Islamic World and Near East History Commons^™

Rising Tide In The Gulf: The First Gulf War And Its Impact Upon Chinese Strategy, Patrick Griffo

Undergraduate Theses

Observing Chinese foreign policy means looking through a clouded lens. A foggy image can be made out, yet specific details are left undefined. The Chinese reaction to the 1990s First Gulf War is a case in point. The perspective is opaque, yet we can still gather an understanding of important changes in China’s policies. The author provides insights not only into China’s foreign and military policy but also on Chinese-Arab relations. In analyzing China’s reaction to the war, we can see it was indeed a transformative period for China’s strategy in the Arab world. China reacted to the Gulf War …

A One Percent Chance: Jabotinsky, Bernadotte, And The Iron Wall Doctrine, Andrew Harman

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis is an examination of the long historical processes that have led to the Israel/Palestine conflict to the contemporary period, focusing mostly on the period before Israeli independence and the 1948 war that created the Jewish state. As Zionism emerged at the turn of the twentieth century to combat the antisemitism of Europe, practical and political facets of the movement sought immigration to Palestine, an area occupied by a large population of Arab natives. The answer to how the Zionists would achieve a Jewish state in that region, largely ignoring the indigenous population, fostered disagreements and a split in …

A Middle East Perspective: Civil War Memory In Syria And At Home, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Last summer, while on a trip with the Eisenhower Institute’s Inside the Middle East program, I stood at the Israeli edge of the Golan Heights and heard a bomb explode across the border in Syria. We had spent the day within several miles of the war-ravaged nation with all remaining quiet until that moment, and while none of us wanted to admit it, we had the smallest hope that we might catch a glimpse of the conflict. However, when the sound of the detonation roared across the hills, excitement was replaced by a sense of fear and grief. I had …

About The Contributors

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

No abstract provided.

Nabhan, Gary Paul. Cumin, Camels And Caravans. (2014). Berkeley, Ca: University Of California Press. 332 Pages. Isbn 978-0-520-26720-6 (Hardcover), M. Todd Harper

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

A review of Gary Paul Nabhan's Cumin, Camels and Caravans (2014).

Developing Global Perspectives In Short-Term Study Abroad: High-Impact Learning Through Curriculum, Co-Curriculum And Community, Christina M. Ferrari, Janis B. Fine

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

As short-term study abroad gains popularity, it is essential to examine the immediate and ongoing effects of these programs. This paper explores a two-week study abroad course for students in P-12 educational administration and higher education graduate programs. It makes valuable contributions to the limited research that exists for graduate students studying abroad and short-term study away experiences. It examines a course design utilizing the Global Perspective Inventory and high-impact learning pedagogy as derived through curriculum, co-curriculum, and community frameworks. Such a strategy aims to influence students’ decision-making processes and connect global knowledge to education’s urgent social, ethical, and civic …

Study Abroad: Essentials In Recruitment And Interdisciplinary Practice, Vanessa Robinson-Dooley, Alan Kirk, Jennifer Riapos

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Study abroad programs offer unique opportunities for students to gain valuable educational and life experience. These experiences support a well-rounded education and prepare the students to work in a more global society. Many study abroad programs are designed with undergraduates as the target audience and may not meet the academic needs or life situations of the graduate student. This paper describes the authors’ observations based on their experiences with developing and implementing study abroad programs. This writing discusses lessons learned and offers recommendations for expanding existing programs to attract graduate students.

