Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons^™

David Versus Goliath: The Power Of Weakness In Asymmetric Warfare—Lessons From History, Nicholas K. Petaludis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Under what conditions do violent nonstate actors (VNA) succeed against states? Why does David sometimes beat Goliath? Since at least the time of Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars, the realist narrative in international relations measures power primarily in relative, coercive, and deterrent terms. Strong states should accordingly face fewer constraints and enjoy more options while pursuing their national interests. Unconventional warfare, and its subsets of terrorism and insurgency, should—given these circumstances, end in VNA failure. Sometimes, however, VNAs find success. By comparing the literature on historical and current case studies, I propose that a set of preconditions and two mechanisms …

Unscr 1325 Did Not Help Women, Peace, Or Security In Afghanistan: The Role Of Militarism And Hegemonic Masculinity In International Security, Sawyer Bannister

CMC Senior Theses

This paper argues that UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security exemplifies how the international security system is constructed in a way that not only preserves militarism and hegemonic masculinity, but further perpetuates gendered power disparities and exacerbates human insecurity. In this pursuit, this paper develops a theoretical framework of radical feminism to illustrate how the international arena embodies militarized hegemonic masculinity and how this power paradigm fundamentally inhibits international security organizations from successfully addressing gender issues. Additionally, this paper utilizes a case study of UNSCR 1325 and WPS implementation in Afghanistan to reveal how when international security organizations attempt …

United States Policy To Undermine Iran’S Regional And Global Strategy, William Stewart

CMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to understand the way in which Iran uses proxy groups to implement its regional foreign policy strategy while increasing relationships with foreign actors to implement its global foreign policy strategy. I will dive into the intricacies of Iran’s strategy on a country-by-country basis while outlining the goals of the regime. I will analyze the way in which the United States has dealt with Iran and its proxy groups in the past as well as provide suggestions on the steps the Biden administration and the United States as a whole must implement in order to contain Iran’s influence …

Deconstructing Saudi Arabia’S Foreign Aid Motives To Yemen, Ghita Fadhila Andrini, Taufik Hidayat, Dina Yulianti

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This research assesses the motives of Saudi Arabia’s aid to Yemen. Saudi Arabia has been the most significant donor to the country whilst threatening humanitarian conditions in Yemen through its military intervention. Thus, this research aims to unveil the Kingdom’s reasons to provide foreign aid to Yemen whilst doing the military intervention. This research uses the seven foreign aid frames according to Veen (2011) to analyse possible interest implied in the Kingdom’s foreign aid delivery to Yemen. The method used in this research is a literature review by analysing the Kingdom’s official statements published on the government's official websites and …

The Future And Thriving Of Bipoc Communities: A Time To Act Macroconvening, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Portland State University

Global Diversity and Inclusion Publications and Presentations

This is the overview of the "Time to Act Macroconvening," an event bringing together the BIPOC community on November 4, 2022. The macroconvening was shaped by five affinity-based convenings that were held from June to November 2022. Each engagement was unique, but centered around discussions of the future of thriving and joy of BIPOC communities in and around Portland, and what role PSU has in bringing this future to bear.

Main downloadable file:
Affinity Convenings Thematic Overview

Additional files:

• Event graphic
• Overview article by Christina Rojas, "PSU Brings Together BIPOC Community Groups to Envision a Thriving Future."
• Pictorial Summary of …

Football As Soft Power: The Political Use Of Football In Qatar, The United Arab Emirates And The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Vitas Rafael Carosella

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

In November 2022 Qatar hosts the first Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region FIFA World Cup. This paper seeks to understand the use of football as a soft power political tool in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based on culture, values and policies, soft power is power through attraction as opposed to coercion. The stronger one player’s values, culture and policies are, the more soft power that player has. Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, traditional fossil fuel-based states, suffer from a lack of attraction. By investing in football, each nation hopes …

Convening For A Prosperous Future: Middle East North African South Asian (Menasa) Convening, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Portland State University, Middle East, North Africa, South Asia (Menasa), Portland State University

Global Diversity and Inclusion Publications and Presentations

PSU is proactively leaning into its future as a majority-BIPOC student institution and is dedicated to coming alongside BIPOC communities, critical partners, actors, and agents to act in the present to ensure a prosperous future.

