This post is due by Tuesday, January 21 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rwilliamsATchamplain.edu for partial credit.
Read the assigned chapters above, and then:
1. Provide 3 SPECIFIC observations about the Arab Spring you learned from EACH chapter of our book, using 2-3 sentences combining the book and your own IYOW analysis.
2. Finally, ask ONE specific question you have of the Arab Spring after completing our reading.
Chapter 4:
ReplyDelete• In both Syria and Algeria had military that were capable of suppressing riots effectively. This contributed to the false assurance that Syria would not join in the uprisings and the ability of Algeria to avoid joining the uprisings even with its issues.
• In Syria, the military’s exaggerated response to ten school children writing “Down with the regime” on a wall is what started the uprisings in Syria. If they had just ignored the children, they would have likely been fine. However, they decided to imprison the students and torture them. After two weeks the parents of the students took to the streets to protest the imprisonment of their children and the security forces fired on the group of parents. During the funeral the following day 20,000 people came to the procession and started the Syrian uprising.
• Early Syrian protests did not gather large followings with only a few hundred people showing up to each of the few protests. This allowed the military to easily outnumber and suppress the people involved.
Chapter 5:
• All of the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies have high concentrations of oil that contribute from 60-95% of different countries’ incomes. The rising oil prices have boosted the economies of these countries and given them extra money that could be used to pay off people who are not happy with the current government.
• Protesters in the Arab monarchies wanted the economic situation to improve, an end to corruption, and equal rights to all citizens. In Saudi Arabia protesters also demanded equal rights for women since the rights in Saudi Arabia were more restrictive than most other places in the Arab world.
• The uprisings in Bahrain reached a stalemate between the protesters and the security forces of Bahrain. 1000 troops from Saudi Arabia and 500 police officers from the UAE entered the country to assist with suppressing the uprisings.
Chapter 6:
• While the death of Osama bin Laden may have been a blow to Al-Qaeda, the Arab uprisings may have hurt Al-Qaeda more. The uprisings showed the public the flaws in some of their beliefs. Al-Qaeda argued that removing local autocrats was only removing the “near enemy” would not help the country, and that the real enemy was the Crusader-Zionist alliance. The changes that the citizens made by removing the “near enemy” from leadership gave evidence on the contrary.
• Uprisings are hard to predict because of how extraordinary they are. This is because many factors contribute to whether or not an uprising starts. While an uprising may form because of long term tensions that the people have had with the government in some places, in other countries the people need a trigger to begin their uprisings.
• Even though Iraq was planned to become a “beacon of democracy,” after the successful toppling of the government the democracy in Iraq was run poorly. A Day of Rage was hosted on Febuary 25, 2011 in Iraq because of this. The demands of the protest were to fix the shortages of electricity and water, and the high unemployment along with government corruption.
Question: Why do the security forces in these countries continue to react by injuring or killing protesters even though it has been shown multiple times that this form of retaliation only makes the uprising stronger?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. Algeria’s economic golden age was between 1963-1987, when they were able to carry out these policies because of it’s huge reserves of oil and natural gas. (It is currently the world’s fourteenth-largest producer of oil and third-largest producer of liquefied natural gas. Page 95
2. There was an uprising in Algeria, taking after the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, but it failed and they weren’t able to hear the resignation of their president over the radio, as the Egyptians had. Page 98
3. Syria is a religiously heterogeneous country, enjoying the support of religious minorities that make up about ¼ of the population.\
Chapter 5
1. The Arab world has more monarchies than any other region. They have 8, except for Europe, which has 12. Page 119w
2. From the death of Osama bin Laden, a decrease in al-Qaeda was seen, being the first country for rising up against the bloody reinjuring oppression
3. “As of 2010, oil exports accounted for 70 percent of Quatar’s revenues and 90 percent of Abu Dhabi’s.”
Chapter 6
1. President Bush thought that after liberation fomr Sadaam Hussein, Iraq would become a beacon of democracy. This wasn’t the case. The reality was that the democracy was virtually dysfunctional, with corruption, and power shortages etc. Page 146
2. One of the reasons that Iran didn’t give up their quest to find nuclear weapons was because the US had ran surroouneded. They saw the Middle East as a zero-sum game against the US, with a loss for one being a gin for the other. Page 154
3. “Uprisings are extraordinary events, and being extraordinary they defy prediction. Page 157
Is it at all possible, an uprising could occur anywhere else within the Middle East on a moment’s notice?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. Page 93 - Experts thought they could trace the uprising and turned out to be wrong. They thought it would not affect Syria, but in reality Syria was next.
2. Page 95 - Algeria was believed to be "next" because it has a history of protests and civil wars, and that it is the sort of "trendsetter" in the Arab world. "There is a certain amount of truth in saying that wherever the Middle East is going, Algeria will get there first (and probably with more violence.)"
3. Page 98 - The uprisings failed in Algeria because of a lack of young professionals, a reluctancy to revisit civil war, and an inseparability of military from regime. It seemed slightly oibvious that the uprisings would have way less of an affect in Algeria.
