Causes of Unrest in Middle East and North Africa

Causes of Unrest in Middle East and North Africa Historians and philosophers, political scientists, economists, and sociologists are trying to identify the root causes of social unrest and their implications in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa in the end of the first and the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. There are quite a lot of factors serving as the foundation for social unrest in the ME and NA. They are both objective and subjective. The bases of social revolutions are mainly domestic factors, though not without external assumptions. The root causes of the revolutionary upheavals in the Arab world and the Middle East and North African crisis lie in the limited model of modernization, which has led to a disproportionate, extensive and slow development of the region. [1] In January 2014, the Arab world has noted the fourth anniversary of the event, which journalists dubbed as the â€Å"Arab Spring â€Å". Indeed, at first, the world started to witness â€Å"iconic† events occur ring in the region, where the resignation of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled the country since 1987, on January 14 2011, launched the cascade known as the domino effect. Later, on the 11th of February 2011 the fall of Tunisian president was followed by the most sensational resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country since 1981. In combination with the removal of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (who ruled from 1969) on the 20th of October 2011, events of the â€Å"Arab Spring† began to be perceived and interpreted as signs of radical changes in the entire Arab region, and more broadly within the whole Islamic World [1] . The nomination of main slogans demanding the democratisation of public institutions of government had a dual effect on the countries of the region. Firstly, the â€Å"spring tide† having swept away a number of Middle Eastern regimes, still failed to overthrow the most powerful outposts of authoritarianism w ithin the region [2] . These authoritarian outposts are personified by Arab Monarchies of the Persian Gulf [3] , who happen to be traditional allies of the USA. Reluctance to initiate the reforms for the liberalisation of the regime led to them being discredited in the eyes of the global community as well as the indigenous peoples of the region. And secondly, the events of the last decade, beginning with the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq [4] have led, in combination with crisis of power in Egypt and Syria, to the elimination of the political culture and institutions of the Middle East, by knocking out the traditional â€Å"heavyweights† of the Middle East: Iraq, Egypt and Syria. All of these events together resulted in the emergence of activity of those labelled as â€Å"outsiders† by the Arab world. These non-Arab â€Å"outsiders† are primarily Iran and Turkey. The failure of the revolutions to lay foundation for new Political, Economic and Social instit utions has been replaced by simple â€Å"reshuffling of spheres of power and influence. And in Iran, a â€Å"green movement† has been chosen as an alternative path [5] . Throughout the course of the revolution, there were strong expectations that the Middle East was entering a period of democratic development [6] , which was said to achieve all of the attributes of a free civil society, which had for so many years existed in Western countries. However, further advancement of the situation in the region has led to an increase in the influence of supporters of critical perception of the nature and probable consequences of this rebellious movement not only for countries of that region, but also for the whole system of modern international relations. Western experts have increasingly highlighted the ambiguity of this phenomenon for the fate of the entire region, by agreeing on the fundamental reshaping of the entire system of â€Å"balance of forces†. This choir is partic ularly dominated by the notable work of Efraim Inbar, an Israeli expert and his work â€Å"The Arab uprisings and national safety of Israel.†According to Inbar, all what is happening in the region, will not deliver any positive outcomes in terms of stability and regional security† [7] . Despite the secular influence of Western culture, none of the Arab States managed to build a stable, democratic society, based on the ideas of civil liberties, political rights, a system of universal education, gender equality and economic development. The â€Å"democratic† elections in Lebanon in 2005 and Palestine in 2009 brought to power of the Islamists, indicating that the imperfection of the civil society in the Arab world. The most dangerous version of the situation under the influence of the â€Å"Arab Spring† and according to Inbar, there will be an emergence of nuclear Iran, who may ultimately win some time to complete work on its nuclear program and put the globa l community fait accompli. This may result in a â€Å"chain reaction† when other countries region will aim to commence the development of their own nuclear programs, seriously complicating the national security of Israel, which as of now is the only nuclear Power in the conflict-laden region. Activation of Iran on the foreign policy arena after the uprisings is not accidental. Behind its activation lies the influx of huge amounts of Petrodollars, rising anti-American sentiment in the region caused by frankly failed policies of the United States, the rise to power of an ambitious and eccentric leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s implementation of its own â€Å"nuclear program†, which turned into a personification of Iran’s power revival [8] . Hence the interest of specialists and politicians on foreign policy doctrine of modern Iran, where it states that it is based not on the principles of national interest but rather the principle of Islamic solidarity, r ooted in the teachings of Imam Khomeini, in relation to the Islamic revolution. Thus, consideration of ideological concepts of Imam Khomeini in interpreting the current leader of the Islamic Revolution (Rahbar) Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, should help understanding and explaining the steps taken by Iran during the reign of the current President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [9] . The analysis of these concepts will help to forecast future foreign policy initiatives of Iran with its aim to resolve the intra-regional problems.

