This post is due by Tuesday, March 11 @ 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.
Megan Spiezio-Davis
ReplyDeleteBattle #1
The introduction to this book is very well written and begins the discussion of the Arab world as a large community overarching many Muslims throughout the globe. The introduction also paints a picture of the Middle East, though with large brush strokes of idealism, there are details within the text to help the reader place the exact example. I enjoyed the introduction to what I assumed would be a very thorough book. The authors begin to tell us the story of the battle for peace in this part of the world. The introduction reminds us of the turbulence in these countries.
It is on page 4, were we get familiar with why a person would protest. The quote at the top of the page from Why Men Rebel, “the gap between what people have and what they believe they are entitled to lies at the heart of a revolution.” Throughout the introduction we are gaining a perspective as to what change has occurred and what changes are yet to be fulfilled. This This section of the book lies out a solid foundation for what is yet to come, both in the book and in the uprisings.
Chapter 1 sets the scene for the upcoming drama that will undoubtedly occur. This is an important chapter as the authors illustrate for us the defunct yet functioning leadership of the Arab world. Between the blatant political propaganda displayed through the Middle East and the controlling families’ influence just as suffocating it is no wonder that people got tired of the same stifling messages. With the United States adding fuel to the fire by adding any of the wisdom was just a manipulation for oil; as the book terms it” geo- political interests.” Between the U.S. and the media it seems as though human rights are a novelty.
Introduction
ReplyDelete- I knew about the high unemployment rates in most of the middle east but I didn't really have a full understanding as to why. This quote tells in part why that is *this is not the entire reason by any means but does contribute greatly* "Fuel prices were stubbornly high - a relief for the crude exporters but a serious problem for oil-poor Arab countries like Tunisia and Morocco. In a region where 61 percent of the population was under 30, widespread youth unemployment was a fact of life." This being an accepted "fact of life" startles me greatly.
- Knowledge, Women's Empowerment and Freedom have been pointed out, many Arab scholars see major flaws and big improvements to be made. Hopefully we have seen and will continue to see great strides in a direction that is focused on equal rights and the education of the people.
- It is truly amazing to see that so many have plotted and spoke out against the Middle East saying that change would most likely not happen due to x, y and z facts but here we are. When so much has been accomplished and where few people outside of said countries thought it could be done and I say it again, but here we are.
Chapter 1: An Arab Malaise
- "Not a single Arab country made it onto the 2011 list of top-global risks issued by Eurasia Group, a multinational consulting firm that helps clients identify looming instability." They didn't even consider civil unrest, this just supports how much people did not believe anything would happen. That rage would not evolve into something more that could strike fear into the hearts of those in power.
- "under the thumb of authoritarian rulers, be they monarchs or presidents-for-life, or in the midst of chaos, sectarian strife or foreign meddling." There is thousands of reasons as to why all of this happend and these are just a few.
Simply I just find it astounding that many didn't expect anything to come of protests, that enough pressure would build and that it was only a matter of time really.
Introduction:
ReplyDelete1. “Mubarak had been in power since 1981, longer than the majority of Egyptians had been alive” (2). Our first book touched on this point also. I find it extremely hard to believe that any authority that isn’t subject to an election every now and again can truly represent the people, although I could be biased by my upbringing in a different type of government.
2. “The Arab world had lower literacy levels than the developing countries’ average, and invested less in research than most regions of the world” (3). Again I may be biased on this issue because I have grown up with access to education, but I think education is a critical issue for almost every government, and it seems that Arab countries were failing their citizens in this area. I could see why people had had enough with their regimes - if I was deprived of an education, I would be fed up also.
3. “Far from being a sudden awakening, the Arab Spring capped a decade of protest, political activism and media criticism that had laid the ground for more open political systems” (4). I think of the Arab Spring as a sudden awakening, so this statement was an eye opener. I knew the human rights abuses had gone on for years, but I didn’t think anyone ever did anything about it. These protests aren’t highlighted in research, only the more recent ones.
Chapter 1:
1. The chapter title, “An Arab Malaise,” intrigued me… when looking up malaise, I found that it described a general feeling of discomfort and uneasiness, like the feeling you get when you’re coming down with an illness. I think this is an interesting way to describe the Arab world… it’s like the calm before the storm.
2. “There could be no more pretence that national interests came before the interests of the ruling family, and the sect or tribe to which it belonged” (12).This chapter described a lot about intelligence agencies, rigged elections, and emergency laws that helped leaders stay in power. The authors seem to have a strong point of view that much manipulation was needed for these leaders to hold the throne for so long.