Chapter 5
1. Page 119 - There are more monarchies in the Arab world than any other region. No other region in the world even comes close, with the exception of Europe
2. Page 125 - The Arab World developed over time in the shadow of European and American dominance. "As a result even the weakest states found outside patrons whenever their existence was at stake."
3. Page 126 - Monarchies have a huge dependance on oil exports. Even Bahrain, which is considered to be an oil-poor country, gets 60% of its revenues from oil.
Chapter 6
1. Page 141 - "The first time the phrase "Arab Spring" appeared in print was in 2005 in the wake of a series of events - including elections in Iraq and Cedar revolutions in Lebanon - that are believed to be inspired by George W. Bush."
2. Page 147 - Although Osama bin Laden was believed to be al-Qaeda's mastermind, it was debatable just how important he was to an organization that had become one in name only.
3. Page 147 - "By fostering an environment in which repression was lifted and people could more freely debate a wide spectrum of ideas, the created an environment in which al-Qaeda could more openly compete for hearts and minds."
Question
How can a war of this scale really ever come to an end? Although it can be argued that the uprisings are turning people away from al-Qaeda, they also seem to have given them a boost.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChapter 4
ReplyDelete2011 demonstrations in Algeria were influenced by what happened in Tunisia and Egypt. The demonstrations had a lukewarm start. However, with time they gained much support and following.(97)
The Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia were a failure. This happened owing to a range of social and political factors. Yet these uprisings marked a distinct change from the past.(99)
The Syrian opposition believes that the fall of Assad will move Syria away from Iran. To some extent these conjectures are motivated by religious disparities between Syria and Iran. Yet, the fact is that Iran and Syria came close primarily owing to strategic reasons and not religion. (118)
Chapter 6
At the time of Arab Spring uprisings, the Israel-Palestinian conflict remained unresolved. This was largely owing to differences between the PLO and Hamas. The other reason for this was the uncompromising stance of Israel. (150)
People try to draw analogies between Arab Spring and many other revolutions of the past. Yet, this is futile. This is because each observer tries to interpret Arab Spring in the light of the Revolution that fits his perceptions. (155)
Revolutions never happen to be straight jacketed in the context of time. They are influenced by many motivations from the past and continue to influence the future over time. Thereby the significance of the Arab Spring lies in the historical influences that motivated it and the impact it will continue to have on the history in the times to come. (156)
Question
The Arab Spring can gives way to a new political order in the region or not ? why?
Chapter 4: Two Surprises
ReplyDelete1. Syrian security forces had arrested ten schoolchildren aged fifteen and under for writing “Down with the regime” on a wall. These children were imprisoned and tortured. This led to thousands of protestors chanting antigovernment slogans as well as attacking government buildings (103). It is terrible to think that children were tortured just for writing on a wall.
2. I was surprised that the strengths of the Syrian opposition were the same as their weaknesses. Diversity and loose structure have enabled the opposition to draw from multiple layers of the population and be adaptive. On the other hand, diversity and loose structure have impeded consensus on a range of issues, like a vision for the future of Syria (111-112).
3. No foreign power wants to intervene with Syria. Countries do not want to take the chance of an unstable Syria that might follow from a collapse of the regime. America fears that with a collapse more sectarian violence could result or a takeover by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood could occur (115).
Chapter 5: The Monarchies
1. The Arab world has more monarchies than any other region. The reason for this power is a product of the modern world and not the past. Monarchies survive because they are financed by revenues from oil (119).
2. All monarchies that have dealt with protests have attempted to relieve economic pressures that contributed to popular anger such as promising cash bonuses and jobs. Monarchs have also displayed signs of force by trying to repress the protests (133).
3. The Gulf Cooperation Council is an organization made up of Gulf kingdoms to promote cooperation in cultural, economic, and political affairs. Saudi Arabia has played the dominant role for the (GCC) because it is the largest and wealthiest of the kingdoms (138).
Chapter 6: Stepping Back
1. There was a difference between the broad strategy the freedom agenda called for and the broad strategy the uprisings have applied. The freedom agenda assumed autocrats over time would lead to true reform by undertaking electoral reform and hold free elections. Populations under rule knew no autocrat would do this so populations took things into their own hands (142).
2. In one aspect, the uprisings have created an environment in which al-Qaeda could more openly compete for hearts and minds. On the other hand, what the protestors in the Arab world were demanding for included democratic governance and accepted norms of human rights. These ideals are far from what al-Qaedists believe in so it is interesting to think about whether or not the uprisings are helping or hurting al-Qaeda (147-148).
3. The internal strength or weaknesses of a state and their independence of state institutions plays a crucial role in determining the course an uprising will take. Neither culture nor religion has prevented the emergence of democratic aspirations in the Arab world. Uprisings defy prediction (157-158).
Question: What more can the populations of the Arab communities do to achieve democratic values?
Provide 3 SPECIFIC observations about the Arab Spring you learned from EACH chapter of our book, using 2-3 sentences combining the book and your own IYOW analysis.
ReplyDeleteChapter 4: Two Surprises
Algeria was the first state in the Arab world to nationalize oil and the natural gas industry on the 60’s. They were also the first to experiement with free multiparty elections in the 80’s. When the experimented elections favored Islamists who wont the first round of balloting the army stepped in. The military involvement anger the people and launched Algeria into a civil war.