Overcoming the Financial Challenge of Going to College Essay

Overcoming the Financial Challenge of Going to College - Essay Example This finding is due to the fact that the average cost of a college education is around $23,000 per annum and that meant a lot of money for many Americans especially that the economy is still reeling from the financial crisis (Reuters). Many opted and forced to work than pursue a college degree because they simply cannot afford it and thus drop out rate in the United States continue to rise. This case of students dropping out due to financial difficulty is not isolated. This is so pervasive that it can be said that the drop out figure in college in the US is already alarming to the point that it could already undermine the country’s competitiveness. In a study conducted by Harvard with data from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, United States has the highest dropout rate in the industrialized world. Among the 18 countries surveyed, United States lagged last with a drop out rate of 46 percent. This figure is very far from Japan which has a huge 89 percent gr aduation rate and former Soviet states such as Slovakia with 63 percent and Poland with 61 percent (Reuters). These figures are considered alarming because drop out rates are increasing in an inversely proportional manner to what is required in the workforce in the near future. Instead of increasing the graduation rate as it is projected that 59 % of jobs will already require a college degree by 2018, it is the drop out rate that is increasing with the country having the graduation rate of 38.3 percent (O’Connor). It seems that jobs in the future especially the high paying ones will not be filled by Americans especially with what the current unemployment statistics show that people without a college degree has twice the chance to be unemployed. In the state of Florida, the figure is also equally startling. O’Connor reported that the State is not producing enough college graduates who would fill up future job market demand. It is even below the already national low nati onal gradation rate of 38.3 percent, graduating only 36.5 percent of its enrollees. This same issue was highlighted was Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, President of Miami Dade where he is not pleased with the graduation rate of those who are college ready registering only a 39% graduation rate. He stressed that given this not so pleasing figures, the focus to complete college today â€Å"is very intense and urgent† – â€Å"to have a standards and practice from outside the College, or to define completion from within; to define it by our success† (Padron). This concern of Dr. Padron about â€Å"Standards and practice from outside the College, or to define completion from within; to define it by our success† was about the quality of education that students receive in schools and their appropriateness in real world setting. The problem about low graduation is further beset by this issue because it implies that the already low graduates in the United States does not s atisfy the quantity and quality of what is needed in the workforce. The current educational system of the United States has been widely critique as not grounded on the realities on the workplace as do not teaching the students how to succeed and become financially independent (Kiyosaki). So the actual problem of the educational system in the US is not only confined to low rate of graduates but also the quality of its graduates. Dr.

Nurturing the Childrens Spirituality in the Learning Process Essay

Nurturing the Childrens Spirituality in the Learning Process - Essay Example In such a way they are able to maintain compassionate and balance learning process to make them pro-active in school activities. Through this, they are expected to enjoy social cohesion and harmony within and outside of the school. De Souza (2004) asserted that Values Education and Clarification have been considered by the state as significant to be integrated into the curriculum to teach learners moral values as an inspirational tool in defining their good relationship with the rest of humanity and creation. Since the 1960s, moral values are a significant parcel in the formation of the learners’ affective domains to integrate their emotional, attitudinal, values and beliefs’ constructions (De Souza, 2004). Experts believed that values and moral are derivatives of peoples’ emotive sense and, thus, are not viewed as relevant in their cognitive being (De Souza, 2004). Hence, it’s this dichotomy of human existence that made it confusing and difficult to arrive at a common understanding of values of education (De Souza, 2004). It’s in this context that experts dealt the dualism of educational philosophy: language and practice (De Souza, 2004). They adopted an educational pattern for cognitive development and for values education to develop a standard behavior and intelligence of learners and to nurture that sense of commitment among individuals based on virtue and values (De Souza, 2004; Lambert, 2003, Noddings, 2010). Some psychologists observed that this has been considered as an effective tool since historical experiences proved that the integration of values in improving learners’ intellectual pursuits made people resilient in times of recession, conflicts, and social upheavals and during wars (Cacioppe & Edwards, 2005; Glendinning, 2005; Gross, 2004).