Number of results to display per page
Search Results
1412. The Assad Regime’s Hold on the Syrian State
- Author:
- Kheder Khaddour
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Since the early days of the Syrian uprising in 2011, President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has made it a priority to keep state agencies running, allowing Assad to claim that the regime is the irreplaceable provider of essential services. Breaking the regime’s monopoly on these public services and enabling the moderate opposition to become an alternative source of them would weaken the regime and prevent the radical jihadist Islamic State from emerging to fill power vacuums across the country.
- Topic:
- Civil War, Democratization, Islam, Governance, Sectarian violence, and Authoritarianism
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Arab Countries
1413. The Islamic State’s Strategy: Lasting and Expanding
- Author:
- Lina Khatib
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The self-proclaimed Islamic State is a hybrid jihadist group with a declared goal of establishing a “lasting and expanding” caliphate. Its strategy for survival and growth blends military, political, social, and economic components. Yet the U.S.-led international intervention against it has largely been limited to air strikes. The gaps in the international coalition’s approach as well as deep sectarian divisions in Iraq and the shifting strategies of the Syrian regime and its allies are allowing the Islamic State to continue to exist and expand.
- Topic:
- Civil War, Islam, Terrorism, Insurgency, and Sectarian violence
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Middle East, Arab Countries, and Syria
1414. Crumbling States: Security Sector Reform in Libya and Yemen
- Author:
- Yezid Sayigh
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Already-weak states in Libya and Yemen crumbled as struggles for control over their security sectors became central to transitional politics after the popular uprisings of 2011. Instead of being reformed and upgraded to enhance the fragile legitimacy of interim governments, the security sectors collapsed by 2014. Libya and Yemen are now caught in a vicious circle: rebuilding effective central states and cohesive national identities requires a new consensus on the purpose and governance of security sectors, but reaching this agreement depends on resolving the deep political divisions and social fractures that led to civil war in both countries.
- Topic:
- Security, Fragile/Failed State, Governance, Sectarian violence, and Popular Revolt
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and North Africa
1415. Authoritarian Regime Learning: Comparative Insights from the Arab Uprisings
- Author:
- André Bank and Mirjam Edel
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the learning of authoritarian regimes in the early phase of the Arab uprisings. Differentiating conceptually between learning and policy change, we analyze and compare the authoritarian regimes of Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, and Syria and their reactions to the challenge of "late riser" oppositional protests. We first show that the four regimes initiated very diverse measures in the domains of repression, material co‐optation, and legal reforms. With regard to the sources of learning, we find that proximity is a determining factor, in terms of both geography and political similarity. Using the case of Bahrain, we then demonstrate that structural factors such as internal power structures, regional and international pressures, or state capacity can decisively constrain the implementation of learning‐induced policy change. Overall, the paper aims to contribute to the emerging research on the international dimension of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and beyon
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Political Activism, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1416. Voices of the Arab Spring: Personal Stories from the Arab Revolutions
- Author:
- Asaad Al-Saleh
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Columbia University Press
- Abstract:
- Narrated by dozens of activists and everyday individuals, this book documents the unprecedented events that led to the collapse of dictatorial regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Beginning in 2011, these stories offer unique access to the message that inspired citizens to act, their experiences during revolt, and the lessons they learned from some of the most dramatic changes and appalling events to occur in the history of the Arab world. The riveting, revealing, and sometimes heartbreaking stories in this volume also include voices from Syria. Featuring participants from a variety of social and educational backgrounds and political commitments, these personal stories of action represent the Arab Spring's united and broad social movements, collective identities, and youthful character. For years, the volume's participants lived under regimes that brutally suppressed free expression and protest. Their testimony speaks to the multifaceted emotional, psychological, and cultural factors that motivated citizens to join together to struggle against their oppressors.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Insurgency, Authoritarianism, and Popular Revolt
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and North Africa
- Publication Identifier:
- 9780231163194
- Publication Identifier Type:
- ISBN
1417. Changing Attitudes under New and Old Systems
- Author:
- Carolyn Barnett
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Elites in Tunisia and Jordan stress their need to invest in their human resources, because people are the only resources they have. An array of programs has arisen in both countries to help young people learn life and job skills, find appropriate careers, and launch new businesses. Yet a look at recent and ongoing workforce development efforts in each country reveals that these schemes are intended to produce something fundamentally different in each country. Tunisians are working to overcome the legacies of dictatorship and build a new, more democratic system while simultaneously carrying out economic reforms that aim to alter the state’s role in the economy. Jordanians are trying to alter society and economic incentives within a political status quo where too much change too quickly could threaten the political order, and the government therefore faces compelling reasons both to reform and to keep things as they are. This report examines how similar efforts have evolved in these contrasting contexts
- Topic:
- Democratization, Economics, Human Welfare, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
1418. Iraqi Stability and the “ISIS War”
- Author:
- Anthony H Cordesman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The events in Iraq over the last month have shown that any success in Iraq requires both the Iraqi government and the United States to go far beyond the war against ISIS, and makes any partisan debate over who lost Iraq as damaging to U.S. national interests as any other aspect of America’s drift toward partisan extremism. The war against ISIS is a critical U.S. national security interest. It not only threatens to create a major center of terrorism and extremism in a critical part of the Middle East, and one that could spread to threaten the flow of energy exports and the global economy, but could become a major center of international terrorism. It is important to understand, however, that ISIS is only one cause of instability in the region, and only one of the threats caused by spreading sectarian and ethnic violence.
- Topic:
- Terrorism and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
1419. The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Definitive Guide
- Author:
- Gary Samore
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This report has been produced in the interest of contributing to informed Congressional review and public discourse on a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It provides a concise description of the agreement and the accompanying UN Security Council Resolution 2231. It also includes a balanced assessment of the agreement's strengths and weaknesses with respect to its central objective to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The team of experts who prepared the report includes Democrats, Republications, independents, and internationals. Noting areas of disagreement among themselves, they agreed that this report provides an accurate description and balanced assessment of the agreement.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Middle East
1420. Conflict and Extremist-Related Sexual Violence
- Author:
- Kerry Crawford
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Abstract:
- As extremist groups in the Middle East and North Africa perpetrate sexual violence against women as part of their campaigns to further their interests and propagate fear, scholars are reaching a deeper understanding of the ways in which sexual violence, before, during, and after conflict, arises from a complex pattern of political, military, social, and economic factors. International actors can draw from this work to craft responses that better assist survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Sex Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and North Africa