The “youth bulge” had no faith in their country and fled despite possible imprisonment or death. The youth risked everything because to them Algeria was, in their words, “hogra” (humiliation), Poverty, and Corruption. The similar theme we noticed creeping through the middle east. Algeria may not have been one of the top three to follow the trend as usual.
The uprising in Syria is considered to be spontaneous, much like the Libyan uprisings. The Syrian actions weren’t consider premeditated and did not originally occur in cities or the capital but in providences. The massive outbreaks began with small slogans that lead to arrests and killings to then lead to thousands of outraged civilians chanting those slogans against their government.
Question: Is reorienting Syria, as suggested in the book really the appropriate way to handle the situation? Taking Syria and gearing their culture and attitude more toward western ways of thought,after dismantling their government may prove to make more enemies. I understand that if Syria does not go toward the west and the US they go toward Iran, and that the US does not want that. But if we intervene to that extent after wouldn’t there be more negative repercussions than positive assumptions?
Chapter 5: The Monarchies
The very first line of chapter five, “ There are more monarchies in the Arab world (eight) than in any other region. . .” p119 Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Not only do these monarchies have the status, they have the power to rule as well.
p.122 Winston Churchill and other Brits in 1921 gave the throne of Jordan to one of the sons of Sharif Hussein of Mecca. This son happened to be a warlord who pledged support to the British during WW1. With that all said I also learned that sharif is the title of a descendant of Muhammad. And originally Jordan was Trans-Jordan and the throne was given with the title Prince.
p.127 With the exception of the sultan of Oman all monarchs in the Arab world are Sunni. The sultan of Oman is a member of an Islamist sect called Ibadi.
Question: Why did the GUlf Cooperation Council (GCC) decide to take up an army? Weren’t there already, aren’t there already enough armies floating around? The chapter states that it was to deter and respond to aggression against any member state. From my understanding this organization is also lending funds and offering substantial funds to to aid fighting in the Arab world but only if you are a member. I guess I’m just a little unclear as to why they exist and what positive/negative effects they maybe having on the situation.
Chapter 6: Stepping Back
The day of Rage was on February 25th, 2011, which extended from Mosul to Basra with tens of thousands of Iraqis protesting in the streets due to shortages in electricity and water, high unemployment, and the government corruption. p.145
p.149 After surveys conducted support for bin Laden and al-qaeda in every state had decreased, EXCEPT for Nigeria. Nigerian responses in the survey showed that Nigerians had more faith in bin Laden’s position and moral behavior.
2009 Iran’s uprising was considered the first “Twitter Revolution” causing the government to enforce strict regulations to quiet any sign of an uprising.
Question: Food for thought, is the Arab Spring/ Arab Uprising still just beginning and gaining more momentum or is it beginning to plateau out through out the Arab Middle East?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. experts thought that the uprising could be traced, but were in fact wrong.
2. The Syrian uprising was considered to be spontaneous, much like the Libyan uprisings. The Syrian actions were not thought of before hand and did not originally occur in cities or the capital but in providences.
3. Early Syrian protests did not gather large popularity with only a few hundred people showing up to each of the few protests. This allowed the military to easily outnumber the people involved.
Chapter 5
1. The Arab world has more monarchies than any other region. The reason for this power is a product of the modern world and not the past. Monarchies survive because they are financed by revenues from oil.
2. Winston Churchill in 1921 gave the throne of Jordan to one of the sons of Sharif Hussein of Mecca. This son was a warlord who pledged support to the British during WW1.
3. Monarchies have a huge dependance on oil exports. Even Bahrain, which is considered to be an oil-poor country, gets 60% of its revenues from oil.
Chapter 6
1. Uprisings are extraordinary events, and being extraordinary they defy prediction.
2. After surveys conducted support for bin Laden and al-qaeda in every state had decreased, except for Nigeria. Nigerian responses in the survey showed that Nigerians had more faith in bin Laden’s position and moral behavior.
3. Osama bin Laden was believed to be al-Qaeda's mastermind, it was debatable just how important he was to an organization that had become one in name only.
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. Many people believed that Algeria would be the next country to have an uprising because it has historically played the role of the trendsetter in the Arab world. “There is a certain amount of truth to the saying that wherever the Middle East is going, Algeria will get there first (and probably with more violence)”. However, Algeria surprised many by not having a full out uprising (93-94).
2. Security forces arrested ten schoolchildren for writing “Down with the regime (nizam)” on a wall. They were imprisoned and tortured; their families fought for their release for two weeks. When they weren’t released people protested in the streets, where security forces shot at them; which led to another protest. (103)
3. “…the government committed seemingly purposeless acts of violence, frequently against children and even infants, in an attempt to cow the population.” (106). Yet the US government only used empty threats against Bashar al-Assad; which did nothing to stop the violence.
Chapter 5
1. The monarchies in the Arab world have survived because of world politics. Europe and America have helped the monarchies when they were under threat, either by other countries or their own people rebelling. (125-126).
