...leadership in promoting “peace, justice and human rights.” In his acceptance speech during the award ceremony, Erdogan stated that the prize will further strengthen and support his struggle for human rights for people in the Middle East and all around the world. He explained Turkey’s drive to strive for peace through the Alliance of Civilizations initiative under the United Nations and continue negotiations with the European Union in an attempt...
...pulation earned more after-tax income than the entire bottom 80 percent. These numbers by themselves largely discredit any trickle-down theory of economics. This is problematic because income growth among the lower and middle classes creates a culture of spending that stimulates the economy. Workers outside of the upper classes generally spend a relatively high share of their income. When they spend their money on goods and services, the business...
from Wikimedia Commons In their last debate before Election Day, President Obama and Mitt Romney argued over issues in foreign policy – and by issues in foreign policy, I mean issues in the Middle East. The debate was fully dominated by talk of the region, including the civil war in Syria, the growing threat of a nuclear Iran, and the winding-down war in Afghanistan. But despite the overwhelming focus on the Middle East, noticeably absent from t...
...is a very real one—especially given Israel’s pride in the strength of its armed forces. But there’s reason to believe that 2012 is not 2008. To be frank, with recent tectonic shifts of the political and social terrain in the Middle East, Israel can’t afford another ground war and occupation of Gaza. The Israeli position now is not as secure as it once was four years ago. The Middle East of 2008 is not the Middle East of 2012, and the Hamas of 20...
...f a democratic Iran, it must promote Iranian human rights and the growth of Iranian civil society. To do this, the world must turn its focus to the oppressive nature of this Iranian regime, stop sanctioning the Iranian middle class, and foster an environment that promotes human rights. In advocating for the rise of a civil society capable of promoting democratic reform in Iran, it is important to look at the reasons for the 2009 uprising and the...
...ally, and religiously – in the context of its own political and social development and in terms of how it is envisaged by the world. But this contrast also reflects the recurring crisis of identity that is seen in the broader Middle East, a region in which Turkey is in many ways an anomaly, but with which it also shares a deeply intertwined history. Turkey is a leader in a region inching toward modern society and democracy, but it also must grapp...
This will be my last entry for the year; I want to take this opportunity, then, to look back, as well as forward, and reflect on the extraordinary events that occurred this year. It has long since become cliché to wax poetic about the momentous changes that are now sweeping the Middle East. That is not to say that these events are any less momentous than all the hype; I will try to avoid repeating it here, but forgive me if my enthusiasm shows...
a,” or “bread, freedom, human dignity,” certainly should be recognized. All across the Middle East, the most important demands were political freedom and economic security, and both are important to the educated, intellectual classes who are tired of the corruption and the silencing of dissent, as well as the extreme poor, who have also suffered from the crushing pains of hunger and deprivation. The old, failed tactics of violent revolution were...
...e a tragic miscalculation, because the opposition has made serious inroads, and it can put an end to the fighting with some assistance. Helping in Syria isn’t clean, but it is necessary. Planning a (first) Apology Tour to the Middle East. No, Obama did not apologize for America in 2009. Out of all the false claims made by both sides during the campaign, this specific Republican criticism has been debunked as the falsest. But in 2013 it is, in fac...
...the old neoliberal model. This has led to a sometimes incoherent policy. Second, the Morales administration’s incendiary rhetoric and lack of political tact has alienated a great part of the middle-class electorate. The broad class alliance supporting many of his policy proposals—such as the renegotiation of natural gas contracts, reasonable land reform, and a re-evaluation of the Constitution—has been shattered by pronouncements in which Morales...
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