Please post 1-2 paragraphs answering the following questions:
1) Why are you interested in Middle Eastern politics, and what personally brings you to the class?
2) Based on your previous experience and scan of current events, what do you think are the top 5 biggest issues in ME politics right now?
I took this class because I’m a Political Science major and I didn’t know anything about the Middle East. I’d browse Al Jazeera English or other news websites and feel completely overwhelmed by the MENA section. There always seems to be something new happening in the region — a new protest, a new conflict, a new problem. And since I had NO background information and NO previous knowledge of the MENA region, I’d often skip over some of the news articles. It was intimidating and difficult to understand.
I don’t think I even knew 5 top biggest issues in the MENA region before taking this class. I knew about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (who didn’t?) and wanted to know why it been going on for so long. I sort of followed the Arab Spring and wanted to know what the heck was going on in Egypt and Tunisia. And the civil war was always interesting to follow in Libya (Qaddafi was quite the character). Other than that, I just wanted to know why the region was so… volatile. There always seems to be something terrible happening. And I knew so little about it!
1. The response from the regional players to the Syrian protests.
2. The Palestinian UN vote and the backlash a veto will cause/ Israel’s deteriorating relationship with its neighbors.
3. How quickly if at all a relatively representative government can untie the people of Libya and get the economy running again.
4. What will Egypt’s military do. Will their be real change, or just an appointment.
5. How states’ whose petro-dictators were propped up by the US interact with the US, including the ongoing situation in Bahrain.
My interest in Middle Eastern Politics was largely fueled by US involvement in them. Some of our first foreign expeditions were to the region, “the shores of tripoli,” and we have grown more involved since. Now the importance of oil, the Israeli question, terrorism, and the Iraq war have made my nation’s fate bound to the events in the Mid East and Africa. There is hardly a nation among them were we have not had troops or operatives interfering with or propping up the governments. In Iran, Kermit Roosevelt over threw a democratic government and put in place a shah. We supported this regime for decades even as it became more brutal and then were surprised when the new government was not enthused with us.
We have been to war with Iraq twice.
We defend Saudi Arabia, are dependent on them, and call them our friends while members of their government send the money we give them for oil abroad to espouse hatred of the west.
The list goes on and I would like to better understand the players, cultures, and traditions that America is so involved with.
Also, I was in NYC on 9/11. Several of my classmates lost parents and I remember one crying in the bathroom because he was convinced his father, who escaped by luck alone, was dead. The others did not get that reprieve. 9 firefighters from my local house of about 25 guys would not return. I had grown up around them and had toured the house several times. The most vivid memory of those days when troops rolled through the streets and jet flew overhead was the smell when the wind shifted and the smoke drifted upriver. Knowing what I was inhaling was a troubling moment. Despite this or perhaps because of it I feel that a much more nuanced approach to terrorism is necessary. I believe in the evil intentions of men and the necessity of violent solution to them, but I feel an approach modeled on policing would be more effective. The US’s overreaction in the form of Iraq has only hurt our safety. I would like to know how similar mistakes might be avoided.
My main motivation for taking this class is that I know very little about the Middle East. We have been at war in the region for nearly half my life, and yet I feel entirely ignorant about everything from the geography to the culture of the area. By memorizing the countries and their major cities, I have already increased my knowledge base of the Middle East by about 200 percent. I am eagerly looking forward to coming away from this course with the ability to think and speak intelligently on the topic of Middle Eastern policy and affairs.
I think the top issues in the region currently are the Palestinian bid for UN recognition, the political leadership in Libya, unrest in Syria, and Egypt’s on-going political changes.
The Middle East is a region that I am not very familiar with, and I am looking forward to learning more about the history, culture, conflict, and politics of the region. I hope to gain a better understanding of the motives of revolutionary groups and protesters, and the geographical and political history that has led to such conflict, violence, and shifting borders in the region. I also spent some time in Turkey this past summer, which increased my curiosity of and interest in the Middle East. I am going abroad to Mali this coming spring, and although it is not covered specifically in this course, I look forward to learning more about North Africa.
As for current events, I think the Arab Spring, the war in Iraq, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Egypt’s transition to democracy, and the unrest in Libya are especially important issues in the region.