2. The Gulf is home to many noncitizen guest workers that are usually less involved in the politics of the states that they work in, since stepping out of line could get them deported. This gives the Gulf states the chance to focus their attention on bettering the situation of their citizens, enough that they won’t feel the need to protest (127).
3. All the monarchies have attempted to relieve economic stress to pacify their citizens. They have given cash bonuses, lowered food prices, and made subsidies for consumer goods higher. In addition, they have promised more benefits in the future. With this scheme they are trying to keep their citizens just happy enough that they won’t try and overthrow them (133).
Chapter 6
1. While people use the uprisings as a way to prove that Bush’s freedom agenda worked, that is a simplistic way of thinking. There is a huge difference between the strategies that the freedom agenda used to call for change than what the uprisings actually used. The freedom agenda assumed that autocrats would change over time but they didn’t, so the people took to the streets (142).
2. The al-Qaeda is becoming less popular in the Arab world. Nigeria is the only country where support for bin Laden and al-Qaeda isn’t decreasing (148).
3. Since Mubarak isn’t in charge of Egypt anymore, Egyptian officials no longer feel the need to play puppet to America and Israel. They have opened up limited access to the Gaza border. They have also brokered talks between Fatah and Hamas, much to the dismay of American and Israeli officials (151).
Question: Has America meddling in the business of the Arab world effected the choices that new officials have made?
Chapter 4:
ReplyDelete1. The Algerian protests in 2011 were not as successful as the Tunisian and Egyptian protests. Police out-numbered protestors and protests slowed down in Algeria while they grew in other countries. The protests made an impact on Algeria’s government but not as large of an impact it made in Egypt and Tunisia. (98)
2. It was thought that the uprisings were unlikely to occur in Syria for several reasons; the president, Bashar al-Assad was a proud reformer and the leader of an anti-imperialist resistance group. (101) Syria had also demonstrated power in the past with killings and torture to scare citizens against uprising. (102)
3. It is believed that removing the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad from power could destroy Syria’s alliance with Iran. The two countries benefit greatly from this alliance; Syria gains economic benefits and Iran earns regional power. (117-118)
Chapter 5:
1. Jordan was a British invention, created to provide a kingdom for the son of Sharif Hussein. Winston Churchill boasted about how simple it was to create the country. (122)
2. Most Arab monarchies rely heavily on oil sales. A very high percentage of their revenues come from oil and there is even a term for this: hydrocarbon –rich or hydrocarbon-poor. (126)
3. A protest group in Morocco demanded a new constitution to which the king agreed. However, the revised constitution failed to give the people what they wanted and still gave the king much power. However, the new constitution strangely won a 98.5% vote. (135)
Chapter 6:
1. When Obama first came into office in 2009, his foreign policy team believed that the U.S. was focusing too much on the Middle East. Their goal was to spend less time and effort on the Middle East and more on The Chinese and Pacific Rim. (143)
2. It is debatable whether the Arab Uprisings weakened or strengthened al-Qaeda because there is evidence supporting both arguments. However, the uprisings hurt al-Qaeda more than Osama bin Laden’s death. (147)
3. The author believes that, like all revolutions in history, the Arab uprisings will have a beginning, a climax and an end. This makes it hard to judge when we can understand the significance of these events. (157)
Question: Has the Arab uprisings made an impact on women's rights at all?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. Many outside observers thought that Algeria would be the first Arab country to have an uprising. They have proved themselves to be "trendsetters" in the Arab world, and events before the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt started to bubble in Algeria. However, no such uprisings have completely formulated in Algeria thus far. (92-98)
2.Even though there is not currently a huge Arab uprising in Algeria at the moment, their history shows that it may be in the making. In 1988 the first calls for democracy were heard in Algeria. The government did a good job at squashing the outbreaks; they held elections but then cancelled the results and remained autocratic.(99-100)
3. A lot of experts were surprised about the uprisings that occurred/ are occurring in Syria for a number of reasons. A big reason was that al-Assad had a pretty good reputation in Syria until fairly recently. Also, the Syrian government has proven to be swift in reactionary efforts to squash revolution in the past. Also, Syria is a pretty diverse country compared to other Arab countries when it comes to religion. All these things didn't lend well to the prediction of a Syrian revolution.
(102-103)
Chapter 5
1. The Arab world is home to the second most monarchies in any other region of the world. Although this fact has been speculated to be because of tradition, religion, and tribalism, the author of our book, and many other aspects, have proven this wrong. He suggests that it is a mere product of the way the kingdoms in the Arab country developed and nothing more.