3. I think there was also a strong point of view about the role of the US. “There was a sense in the region that the United States not only propped up its allies, but also turned a blind eye to its enemies as long as they served its interests” (17). Another example of the authors’ point of view was when they brought up the fact that the ‘war on terror’ ended up being a “handy excuse” for Arab rulers to mistreat their citizens (20).
Question:
After reading the beginning of this book, I wonder how the Arab Spring would have played out if the US hadn’t been a player. Would the Arab Spring have happened so soon? Would there be as big of a push for democracy?
Intro- The introduction is informative and serves its purpose well, laying groundwork for the information to be covered in the following chapters. I knew that there was a great deal of corruption in politics in the middle, but I did not know really how long some of these rulers had been in power in their countries.
ReplyDelete-I was also shocked to find out about the Arab Human Development Report, the fact that almost as many books are translated in Spain every year as had been in Arabic since the ninth-century is mind-blowing.
-Lastly, I had no idea of NATO's involvement in Libya. In many of the uprising's we hear about the revolutionary fighters, but we never really hear about any international assistance from outside powers.
Ch. 1- One of the first things that stood out in this chapter was the amount of intelligence agencies and spies throughout many countries. The fact that taxi drivers were informants and men loitering in public to eavesdrop on conversations is pretty scary. I can't help but think of similarities to the NSA and the surveillance on the American public.
-I also found it somewhat comical how the rulers would basically promote themselves through billboards and selling watches baseball hats and t-shirts with their faces on it.
-This chapter also highlights the issues involved in foreign intervention. US influence in Arab countries has largely been unsuccessful, its policies have changed very little throughout history, and from the book it seems unwanted, "On the eve of the Arab Spring, only 20 pre cent of Arabs saw Obama in a positive light compared to 45 per cent the previous year. Some 63 per cent were discouraged by his Middle East policy, compared to 15 per cent a year earlier"(pg. 22).
Question: What is the general consensus on US involvment in the Middle East?
Introduction:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the introduction I came across where it talked about the future of and life the youth in the Arab world. Having no future because the lack of jobs. In addition, it also talked about the Islam used to be in forefront in science, math, reading, and etc but now they were behind in all of these. It is sad to this state in many of countries that so many youth are getting their degrees but no job can promised that they will have.
Chapter 1:
It's sad to see how much some of these Arab countries their government and presidents are corrupted. For example, some of these leaders from these Arab countries when came in power they should've invested heavily on their country but no they rather invested heavily on themselves so they could be more in a secure and comfort place before the nation is or its people. This is unfortunately the case in a lot of Arab countries that people don't always realize when they select a leader but once it selected than that is it and sometimes leaders don't care much about the nation but rather care about their wealth, power and family.
Question:
Do all Arabs believe in the person they select in changing their nation or not?
Intro:
ReplyDeleteI thought Tunisia's law that the head of state cannot be over 75 was interesting. I wonder how that would go over in America? I knew that literacy rates in the Arab world were lower than average, but the fact that more books are translated in Spain each year than Arabic since the ninth century is startling. I find it interesting how long Arab rulers were able to rule. I never put together the fact that Mubarak was in power longer than more than half of the Egyptian population had been alive.
Chapter 1:
I am impressed with how resilient Arab leaders have been. The list of difficulties they overcame was not short. I was surprised that Arab countries spend 4.6% of their GDP on military, more than twice the global average. I wonder where the U.S. ranks? The anecdote about Syria's intelligence sounded like it came from a spy novel. I don't see the benefit to spying on the general public of one's own country.
Question:
What made the Arab rulers able to rule for so long?
Intro: The introduction lays the foundation for the Arab spring effectively and sets the reader up to accurately understand the events in each country. One thing I found interesting from the introduction is that former President Mubarak was in power longer than more than half of the population has been alive. The events of Jan 25th in Tahrir square and the readiness of the people to protest makes more sense knowing that Mubarak had been causing distress for the people for multiple decades.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: What really shocked me in Chapter one was the amount of corrupt behavior within the government. The amount of spies, found especially in everyday life was quite interesting. Everyone from random men on the streets to cab drivers were spying and working for intelligence agencies. The rigged elections were another form of government corruption that surprised me as well. It seemed as thought the leaders would manipulate anything they could to stay in power, no matter if it was morally right or not.
