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Full-Text Articles in Political Science
Perspective: Arabia Infelix: The War Devouring Yemen, Sheila Carapico
Perspective: Arabia Infelix: The War Devouring Yemen, Sheila Carapico
Political Science Faculty Publications
For many centuries, European cartographers labeled the southwest corner of the otherwise mostly desert Arabian Peninsula as Arabia Felix, or “Happy Arabia.” It was a place where towering mountains trapped clouds blown in from the Indian Ocean so that twice-annual monsoon rains blessed terraced slopes and lowland wadis with plentiful crops. Sadly, since fighting engulfed the country in late March 2015, Yemen has never been less felix.
What Does It Mean, "Promoting Democratization"?, Sheila Carapico
What Does It Mean, "Promoting Democratization"?, Sheila Carapico
Political Science Faculty Publications
Political speeches and even policy analysis from Washington, Ottawa, and the capitals of Europe in the past two decades about promoting democratization tend towards generalities and platitudes. This research asks what Western and international agencies actually do, on the ground in the Middle East, by way of fomenting democracy. Taking my inspiration from the sociologist Albert Hirschman who decades ago observed that projects are “privileged particles”[i] of socio-economic development assistance, I’ve collected well over twelve hundred examples.[ii] This summary table illustrates the aggregate finding that most projects cluster around electoral representation, legal or judicial development, and support for …
Ngos, Ingos, Go-Ngos And Do-Ngos: Making Sense Of Non-Governmental Organizations, Sheila Carapico
Ngos, Ingos, Go-Ngos And Do-Ngos: Making Sense Of Non-Governmental Organizations, Sheila Carapico
Political Science Faculty Publications
This issue of Middle East Report takes a critical look at "NGOs"--non-governmental organizations--in and beyond the Arab world. The topic is both trendy and controversial. Although they may see themselves as marginal actors, charities, advocacy groups and a range of other civic associations in the Middle East have also become agents of political, economic and social change, influencing the allocation of scarce resources in their own societies and the images national regimes project abroad. In recent years, NGOs have been depicted as saviors of failed economies in some circles while reviled as stooges of Western imperialism in others.
Mission: Democracy, Sheila Carapico
Mission: Democracy, Sheila Carapico
Political Science Faculty Publications
Incumbent national leaders invite foreign election monitors only when it is in their interest to do so. Rarely is significant financial assistance "conditional" on holding elections, although it does improve a regime's image abroad to do so. For governments being observed, the trick is to orchestrate the process enough to win, but not enough to arouse observers' suspicions.