(119-121)
2. Even though one may think that monarchies inhibit the formation of political institutions, this is not the case in all Arab countries. Some monarchies, like the one in Saudi Arabia, do this to an extent, and the parliaments have little to no effect on political concerns. However, an Arab country like Jordan has enjoyed a politically effective body despite being ruled by a king. (131)
3. The Bahrainian uprisings have had two major defining events. The storming of Pearl Square is the first; this atrocity committed by the government led to a major increase in the amount of people involved in the protest. It also attracted a lot of Shi'i leaders into the public spotlight. The second was the fact that foreign countries intervened which effectively put out the revolution quite fast. (137-138)
Chapter 6
1. The United States took an interesting stand on the Arab uprisings. They were prepared for it, but did not take a stand on either side of the fence (pro or anti revolution). This is odd for a country who promotes democracy and leads to the fact that a lot of our policy towards the Middle East is more focused on our own geo-political interests than the good of the global community.(143-145)
2. Al-Qaeda has no necessarily been hurt by the revolutions in the Middle East and American intervention. In fact, the cry for democracy can give al-Qaeda more chances to spread their ideas and become a political force. Even though this is the case, the support of Bin-Laden and al-Qaeda has waned in most Middle Eastern countries (not Nigeria). (147-149)
3. The Arab uprisings have had a pretty big effect on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The US has lost a major collaborator as a result of the overthrowing of Hosni Mubarak. Also, the blockade at Gaza was lessened and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has maneuvered its way into the political process. Largely, the players in the game of this conflict have shifted and it seems confusing what may happen next. (152-153)
Question:
ReplyDeleteWill the US ever give more of a laissez-faire approach to the Middle East?
Shawn Carter
ReplyDelete4.
-It is amazing just how unprepared the world had been for Syria. Everyone thought it be Alegria and not Syria that would be affected by the Arab spring.
-Alegria being trendsetter was interesting. I did not know that was the country that the other Arab countries followed.
-It seemed that out of all the countries in the Arab world, Syria seemed to be the last country to be affected by the Arab Spring. Both militarily and the fact that it seemed to be laid back and modernized.
5.
-There are eight monarchies in the Arab world and all of them won their independence in 20th century.
-It is interesting that because of their tribal tendencies that the Arab world has been ruled by monarchies for so long and have accepted it as a part of life up until recently.
-I agree that it is because of oil that most of these monarchies have been able to stand the test of time and no one has had any interest in toppling them.
6.
-The U.S has no real interest in creating countries that have a democracy. They would much prefer to have stable and perhaps loyal countries to their cause. They use the idea of giving democracy to monarchy controlled arab world to cover their true intentions.
-It is is unfortunate that Iraq has become a mess that it is. It had to be expected that once Saddam was removed from power that a massive power vacuum would happen between Al Qaeda and the Iraqi people.
- The U.S mistake of invading Iraq gave Iran the excuse not to cancel their nuclear program and have them spread their influence across the arab world. Which the U.S and Saudi Arabia dislike greatly.
Question: Would the Arab gone differently if Syria and Algeria had switched places?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. Once again, so-called experts were wrong in their estimates that Algeria would be next to fall, in reality Syria underwent revolutions before Algeria did.
2. Algeria was thought to be the next Arab state to fall because if it having a history of being a trendsetter in the region. For example, it became the “emulation for anti-imperialists throughout the region” (94).
3. Algeria had recently gone through a civil war and was still suffering the effects of it by the time the Arab Springs came about.
Chapter 5
1. Even though experts have debunked the theory that Arab monarchies are formed through religion, Saudi Arabia was formed with Wahhabian roots
2. Arab monarchies, especially hydrocarbon rich ones, have been able to stick around due to the exporting of their natural resources, along with foreign aid in times of turmoil.
3. In Saudi Arabia, funds from the oil businesses have allowed the government to create more jobs, build housing units, and aid citizens with personal debt in attempt to prevent any uprisings. Protests were still present in the country.
Chapter 6
1. The Bush administration seemed to focus on their own agendas when talking about the Middle-East; when they wanted to talk about democratic reform, they did.
2. Our plans for making Iraq a beacon of democracy in the region clearly failed, so how can we better establish groundwork for democracy in the region?
3. The Arab uprisings have done more damage towards al-Qaeda than the US military involvement throughout the years.
Ch 4
ReplyDelete1. Whether their methods were pure or not, I would say that the Arab world owes a lot to Algeria. Even though the violence probably brought a lot of bad press to the Arab world, at least they were able to be positive role models concerning elections. Even though this was short lived by the military uprising, Algeria bled and suffered and the information through success and failure should at least be taken into account with the ever changing situation with the Arab spring.
2. I really respect the individuals in Algeria. We take it for granted here that we have the ability to utilize democracy, even though at times, our own government can be brought into question. At least we have the opportunity to choose. Anytime there is any unjust or unfairness in Algeria, it seems its citizens are willing to stand up and be the first to yell at the top of their lungs that something is not fair and must change.
3. I find the uprising in Syria to be strange in that it was more spontaneous rather than a direct reaction to some type of unfairness. However, it does not surprise me how they reacted when so many innocent children were simply trying to peacefully protest their concerns.
Ch 5
1. One interesting fact that caught my eye was that this region of the world has more monarchies than any other place in the world would hope to get close to. Why is this? I would disagree with the author and say that while today’s modern money has definitely expanded the wealth and power of monarchies today, the individuals who rule most countries have some claim to power, and otherwise not enough people would respect or back them up.
2. Another question I had was how and or why these monarchies have been allowed to survive this long in such a modern age. The answer was surprising but made sense; these monarchies have switched around many times and have even been formed by other countries that have been invested in the areas.