Question: How different would the events of the Arab spring be if the US had never gotten involved?
Introduction
ReplyDeleteThere are many things that interested me in the introduction. The first is the idea that all the leaders where so corrupt. The intro to this book reinforced a lot of what we’ve been talking about it class and material we’ve read before. The corruption didn’t surprise me since Revolution 2.0 seemed to touch on the same points. The second point I like was that the book after talking about the corruption the book touches on the youth of the people. Something I also remembered was when the reports started coming out saying that they were doing bad on freedom reminded me of the freedom index and the ratings that countries get based on how free they are; saying that a country is worse off than another most definitely will make people mad.
Chapter 1
When reading chapter 1 the one thing that really stood out to me was the idea that there are spies created for all levels of society, sitting waiting for people to say bad things This makes me think of what could be happening behind closed doors in the US just because there is an expected sense of privacy, unlike in Arab countries. Another idea that got reinforced while reading the this chapter was that the US gives a lot of aid money to Arab countries to protect Israel. This aid has been the downfall to some leaders but no matter what there is always a way to get the relationships built again with the country’s leaders. Finally, the idea that the regime really controls everything even after the regimes have supposedly “fallen” was interesting; especially since NGOs were slowed down or made completely ineffective.
Question: In what ways will the material covered in class be connected to this book?
Intro- I found the introduction to The Battle For the Arab Spring to be very informative. The first thing that I thought was interesting was Tunisias law that their head of state must not be older than 75. I thought it was interesting because in the US we have a minimum age but not an age limit. I really liked the straight forward answer of what the Arab Spring battle is.. "A battle for satisfying jobs, decent housing and the right of the young people to grow up and build families and futures of their own. Most of all, it is a battle for dignity and justice after years of repression."
ReplyDeleteChapter 1 - I found the part talking about a sense of fear that was caused by intelligence agencies. This reminded me of our last book, when Wael would talk about the sense of fear Egyptians were living with. How spies were employed to sit around in hotel lobbies and other places listening to conversations and how phones were tapped. I can't imagine living in a state of fear like that.
I also found the propaganda to be interesting, how rulers would project themselves themselves to be ruling forever and if not, "Their son or other relative was waiting in the wings."
I dont really have any specific question, I am taking all this information in and trying to learn and fully understand the Arab Spring and all the corruption that's happening. I am just interested in continuing the reading and learning more.
Introduction:
ReplyDeleteThe introduction was very interesting. When i came across the section that talked about Tunisia's head of state I was shocked by the fact that they had a maximum age limit. I also found it shocking how long Mubarak was in power. I guess i never realized it until I read it. He was around for half of the life of many citizens. I didn't realize that all of the leaders were corrupt not just Mubarak.
Chapter 1:
It amazes me that "not a single Arab country made it onto the 2011 list of top global risks issued by Eurasia Group." To me all the countries are unstable. It was amazing that 4.6% of Arab GDP went on military spending. The U.S only spends 4.4%. Rulers set themselves up to rule forever and their son's were ready to serve after them.
Why were rulers able to rule for so long?
The introduction lays out the playing field, and introduces the some of the most important players; Libya, Yemen, and Syria. Outlining issues surrounding corruption, wealth disparity, disagreements and “issue’s” surrounding elections, and voting. These states looked stable to the outside, but were boiling on the inside. The lack of political democracy among citizens was setting aside fuel, for a justified spark, that in the end would surface resulting in civil war. Violence was prevalent among most if not all up rising’s. Exile was widespread amongst leaders. Sodomized with a stick.... My god. This introduction is very much tying everything together, and organizing a appropriate perspective for when it’s time to pop the bottle.
ReplyDeletePart Ones title is one for the ages. The Roots Of Rage says it all, these people had been overlooked, under appreciated, and set aside from the rest of the world. Despite dysfunctional economy and flawed political systems, the rulers of most arab countries “had proved remarkably resilient to both domestic pressures and external shock”.. The fact that the treatment of these people could go on for that long still shocks me.. But should it? Most of these leaders had what everybody else doesn’t, money, they fueled their own success and we sat by and watched, well some of the time we actually gave them the money, surprising..
We have a system to avoid these kinds of things, four years and then a re-election.. You get one more shot.. If you get it, so be it.. But that is your last four years! You only have eight!!! Why can someone ruling so horribly, celebrate 40 years.. and keep going... without a third party stepping in?