We recognize that opportunities and challenges for BIPOC communities require collective, rather than singular, action. In that spirit, we invite you to save the date and join Portland State University's Global Diversity and Inclusion Division on Sunday October 23rd between 11am-2pm for a convening luncheon contemplating present challenges and imagining a prosperous future for our Middle East North African South Asian (MENASA) Community.

This social …

Full Volume 13, Issue 1, Seyma Tufan

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Case Study: Exploring Inservice Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences Of The Effectiveness Of Gifted Preparation And Training Programs In Saudi Arabia, Khlood Khaled Alshareef

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Saudi Arabia, the teaching of gifted and talented students is relatively new, and research that describes the quality and effectiveness of teachers' gifted preparation programs and the training sessions they receive remain rather limited and inconsistent. Purpose: This dissertation focuses on understanding the perceptions and experiences of in-service teachers regarding gifted-focused preparation and training programs in the country. Research Design: Data were collected through observation and semi-structured interviews with teachers of gifted and talented students in the country. Findings: Analysis of the data revealed six themes related to teachers’ perceptions and experiences of preparation and training programs in Saudi …

U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Unesco After Acceptance Of Palestinian Membership For The Period 2012-2017, Yon Machmudi, Qothrunnada Quraissyn Qudsi Ardifansyia

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

The United States is one of the countries that established Palestine as a state. The struggle for Palestine to get full membership status in the United Nations (UN) also often gets a veto from the United States. The United States rejects Palestine at UNESCO because according to America, membership status as a country cannot determine the decision of the UN Security Council first. The research method used in this research is descriptive research method, and the writer will use secondary data. This paper examines the United States' policy towards UNESCO after the membership of Palestine for the 2012-2017 period. The …

Assessing New Wars Theory In The Post-Arab Spring Era: The Libyan And Yemeni Wars (2011-2020), Shady El-Sherif

Theses and Dissertations

Mary Kaldor’s “New Wars” theory which was first published in 1991 argues that warfare has changed after the Cold War with the growing globalization and the rise of violent non-state actors. According to the theory, globalization augmented certain problems that are considered the main causes of these “new wars” such as; state fragility/failure, identity politics, and war economy methods which all account at present for the continuation of conflicts, especially in the MENA region with more civilian casualties. To assess this theory, I am using a comparative case study methodology with a historical process-tracing approach for the Yemeni and Libyan …

The Grand Strategy Of Gertrude Bell: From The Arab Bureau To The Creation Of Iraq, Heather S. Gregg

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

The remarkable life of early-twentieth-century British adventurer Gertrude Bell has been well documented through her biographies and numerous travel books. Bell’s role as a grand strategist for the British government in the Middle East during World War I and the postwar period, however, is surprisingly understudied. Investigating Gertrude Bell as both a military strategist and a grand strategist offers important insights into how Great Britain devised its military strategy in the Middle East during World War I—particularly, Britain’s efforts to work through saboteurs and secret societies to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the war and the country’s attempts to stabilize …

Gender Equity And State-Mosque Relations In Middle East North Africa: A Case Study Of Tunisia, Joy Amarachi Agbugba

Dissertations and Theses

Why is the Middle East North Africa region consistently ranked the lowest on the gender equity scale? This question is quite perplexing and that has driven several scholarly researchers to investigate the situation of gender and women's rights within the states in the region. In this research, I explore the various theories explaining the cause of gender inequity in this region including the Islam thesis/social modernization theory, political-economic theory, and psychological/social structural theories, with an emphasis on the Islamic thesis theory. I argue that the state's support and prioritization of Muslim/sharia law over federal law is a major contributor to …

Ideological And Strategic Influences On Hezbollah's Decisions To Deliver Social Service Provisions, Morgan Mcminn