3. I am not surprised to find out that these monarchies are extremely affected by oil in the area. Oil is the life blood of these monarchies. If and when these resources come to an end, there will undoubtedly be a huge power shift and unfortunately unrest, but possibly just the time for a democratic government to take over.
Ch 6
1. Arab Spring seemed to be a revolution that had been building up for such a long time to see that the first time this revolution was named was in 2005. Also, the ignorance of George W Bush to think that the U.S.’s involvement in this powder keg would make things better.
2. The last two chapters perfectly outline exactly what kind of a mess the United States went into on our vendetta against terrorism. Not only does this view make the United States look arrogant by going into this region, but the areas we went to can clearly be seen as precious for their value in oil rather than terrorists.
3. I do not blame the Arab world for looking down on America. One day hopefully they will be able to overlook the arrogance and realize what most American thoughts was happening rather than what actually occurred.
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1.) Experts were wrong about which country would be next to have an uprising. Experts thought that Algeria would be the next country to have an uprising and that Syria would not be affected. This however was not the case; Algeria was not the next country and Syria was affected by the uprisings and was the next country. (93)
2.) There are a number of reasons why the uprisings in Algeria were considered to be a failure. “Although if another uprising occurs one can be sure the same observers will trace its roots to the ‘failed’ uprising of early 2011”. Some of the reasons the uprising failed is effective repression; the inseparability of the military from the regime; the reluctance on the part of Algerians to revisit the horrors of civil war; and Algeria’s two-decade-long hemorrhaging of young professionals. (98-99)
3.) “Syrian opposition leaders say that, should they remove Bashar al-Assad from power, they will reorient Syria toward the United States and the West and away from Iran. Whether or not this is true or merely an attempt to curry favor, and whether or not anyone can speak for the current opposition, is of course a matter for conjecture. It seems logical that a pro-democracy movement would orient toward the West, particularly one fighting a regime allied with (and possibly aided by) Iran.” (117)
Chapter 5
1.) “There are more monarchies in the Arab world (eight) than in any other region, save Europe: Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. If one counts the number of monarchies in which kings or queens rule as well as reign, no other region of the world even comes close. (119)
2.) The British “took a strong interest in ensuring stability – and British dominance – in the Gulf. The Gulf was important to the British because of its proximity to India and, later, British oil facilities in southern Iran. Because it was situated at the frontier of the Ottoman Empire, where imperial control was weak, and because it was close to the expansive eastern coast of Africa, the Gulf was also a focal point for the British campaign to suppress piracy and the slave trade during the nineteenth century.” (123)
3.) “The fact that all eight Arab monarchies have endured in spite of the fact that they exist in a world in which popular sovereignty constitutes the norm is a testament to the peculiar circumstances under which the state system in the Arab world has evolved. The contemporary Arab state system might be traced back only as far as the end of World War I, when Great Britain and France dismantled the Ottoman Empire and oversaw the transformation of Ottoman domains and frontier areas, along with their own protectorates and zones of occupation, into nation-states.” (125)
Chapter 6
1.) “According to inside account, when Barack Obama became president in 2009 the prevailing view among his foreign policy staff was that the United States had expended far too much time and effort on Middle East issues during the administration of George W. Bush and far too little time and effort on Chinese and Pacific Rim issues – a policy that had contributed to American decline.” (143)
2.) “The Bush administration argued that after ‘liberation’ from Saddam Hussein, Iraq would become a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. However, things did not go as planned. Although Operation Iraqi Freedom proved successful in toppling the Iraqi government, the postwar occupation floundered.” (145-146)
3.) “By the time the uprisings began in December 2010, the Israel-Palestine conflict had been stalemated for years. On the one hand, Palestinian national movement could not negotiate effectively with Israel because it was split between Fatah, the largest grouping within Palestine Liberation Organization, which controlled the West Bank, and the Islamist group Hamas, which was not part of the PLO and which seized control over Gaza in 2007.” (150)
Question: Will monarchies in the Middle East continue to be as strong as they are now if uprisings were to continue or come up again?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete• After the uprisings started in Tunisia and became more serious as Egypt joined in experts were trying to guess who would be next. A lot of them thought that it would be Algeria and that this would not affect Syria. Well the so-called experts were wrong, as Syria was the next country to join the movement.
• The “Youth Bulge” was the youth of Algeria burning their identities and hopping on small boats in an effort to try to get to Europe. The chances of actually making it versus imprisonment or drowning were estimated to be only about 10% of the fifty thousand. These children were willing to risk it though because if you ask them it was more worth it to try than to stick around in all the humiliation, poverty, and corruption.
• “Two features have marked the uprisings in Syria since it began: The first is the extraordinary bravery of those Syrians who chose to join it in the face of a government that has shown them no mercy. The second has been the resilience of a regime that always seemed one or two steps behind the protesters.” (109) It was interesting that they were so willing when the consequences as a result of the government were so great; this says a lot about how bad things really were.
Chapter 5
• There are 8 Monarchies in the Arab World. Many attribute this to three different aspects tradition, tribalism, and religion but these three actually make sense when you actually look into it. The real explanation lies within their history when there was great influence to form and maintain these kingdoms.