Introduction:
ReplyDelete1. I find it interesting that the consitutions in some countries can just be amended so easily to benefit the people that are in power.
2. "The US invasion of Iraq, pursued despite broad Arab misgivings and worldwide protests, unleashed years of sectarian cival war that inflamed tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite muslims to levels not seen in decades" (pg 3). Although we are supposedly over there for oil, are we thinking about anybody else but ourselves?
3. "The Arab world is perched on the axis of the world's busiest trade routes that link Europe, Asia and Africa, and at the centre of the biggest energy-exporting region, and what happens here has the potential to shake the entire globe" (pg. 7) I feel as though this is a very important realization that everyone should be aware of.
Chapter 1:
1." The Saudi Arabian National Guard, for instance, is a separate force that bypasses the defense ministry and draws its soldiers from tribal elements historically loyal to the royal family and dedicated to protecting the king from a family rebellion or a challenge from the regular army" (pg 12). There is no checks and balances what so ever. King controls everything from order to rebellion.
2. "When one party can change the laws to its benefit, can wield the security forcces to intimidate its opponents, the judiciary to jail its critics and the state-run media to campaign on its behalf, there is no real choice" (pg. 14). This statement says enough by itself.
3."When Egyptian leader, Anwar Sadat broke ranks and signed a unilateral peace treaty with Israel in 1979, the deal was sealed with the promise of $1.3 billion a year in US aid and unwavering support from Washington" (pg 16), Does this still go on? We spend so much on our own military and military to protect other countries. I am starting to see where all of our debt comes from.
What's the full story on why we got involved in the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIntroduction)
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to read that the Arab world had lower literacy stats then developing countries and that they invest lest in research then most countries in the world. I guess this is due to the poor government and the lack of knowledge being spread.
"Change was somthing that millions of people around the region would be prepared to rick their lives for" pg 5. What a powerful line, I think this is something that my generation will never be able to experience. Imagine a world where all you want is to fight for freedom and change. In our world we fight with our parents to get the newest I phone. It makes me think about how fortunate we are, maybe one day we will be fighting for the freedom to not be so involved in the social acceptance that we fight for now in america.
"The Arab Spring is a battle for satisfying jobs, decent housing, and the right of young people to grow up and build families and futures of their own. Most of all, it is a battle for dignity and justice after years of repression." pg 7 is a wonder statement that really tells what the Arab Spring is really about. It sound oddly similar to our revolutionary war.
Chapter 1
Its is crazy to think of a place where rather than investing in the future of your country, you invest your wealth and power to ensuring your survival. There is no room for progress and its almost like a never ending trap.
Although it did not surprise me it disappointed me to read about the U.S turning blind eye to the Arab leaders and only dealing with the corrupt government that the Arabs had simply due to the oil they could gain. Even though it is in our best interest in the U.S it does not help the Arab world out at all. It just allows and backs the corruption that is happening.
"Arab rulers also use the 'war on terror' as a handy excuse to round up domestic components on the flimsiest evidence" pg 20. This makes me think about how much harm the U.S has done for the Arabian people. Although it may not be fully intentional it is hard to believe and think about the negative effects that the U.S has on these developing countries. I am curious to see what happens with the U.S and their involvement with these countries as they begin to rise.
Is their a way for the U.S to get oil with out supporting the corruption of the Arab world?
What was really interesting to me in the introduction was when it was talking about change. Saying that women weren't producing as much children as they use to in north africa. As well as people were getting married at an older age and that they were choosing their own life partners instead of arranged marriages. I found this interesting because these wouldn't be the changes I would have thought they would be breaking in times of the revolution.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 1 what struck me right off the bat was the first paragraph. Its states that not a single Arab country made it onto the 2011 list of top global risks issued by Eurasia Group. I just don't believe that anyone would not consider the problems in the Arab world to be on this list. Its hard to fathom the thought that even those these protesters were going on since 2010 they were not known, or they were just simply ignored.
My question would be what are the qualifications that you need to have as a country with problems to be on this list?
ReplyDeleteIntro-
ReplyDeleteI found the introduction to be very helpful in giving us some good background information on what we should know to better our understanding of it. It gave out some pretty heavy introductory statistics that I found surprising like how low of a literacy rate there is in the Arab world. I found that to be pretty disappointing considering the fact that there are extremely wealthy families in that part of the country who are fluent in many languages. It shows how poor the wealth distribution is. I also thought it was pretty funny how in Tunisia there is a maximum age limit for the Head of State, while here in America it is drastically different.