"Facebook To Mobilize, Twitter To Coordinate Protests, And Youtube To Tell The World": New Media, Cyberactivism, And The Arab Spring, Mohamed Arafa, Crystal Armstrong

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Research on media and contentious politics in the Arab world point to the vital role that social media played in the Arab Spring. For the purposes of this article, the Arab Spring is defined as a series of demonstrations and democratic uprisings—and in the cases of Libya, Syria, and Yemen armed rebel movements—that arose independently and spread across the Arab world from Tunisia and Egypt to Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, and Syria in 2010-2011 and beyond. This article advances the theoretical assumption that while not causing the Arab uprisings, New Media (defined here as all forms of digital communication technology including …

Public Finance And Tax Equity In The Arabian Gulf Monarchies, Timothy Mathews

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This study examines notions of public finance equity in the six Arabian Gulf monarchies of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Because of unique characteristics of government expenditures and revenues in these monarchies, many of the standard concepts of public finance (such as the Benefits Principle, Ability-to-Pay Principle, Vertical Equity, and Horizontal Equity) do not provide relevant insights. Consequently, four innovative notions of equity are reviewed and discussed: Within Group Horizontal Equity; Within Group Vertical Equity; Favored Group Horizontal Equity; and Favored Group Vertical Equity. Finally, these four conceptions of equity are applied to a …

Intercultural Connectivity: Intertwined Through Islamic Design, Sandra Bird

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper is a critical inquiry examining the works of an art exhibit, Geometric Aljamia: A Cultural Transliteration, hosted during Kennesaw State University’s Year of the Arabian Peninsula. It includes a brief interdisciplinary discussion of the importance of geometry to the development of Islamic art and design. The contemporary artists who produced these works under study integrate drawing and paper-cutting techniques that display characteristics of art found throughout the Muslim world.

Ottoman Arabia And The Holy Hijaz, 1516-1918, Willaim Ochsenwald

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Governments in Arabia today usually ignore the Ottoman Empire’s history in the region, but the Ottomans from 1516 to 1918 played a key role in coastal regions, especially in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. While Ottoman administrations intermittently ruled in Yemen and eastern Arabia, their influence was greatest in the holy Hijaz, the site of the worldwide pilgrimage. However, Ottoman rule was limited by Istanbul’s distance from Arabia. Religion played a significant role in determining the nature of Ottoman control, helping to legitimize the state among its subjects. A detailed analysis of one province, the Hijaz, with …

Introduction To The Special Edition, Daniel J. Paracka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Introduction to the special edition on the Year of Arabian Peninsula programming at Kennesaw State University, 2014-2015.

The Student Researcher 2016 (Title Page, Preface, Table Of Contents), Selena Sanderfer Faculty Advisor

The Student Researcher: A Phi Alpha Theta Publication

No abstract provided.

Fawad And Zakeela, Fawad, Zakeela, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Fawad and his wife, Zakeela, have three children. Zakeela was a beautician, and Fawad was a singer in the Baghlan district in Afghanistan. The music he produced was not in accordance with the strict restrictions of the Taliban. They threatened his life and assaulted him many times, so he decided to leave with his family to Kabul. Fawad’s day job was as an FM radio producer; at night, he moonlighted as a singer and musician. He produced music for ceremonies and weddings, often performing for the women’s part, which the Taliban did not accept. Eventually, his life was again threatened, …

Faroosh And Elina, Faroosh, Elina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Faroosh was a cameraman for a private television program in Afghanistan working on a documentary about the Taliban. When he and his crew were discovered, the Taliban attacked them and he and his wife fled to Turkey, walking 12 hours to get there. Upon arrival the police arrested and harassed them. Turkey was not a safe place. After several suicide bombings in the area, they decided to move on to Greece, where they are in a refugee camp without any progress in their situation. They have no money to move forward and no ability to work and the economic situation …

Front Matter

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Cover, editorial board, submission guidelines, subscription information, and table of contents for Vol. 10, No. 1.

The Tunisian Revolution: Empire And The Power Of The Multitude, Caroline A. Burns

Master's Theses

The self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi ignited the revolution that would oust Tunisian dictator Ben Ali in 2011. The momentum of the revolution in Tunisia spread ideas, tactics, and revolutionary chants across borders to various parts of the globe. The speed and intensity of the revolution dominated the attention of the unsuspecting global community. In order to understand the conditions under which this revolution transpired, I use Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's theory of Empire to show how the contemporary global system functions. Through the historical development of Tunisia and concurrent rise of Empire emerges "the multitude," the heterogeneous manifestation of …

