiza- tions and extra-regional powers, and the roles of these actors in Middle East politics are discussed. Lastly, contextual factors that emerge in the Middle East, and regional and global dyna- mics are addressed brie y. It also addressed the question how does structural factors, actors in the region and regional and global dynamics a ect each other.

The International Spectator, 2011

The Arab revolts are one dimension of the strategic change that is affecting the Middle East and Arab world as a consequence of the failure of the West, especially the United States, to shape the region in line with their views during the last decade. They definitely point to the weakening, or perhaps even the end, of a long period in which US and Western objectives in the region were supported by a large coalition of regional powers with conservative interests. The revolts did not come out of the blue and have quite a different nature and significance from the ones that Western official rhetoric and media tend to assign them. To understand the Arab revolts and work out a fresh Western approach toward the region, the West must frame the revolts in the region's evolving strategic context. The West/Arab moderates coalition and its weakening In the Middle East's time frame, the divide is not the end of the Cold War, nor 9/11. The divide is the rise of the Islamic Republic in Iran and the shift to the Western camp of Egypt with its peace with Israel, that is 1979-80. These developments opened the way to a multi-faceted and even violent conflict between a strong and widespread anti-Western movement leveraging on nationalism, religion and identity and a 'moderate' Arab camp of broadly conservative regimes and dynasties, pre-eminently concerned with ensuring their own survival and getting Western support for that purpose. In the 1980s, when Egypt was totally isolated and its future moderate companions did not have the courage to join it, a coalition of rejectionists, both nationalists and Islamists, waged the first round of hostilities against the West and what then existed of the moderate Arab camp in an

PS: Political Science & Politics, 2017

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