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Social and Behavioral Sciences

Selected Works

2013

International Affairs

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Religion

A Fragile Alliance: How The Crisis In Egypt Caused A Rift Within The Anti-Syrian Regime Block, Ahmed Souaiaia Aug 2013

A Fragile Alliance: How The Crisis In Egypt Caused A Rift Within The Anti-Syrian Regime Block, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirate (UAE), Turkey, and the West condemned in unison the Syrian regime for its harsh treatment of Syrians from the first day of the uprising in that country. Many observers were skeptical of the stated reasons for this sudden interest in human rights issues given that the Gulf States are in fact models of repressive governance. As the reaction to the Egyptian crisis revealed, the opposition to the Syrian regime was not motivated by its stated goals (support for democracy and condemnation for authoritarianism). It was dictated by narrow political, ideological, and sectarian interests.


A Turkish Spring Even If Different From The Arab Spring, Ahmed Souaiaia Jun 2013

A Turkish Spring Even If Different From The Arab Spring, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

The wide-spreading protest movement in Turkey is bringing up the irresistible analogy: Taksim Square is for Turkey what Tahrir Square is for Egypt. Considering that Tahrir Square events were the extension of the protest movement that started it all from Tunisia, it follows that the turmoil in Turkey is similar to the so-called Arab Spring. But most observers and media analysts are dismissing Taksim Square movement arguing that Turkey’s uprising is not similar to the Arab Spring because Erdoğan and his party are democratically elected and that Erdoğan has governed over a period of unprecedented economic prosperity.