The Czech-Egyptian Arms Deal Of 1955 : A Turning Point In Middle Eastern Cold War History., Thomas Michael Shaughnessy Skaggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the Czechoslovakian-Egyptian arms deal of 1955 and analyzes how it impacted Middle Eastern Cold War policy. Central to the issue is Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser’s approach to garnering Pan-Arab Nationalist support and his decision to approach the Soviet Bloc for weapons and economic aid. Supporting evidence came from several repositories, including the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. In addition to primary sources, a thorough examination of the existing scholarship was conducted. In conclusion, the Czech-Egyptian arms deal, more than any other event, cemented Nasser's place as champion …

The Islamic State Of Iraq And The Levant (Isil): Combatting The Challenge Of Post-Modern Islamic Terrorism, Colin M. Bowie

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Author: Colin Bowie

Academic Major(s): International Affairs and Justice Studies

Institution: James Madison University

Presentation Title: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL): Combatting the Challenge of Postmodern Islamic Terrorism

Abstract: This 38-page white paper examines the causes behind the terrorist group ISIL and ultimately recommends a comprehensive policy to destroy the group and eliminate chances of its revival. The author reviews the history of Al Qaeda in Iraq and the unraveling of Syria during its civil conflict. ISIL’s rise, tactics and its manifestation as a group that actively holds territory is discussed. A literature review then analyzes …

Tunisia’S Young Islamists: Religious Or Revolutionary Zealots?, Sawyer French

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ennahda’s many compromises during Tunisia’s transition have prompted assessments that the party has alienated its base, especially by not taking more traditionally Islamist stances on issues like sharī‘a. This paper draws on interviews with young Tunisian Islamists and assesses how they have responded to Ennahda’s compromises. Although some young Islamists are disappointed that Ennahda did not pursue more hard-line Islamist stances, many actually share the leadership’s progressive position on certain religious issues. Interestingly, young Islamists were far more angered by Ennahda’s compromises on ‘revolutionary’ issues than they were by its compromises on ‘religious’ ones. This paper ultimately argues that …

The Possibility Of Peace: Israeli Public Opinion And The Camp David Accords, Daniel L. Gerdes

Departmental Honors Projects

The Camp David Accords, September 5-17, 1978, were a momentous development in Middle East relations. For over 30 years Israel and her neighbors weathered periods of warfare and aggression, but when leaders from Egypt, Israel, and the United States descended on Camp David in the United States for two weeks of peace negotiations everything changed. Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin became the first leaders in the Middle East to negotiate peace after decades of war between the two countries. This research discerns the changes in Israeli public opinion on the peace process with Egypt that …

The Struggle Between The Center And The Periphery: Justinian's Provincial Reforms Of The A.D. 530s, Mark-Anthony Karantabias

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation analyzes the struggle between the imperial court and the periphery in the context of Justinian’s reforms in the early A.D. 530s. The reforms targeting select Roman provinces sought to reduce the size of the imperial bureaucracy while simultaneously attempting to maintain imperial vertical authority. The reforms epitomize the imperial court’s struggle to rein in the imperial bureaucracy in the provinces of the Roman Empire. The analysis is framed within the cultural, social, political and economic evolution occurring in Late Antiquity. It shall be proposed that the reforms are one example of the imperial court’s attempt to limit the …

For The Union Makes Us Strong: The İstanbul Metal Workers And Their Struggle For Unionization In Turkey, 1947-1970, Özgür Balkılıç

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

This study is an examination of the history of organized metal labor in İstanbul, Turkey after the Second World War. It analyzes and displays the complex and intermingled historical processes within which laborers in the private metal sector of İstanbul experienced workplace relations and actively responded to them. In this regard, although recent immigrants to Istanbul were exposed to unfamiliar conditions and labor relations, they attempted to shape those new relations through several means, in particular through the establishment of trade unions. In an effort to provide a comprehensive picture of class formation in the metal sector after the …

Ch. 15: The Limits Of Soft Power: Why Kurdish Nationalism Failed In The French Mandate Of Syria, Laila Mcquade, Nabil Al-Tikriti

Books and Chapters

This chapter appears in the book, First World War and Its Aftermath: The Shaping of the Modern Middle East.  Edited by T.G. Fraser.