Chapter 1-
I've always found the concept of spying interesting, when I came across the section of the chapter where it talks about the spies set up within society. This has to play off of the amount of corruption that happens as well. It's unbelievable to think about how many cab drivers there are in total, and how many of them are giving information about you to their government.
In each country in the Arab world, how much say does each person have in who their leader will be?
Yalla - useful insights here, Arab Spring'ers.
ReplyDeleteLet's connect the dots in class.
Shukran,
Dr. W
Introduction
ReplyDelete• Observation1: “Mubarak had been in power since 1981, longer than the majority of Egyptians had been alive” (Warren 2). This quote emphasizes the fact that a good portion of Arabs are quite young while all of this occurs.
• Observation2: “The report revealed that the Arab world had lower literacy levels than the developing countries’ average” (Warren 3). This must have been surprising to many Arab’s when they used to be at the forefront of the intellectual world.
• Observation3: “To see the Arab Spring as a series of popular uprisings against unselected governments would be to oversimplify the struggles that are under way, and to underestimate what is at stake. The Arab Spring also pitted people against people and states against states…” (Warren 6). For some reason it was this quote that actually made me feel that the Arab Spring is important.
Chapter1
• Observation1: “…The subjects often conspire to kill the ruler. Thus the dynasty decays, and the fence (that protects it) lies in ruins” –Al-Muqaddimah (Warren 11). I liked the ending the best so I put that instead of the whole quote, but the whole quote seems like a very hardcore way to bring a reader into the book.
• Observation2: “Not a single Arab country made it onto the 2011 list of top global risks…” (Warren 11). I thought it was very interesting how at the beginning of the first chapter (after the quote by Al-Muqaddimah, Warren informs us that Arab countries are not threatening.
• Observation3: “Powerlessness to be what you think you should be. Powerlessness to act to affirm you existence, even theoretically, in the face of the Other who denies your right to exist, despises you and has once again asserted his domination over you” (Warren 22-23). I found it interesting how Warren uses this quote to emphasize that when a person or group feels powerless, they will feel threatened and want some of that power.
Question: Besides lack of power, what made Arabs so angry?
Introduction – it’s striking to find out just how long Muammar Gaddafi has been in power, over 40 years! Even more shocking is how quickly his regime fell. I also did not know just how important the NATO air strikes where for the rebels in Libya, the air strikes were the deciding factor in the fight for Tripoli. I was also not aware of what warning signs were present in the years leading up to the Arab spring, corruption, job loss, etc.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1 – Not a single Arab country made it onto the 2011 list of top global risks issued by Eurasia Group, a multinational consulting firm that helps clients identify looming instability. This goes to show that even the experts did not expect the Arab spring to unravel like it did.
I also find the United States stance of Egypt interesting during the beginning days of the up raising. Vice president Biden explained that the government leadership had been good in the past and that he didn't see Mubarak as a dictator.
The United States seemed to turn a “blind eye” to its enemies during the first weeks of the Egyptian upraising. Could this have an effect on how Egyptians view the United States today?
Why wasn't the United States ready for the Arab upraising?
The introduction to Battles gives us a broad picture of the Middle East, both as an idealized center of the Muslim world and as a place facing incredible issues. I didn't realize just how long so many of the leaders had been in power, and how big of a rift between social classes there is in the Middle East. It's surprising how very small groups in these countries were incredibly developed while other groups were absolutely illiterate. The idea of 'change' being of the utmost importance is such an intrinsic concept but something I hadn't really thought of until the authors brought it up -- it's easy to think of these uprisings being a result of a lack of change, but Battles talks about how varying degrees of change happening at various speeds were actually an issue.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1 slams us with the hard facts of ignorance from the first paragraph. The book transitions from painting a picture of the Middle East that we may or may not have expected from our post-Arab-Spring perspective to laying out the reality of our facts, which say 'no one thought these countries were an issue'. It was so frustrating in this chapter to read about how much the US helped with the decline of affairs in the Middle East. The authors present the effect of the US from both its direct influence, for example our VP saying that we didn't think Mubarak was a bad guy, as well as from its indirect influence, for example Arab leaders using the western "war on terror" as justification for harming their own citizens.
If the west hadn't influenced these Arab countries to the extent that it did, or if it hadn't ignored their failings once influence was instilled, would the Middle East have been able to come to modernity on its own terms?