Theses - ALL

Hezbollah is a unique organization that acts as a transnational group, an insurgent group and a major political party in Lebanon. Since the founding of Hezbollah, they have found social service provisions to be an important aspect of their organization and have had immense control over the territory, acting as a state within the state of Lebanon. Hezbollah offers an organizational structure, a conflict resolution mechanism, healthcare, education and much more to their primarily Shi'a constituents, however to other sects as well. My master's thesis seeks to examine the reasons that Hezbollah does offer these social service provisions. Through the …

The Politics Of Security: Syrian Refugees In The Middle East And Western Europe, Sefa Secen

Dissertations - ALL

Under what conditions do governments view and respond to the arrival of refugees primarily as a security threat? Comparatively analyzing the securitization of Syrian refugees in two pairs of countries, Turkey and Lebanon and Germany and France, this dissertation proposes a domestic political context-based theory and typology of securitization. Based on a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the media data including mainstream national newspaper articles, political speeches, and policy documents, this research differentiates between different levels of securitization. It finds that moderate securitization was present in Lebanon during the early years of the refugee crisis (2013–2014) and coincided with …

Media Misrepresentation Predisposing Iranian Social Divide, Adelia Rachman

Jurnal Middle East and Islamic Studies

The Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought Iran to be transformed into a new revolutionary theocratic republic. This is in line with the raison d’être of the Iranian constitution, realizing the life of the nation and state based on the noble and universal values of Islam. Meanwhile, the existence of power competition and conflicting conceptions of authority have been reflected in its political constellation. Islam in the realm of this state is not only understood as a religious institution but also a concept of political spirituality. The hijab policy, for example, has become part of Iranian culture ever since and became …

Tindak Tutur Ilokusi Teks Deklarasi Kemerdekaan Palestina, Salsabila Safitri, Wiwin Triwinarti

Jurnal Middle East and Islamic Studies

This study discusses the types and functions of illocutionary speech acts contained in the text of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. The text of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence was written by a Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish and then read by the First President of Palestine Yasser Arafat in Algeria on November 15, 1988. This research was analyzed using qualitative descriptive methods and Searle's (1979) speech act theory. In the text of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the researcher found 14 utterances containing illocutionary speech acts with different functions. There are 4 assertive utterances with the function of stating, 3 …

From Abdulhamid Ii Until Erdoğan: Pan-Islamism Movement In Indonesia And Turkey, Siti Rohmah Soekarba, Frial Ramadhan Supratman

Jurnal Middle East and Islamic Studies

This paper investigates the relationship between Indonesia and Turkey from nineteenth century until twentieth first century, especially in the are of Erdogan (2002- today) in the framework of Pan-Islamism approach. Pan-Islamism term has been explored by scientists in the Western or non-Western world. Mostly, scientists consider that Pan-Islamism is the act of radical in order to to West domination in Muslim countries. In this paper author argues that Pan-Islamism is not a conservative ideology to expel West domination, but the approach adopted by Muslims in order to adapt with global challenge since nineteenth century. This paper is written from historical …

The Evolution Of Money To Cryptocurrency: Are They Eligible To Be Islamic Digital Money, Patria Yunita

Jurnal Middle East and Islamic Studies

The cryptocurrency was a very popular issue in recent years. There was a debate among scientists regarding the prohibition of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange. Some Islamic institutions use cryptocurrencies and blockchain platforms in the financial transaction. This study analyzes the arguments of classical and modern Muslim scientists regarding the evolution of money to become modern Islamic digital money in the form of cryptocurrency. We used ARCH GARCH to predict the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Our samples are Bitcoin, Ethereum, IDR Token, and Tether USD Token. IDRT and USDT are stablecoins. Bitcoin and Ethereum are …

Strengthening Cybersecurity Of The United Arab Emirates After The Establishment Of Diplomatic Relations With Israel, Afini Nurdina Utami, M. Hamdan Basyar

Jurnal Middle East and Islamic Studies

The United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations with Israel in September 2020. This decision is in line with the United Arab Emirates' national commitment to enhance the development of the country's potential. The two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of cyber and technology. The regional threat posed by Iran is one of the factors driving cooperation between the two countries in the field of cybersecurity. This study aims to answer the background of the two countries’ increasing cooperation in the field of cybersecurity and how to strengthen cybersecurity as one of the objectives of cooperation after the …