Chapter abstract: By 1943 and 1946, Lebanon and Syria, respectively, had gained their independence from the French Mandate of Syria. However, this split of the original mandatory state into two sovereign states had been mapped out well before their official independence. From the inception of the Mandate, Lebanon was to be carved from Syria for independence, due to the Maronitesʹ special relationship with France. The fate of the remaining state of Syria, though, was less concrete. France …

Into The Red: A Look Into The Reasons Why Refugees Decide To Flee, Settle Or Migrate To And From Morocco, Fadeelah E. Holivay

Master's Theses

This research paper explores some of the main reasons why refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from sub-Saharan African countries, embark on a journey and decide to settle, flee or migrate to and from Morocco. Because of this phenomenon, Morocco has seen a 96% increase of refugees migrating to the borders of Morocco each year for the past three years. Many say that this astonishing increase of migrants choosing Morocco is due to such factors as: wars breaking out regionally across central African and Middle Eastern countries causing them to flee; Morocco being a culturaly diverse francophone country whose laws and …

Letter To Editor Indiana Magazine Of History, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Letter responding to comparison of Guantanamo bay terrorist detainees with the noted Indiana Civil War case of Lambdin Milligan, ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, who was detained by Union military authorities during the Civil War for his pro-confederate activities and tried by a military court.

The Power Of Corrupt Political Environments And Its Effects On Museums: A Look At Egypt’S Modern-Day ‘Indiana Jones’: Dr. Zahi Hawass, Christine Smith

History Theses

Egypt has been a nation plagued with political corruption since the early years of colonialism. After being under French and then British domination throughout the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, the 1952 Revolution under Egypt’s Free Officers gave, Egypt a rare opportunity for independent political and cultural growth. Although change occurred politically―as seen in the Suez Crisis―Egypt’s antiquities remained stagnant and still under the influence of foreigners. Egypt’s antiquities were directly supervised by the British and the French until that time, but remained influenced even after the political revolution. There were few Egyptians involved in preservation …

The Political Aesthetics Of Global Protest : The Arab Spring And Beyond, Pnina Werbner, Martin Webb, Kathryn Spellman-Poots

Independent Volumes

A remarkable feature of the Arab Spring and other protests that followed in Egypt, India, Botswana and the UK, among other places, has been the salience of images, songs, videos, humour, satire and dramatic performances.

This book explores the central role the aesthetic played in energising the mass mobilisations of young people, the disaffected, the middle classes, the apolitical silent majority, as well as enabling solidarities and alliances among democrats, workers, trade unions, civil rights activists and opposition parties.

Comparing the North African and Middle Eastern uprisings with protest movements such as Occupy, the authors bring to bear an anthropological …

Atatürk's Balancing Act: The Role Of Secularism In Turkey, Patrick G. Rear

Global Tides

The intersection of religion and politics in the form of a civil religion has been present since time immemorial. This paper looks specifically to the relationship between Turkey’s development of a secular civil religion after gaining independence and the advancing of women’s rights and democratic values. In examining the intersections of state and religion in a secular Islamic society, it draws parallels to the French civil religion as it came to be following the French Revolution. Though Atatürk and other secularists were strong forces in developing the civil religion, the paper also examines liberal democratic and conservative Islamic groups in …

Kemalism: A Revolutionary Ideology And Its Islamist Opposition, Juliann Merryman

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

“Kemalism: A Revolutionary Ideology and its Islamist Opposition” seeks to define the Kemalist reform period as a revolutionary movement. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his authoritarian government undertook a series of sweeping social and political reforms. This paper seeks to establish these reforms and the underlying Kemalist ideology as a revolutionary ideology. Using a functionalist perspective, the essay illustrates the various crises that faced the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A number of reform efforts failed to effectively address the entirety of Ottoman societal ills.

The rise of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the …