• A lot of people say that Oil is a big contributor to the stability of the monarchies in recent years. The presence of Oil allows these monarchies to channel economic benefits.
• A lot of the protests going on in Arab Monarchies in early 2011 ranged from very impressively organized to almost non-existent. A lot of these protesting groups were made up of people who all wanted different things but banned together in an effort to achieve something.
Chapter 6
• It is believed that the phrase “Arab Spring” was inspired by the Bush Administrations freedom agenda. In a speech given about this topic bush declared, “As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export.” He then announced his mission of “democracy promotion” in the region.
• On the surface it seems the uprisings may have provided Al-Qaeda with some ideological and tactical opportunity. The uprisings not only weakened American proxies it also weakened the control of the Arab government over their territories thus providing Al-Qaeda with strength against their enemies. This is a dangerous situation, as Al-Qaeda firmly believed that victory against oppression could only be won through violence.
• On the other side of the spectrum some of the Al-Qaeda found it difficult to deal with. They had to go on the defensive, which was not an ideal situation for them.
Is it at all possible to live in these Arabic Society or is there an absolute need to up rise and escape?
In chapter four, I learned about how the Syrian government made up lies to their people and blame all their troubles in made up events. The events that were invented differ from armed gangs, to odd conspiracies involving Israel, and US. (105) The story of Hamza Al-Khatib and how he died during one of the uprising in Syria was very sad and frustrating to read about. (106) Lastly, I think that it was crazy to read about how 59% are unemployed and 67% are young males and 53% are young females. Also, the average 81% of college students will spend at least 4 years before landing their first job.
ReplyDeleteChapter 5
In chapter five, it talks about monarchies and how in the Arab world monarch has three factors: religion, tradition, and tribalism. Also 8 monarchies exist in the Arab world. (119) Also it was interesting to read that some experts argued that petroleum-based economy might contribute to stability in some way for Arab countries. (125) Lastly it was interesting to read that six countries in the Middle East have an alliance the Gulf Cooperation Council. (GCC) (138)
Chapter 6
In this chapter 6, firstly it talked about how when Obama first came into office had his foreign team policy believed that the US was spending too much time focusing one the Middle East. Therefore they should move their attention towards China. (143) Also, president Bush had thought that after dealing with Saddam Hussein the Middle East would have a more of a democratic view but this wasn’t the case. (146) Lastly Osama Bin Laden was thought to be al ‘Qaeda’s mastermind, but it was debatable just how important he was to an organization that had become one in name only.
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. When the Algerian youth, the harraga, traveled to Europe across the sea they were asked why and they responded with hogra, which means humiliation, poverty and corruption. The same words were said by Muhammad Bouazizi when he talked about life in Tunisia. Coincidence? (Gelvin, 95).
2. On page 98 Gelvin talks about why the uprisings in Algeria failed. Amongst the many reasons he lists one as “The inseparability of the military from the regime.” (98). I noticed that many of the failed uprisings failed for this same reason (amongst others), which can be proven because Egypt’s military worked with the citizens and their uprisings were successful.
3. The city of Daraa in Syria was where much of their uprisings took place. The government surrounded the city with tanks, soldiers and would use violence against unarmed citizens. They even cut off water supply and electricity. This type of reaction from the government to the uprisings explains many of the problems Syria faces with other countries and within themselves.
Chapter 5
1. I was not aware that monarchies in the Arab world existed. As Gelvin pointed out on page 120, most would assume that it was due in part to religion or tribalism, but Gelvin disproves that in the text. The only one that has part in why the monarchies still exist is that their religion is a large part of their history.
2. Once again, oil is a factor in the middle east, this time for its place in the monarchies. Gelvin weighs in on the pros and cons of these areas petroleum based economies. One one hand he says that some countries like Saudi Arabia used 130 billion dollars worth of expedenture to create jobs, raise the minimum wage and construct new houses (Gelvin, 128). On the other hand, the distribution of the wealth becomes a conflict. (Gelvin, 127).
3. In Saudi Arabia and the rest of the countries with monarchies (except Bahrain) they never demanded abolition of the monarchy, only certain reform of the monarchy. In Saudi Arabia they called for an end to what they called the religious police because they felt it prevented them from developing their own sense of responsibility (Gelvin, 132).
Chapter 6
1. When the United States entered Iraq to bring down Saddam Hussein they figured democracy would just fall into place, but as much of what happened with the Bush Administration, it did not go as planned. (Gelvin, 146). The government was still weak and there was still unrest amongst the citizens.
2. The Arab Spring was big news my senior year of high school, and I remember last year the big news in the middle east was the Israel-Palestine Conflict. At the time, I overlooked the two being connected, but Gelvin pointed out that the Arab Spring did affect the conflict. Gelvin mentions that with Mubarak being overthrown the United States and Israel lost “a reliable collaborator on the issue.” (151).
3. On page 156 Gelvin talks about being able to judge the significance of the uprisings and what we will consider to be the beginning and the ending of them. He compares it with other revolutions and how when revolutions begin and end it is all up for interpretation. This is important.