The Middle East is a region I don’t know much about. Of course I’ve heard this or that random fact over the years but not much has been terribly helpful in understanding how or why the various countries in the region act the way they do. I thought the best way to learn more would be a class focused on the area I’d find most interesting. With as much as the Middle East is brought up in the news and in policy discussions it would be useful to know more about what has made it the way it is politically. In the post 9/11 world it is especially important to know more and understand the implications for foreign policy in the many countries affected directly and indirectly.
I see the directions of the various revolutions in the region, Iraq’s future, the Israeli-Palistinian conflict, the continued unrest in Syria/Yemen, and the standing of Ahmadinejad in Iran as the biggest issues in the region. Each of these would have an incredibly large impact on the the region’s dynamic.
I became interested in the Middle East, after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its bloody aftermath. As the war dragged on, US forces–both military and civilian–showed a fundamental lack of understanding about Iraq and the wider Middle East. They did not understand, or for that matter even think about, the sectarian divisions in Iraq or the destabilizing effects a post-Saddam Iraq would have on the region. Rather the US assumed that Iraqis, along with every one else in the Middle East, would embrace Western-style democracy. Unfortunately, as we all know, that turned out to be a big mistake.
I hope this class provides some insight into why US policies failed in Iraq and the region after 9/11, and how we can avoid those same mistakes in the future.
I think the five biggest issues in ME politics right now are: Libya’s, Egypt’s, and Tunisia’s revolutions, the Syrain uprising, and Palestine’s attempt to get statehood through the UN.
I ended up deciding to take this class as a way to fill the empty fourth spot in my schedule. I could have taken anything to fill that spot but I realized as I was reading the description for the class that I really know next to nothing about what is going on in the Middle East. I decided that seeing as the United States is so thoroughly involved in the affairs of the Middle East it might make sense to educate myself a bit on the matter. Also, as a Jew I am interested in learning more about the role Israel has played in the Middle East.
Like I said, I really know very little about what is happening in the Middle East but as others have said, I think Egypt’s transition to democracy and the protests in Yemen/Libya are hot button issues. I also think the current unrest in Iraq and Iran are top issues.
I have a growing interest in Middle Eastern politics after spending my summer in Israel and Turkey. During the month of June, I was staying in Jaffa and assisting in a one-minute film making project for Palestinian teenagers (in conjunction with the Doha Film Institute). It was an incredibly interesting time to be in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, especially because I was able to witness the housing cost protests, talk to people at the tents, as well as march alongside them. I gained an interesting perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian situation, as well as insight into the Arab-Palestian identity. In August, I stayed with family members in Istanbul, Izmir, and Alanya (I am half Turkish and grew up with a large Turkish influence from my mother’s side). It was also an interesting time to be in Turkey because I was able to see some Turkish citizen’s reactions to the decision to bomb northern Iraq during the month of Ramadan, as well as follow the Turkish PM’s involvement in Middle Eastern affairs (condemning Assad, supporting Egypt, and challenging Israel in regards to the Gaza flotilla and supporting Palestinian statehood). Needless to say, I have heard many opinions from many sides, and now I want to learn more.
There are too many current events to choose from. If I had to choose top 5 i’d say Egypt’s transition to democracy, the leadership of Libya after Gaddafi, Palestinian UN bid for statehood, the crisis in Syria, and the risk of civil war in Yemen.
I’m interested in Middle Eastern politics because it is an incredibly important geographic region that I know very little about. I took the Civil Conflict class with professor Mecham, but it left me with more questions about the Middle East than answers. It is also a rapidly changing part of the world right now, and I would like to understand some of the reasons behind the protests and revolutions better, as well as come to a more complete understanding of what we might expect to see from the region in the future.
As for current events, the ‘Arab Spring’ is clearly at the top of the list. People are still wondering what will become of Egypt and where the military and protesters will take that country. Also topping the news are the protests in Yemen and Syria. Saleh seems poised to fall in Yemen, and serious changes will certainly have to happen in Syria. Recently making headlines is a renewed Palestinian bid for statehood and UN recognition.