What’s next for the uprisings?
1. The trigger for the riots in Algeria in 2011 was economic grievances. Price hikes in basic staples provoked Algerians to take to the streets where many preformed a number of Bouazizi style “self immolations”.
ReplyDelete2. Changes were made in Algeria in response to the protests. This included restored subsidies on consumer products and the uplifiting of the emergency ban on demonstrations. However the protests did fail to have substantial poltical reforms.
3. In Syrica, “Blaming the uprisng on Isalmists, criminals and foreigners justified for the regime and its loyalists the stomach churning brutality that the government applied to quell it.” Governments response included tanks, cutting of water and electricity and preventing anyone from entering or leaving , mass arrests and snipers.
Chapter 5
1. A major difference between monarchies within the Middles East involves the role of which extended families play in “day to day governance”. In Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Saudi Arabia hundreds to thousands of family members occupied key positions in government and business establishment. Whereas in Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait power is centered in the monarchy but delegated by legislative authority. (131)
2. The response of Arab monarchies to the uprisings have varied though for the most part many of them did take similar forms of recourse. For instance, “all monarchies, to a greater or less extent” attempted to “relieve economic pressures”.
3. Bahrain’s uprisings differed from those of the other Arab uprisings because of the protestors anitmonarchial stance as well as the monarchies tactics of suppression; ie (using military intervention of foreign powers).
Chapter 6
1. The uprisings threaten Al Qaeda for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons include the spread and massive support for protestor’s demands ( democratic governance and respect for internationally accepted norms of human rights); which are seemingly contradictory to Al Qaeda’s beliefes (that true freedom lies in obedience to Islamic law).
2. The uprisings effected relations between Fatah and Hamas both through the brokered talks of recouncilation established by Egypt’s new power of state, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as well as by viture of the fact that both of the factions leaders were overthrown (lost).
3. The uprsisings are considered to have played a valuable role for Iran’s poltical strength in the region, in part because they’ve helped to weaken America’s. Negative impacts of the uprisings included the Syria’s uprising for this imperials Iran’s most important Arab ally.
Question: In what concrete ways, (with the exclusion of usage of social media) has the “imagined community” of the Arab world expressed itself?
Ch 4
ReplyDelete1. In early 2011 after prices spiked within Algeria citizens responded by protesting in the streets, this was responded to by the government lowering the prices and offering other economic and political concessions and ultimately showing their power of force over the country.
2. The uprisings in Syria resembled Libya more than Egypt in the beginning, unlike in Egypt where they made the capital the center of the uprising Syria's began in the provinces, this is based on how both the Syrian and Libyan uprising were much more spontaneous revolutions compared to that within Egypt and erupted in multiple locations within very short periods of time.
3. The Syrian regime upheld so resiliently based on two factors, the first was the bravery of those Syrians who chose to join the government, even though the government showed no mercy to any, and the second being the resilience of a regime that has always seemed one or two steps behind the protestors.
Ch 5
1. There are more monarchies in the Arab world than any other region, other than Europe if the Vatican is included, with a total of eight: Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The high number of monarchies is believed to be from the three factors of: tradition, religion, and tribalism throughout the Arab world.
2. The kingdom of Jordan was created in a very swift movement, in 1921 Britain invaded Jordan in order to provide a throne for one of the sons of Sharif Hussein of Mecca, an Arabian warlord who had pledged support to the British during WWI. Britain ran trans-jordan through an emir until 1946 when they would gain their independence.
3. The high levels of Oil within Arab countries has worked in favor of protecting the stability of the Arab monarchies, oil accounting for such a high % of exports for the majority of Arab countries, and with prices consistently rising has brought large amounts of money to these monarchies and given the ability to provide economic relief to the people to prevent a revolution. After the outbreak of revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia many monarchies sloshed money into the economy to provide relief and discourage revolution.
Ch 6
1. Although the site of political action in the Arab world is the nation-state, the “imagined community” Arabs share with one another is remarkably large.
2. The first “Twitter revolution” took place in Iran in 2009, and shockingly, the Iranian regime found itself in the ironic position of heaping praise on participants in all but one of the uprisings, the Syrian.
3. Surveys were conducted for researching support of Bin Laden and the results found that this support had decreased in every state in the area minus Nigeria, the support from this state had increased while every other country decreased.
Question
What would our involvement be within the Arab nations if no oil existed underneath their land?
Yalla - shukran for your insights here, Arab Spring'ers!
ReplyDeleteMIA: Michael A, Victor C, Mike D, Michael M.
Don't be bashful, be BLOG'full!
W
• The British often take the credit for creating Jordan. Actually Jordan was carved out by the British to reward an Arab supporter. It was after independence that Jordan attained the status of a sovereign kingdom. (122)
ReplyDelete• The Arab state system was created by Britain and France by dismantling the Ottoman Empire. These nations continued to interfere in the internal affairs of the Arab states created by them. It is this factor that has assured the survival of Arab monarchies. (126)
• The leadership of the Arab protests primarily comprised of social networking youth who had little experience in managing street demonstrations. The Arab protests were not unified. They existed as segregated protests lead by different interest groups.(133)