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61 Cards in this Set
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Rentier State
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A country that receives substantial amounts of oil revenues from the outside world on a regular basis, tend to become autonomous from their societies, unaccountable to their citizens and autocratic. The theory is used to explain why naturally wealthy countries, like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran…struggle economically, socially, financially, and so on; while their natural resource deficient counterpart (Most Westernized, European countries) tend to be more stable and can maintain success in those areas where land wealthy countries seem to be lacking.
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Currently the Prime Minister of Turkey. He was first elected PM in 2003. He is a member of the AK Party or the Justice and Development Party. This party has brought on many changes that are interpreted as being non-secular or rooted in Islam. One of them was lifting the ban on wearing headscarves, which almost led to the banning of Erdogan and his party in 2008.
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Erdogan
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He is the 11th President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for five months as Prime Minister (2002-2003), and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007. He was also the first Islamist president of Turkey.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's selection of Gül as a presidential candidate drew strong and highly vocal opposition from ardent supporters of secularism in Turkey. Gul worked closely with Erdogan to obtain freedom of religion. Islamic religion was not allowed preceding the rule of Ataturk. It was seen as heresy. Gul and Erdogan were architects of Refah’s foreign policy reform platform; it was their party’s main platform. It advocated freedom of religion for those who were Islamic and facing ridicule, and possibly treason. Gul won the following the parliamentary elections in July the same year, under the AKP with 46.6% of the popular vote, he was eventually elected President on August 28, 2007 and was sworn in the sam |
Gül
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The Justice and Development Party, is a sub party of the Islamist Party. It started with the Islamist Party/National Salvation Party/ Refahar Welfare Party. The party closed in 1998. After it closed, another party sprang up to take its place, Fazilet, better known as the Virtue Party, which split into two more parties…Sadat(Happiness) and Adalet ve Kalkinma (Justice and Development). In November 2002, the party gained majority in Turkey’s parliament. AKP deals a lot with judicial, human rights, economic, minority rights and foreign policy reforms. AKP and others like it sprang up to protect the rights of Islamic peoples or any people who chose to practice a different religion in Turkey. At the time, Turkey did not allow the Islamist religion to be openly practiced, or there were strict policies set on the practice of religion. After Gul and Erdogan took office, policies were implemented based on religion, so Islamist could openly pray and express their religion without the fear of being imprison on subve
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AKP Adelet ve Kalisi Partisi
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Khomeini
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He was a Scholar and teacher of Islam, and a leader of 1979 Iranian Revolution (overthrew Pahlavi government). He believed Islam should be the governing law of society, and that the Islamic revolution should be spread throughout world. Khomeini was seen as the ideal symbol of hope to many Iranians, a ‘recreation of an idealized past’. Even at an early age, he saw himself as an Imam or Islamic leader. Khomeini spent 14 years in exile between US, Turkey, France and Iraq (mainly Iraq). He wrote while in exile, and was able to speak out while in France. In February of 1979, he returned to Iran. He “brought an end to the age of ignorance and introduced the light of Islam” and created Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps upon his return to Iran. By then, most of Iran was against the Shah. He was seen as a Velayat-e faqih (concept of guardianship, taking charge of someone). In 1989, he died. Readings: Khomeini chapters 1 and 2. Ayatollah Khomeini was a radical Shi’ite cleric in Iran who was exiled by the Sha
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He was the Supreme leader Ayatollah of Iran. Successor to Khomeini. Born in Mashhad, Khorasan province in Iran. Settle in Qom in 1958. He attended the classes of Ayatollah Khomeini and Boroojerdi. In ’74 he was arrested by the Secret Police. He was released a year later. In ’77, Khamenie got together with cleric from Qom and Tehran and established the Jame’ye Rouhaniyat Mobares or the Combatant Clerics Association, which later became the Islamic Republic Party. Two years later, Khamenei is appointed as Hojatoleslam (member of the Revolutionary Council). In March of the same year, the Islamic Republic Party was fully established. Khamenei served as the Central Council, deputy of the Ministry of Defense, representative of the Council in Ministry, and Commander of Islamic Revolution’s Guard Corps. In ’80 he was elected leader of Friday congressional prayers in Tehran and deputy of Islamic Consultative Assembly. A year later, he was elected president with 95% of the votes and remained president for the
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Khamenei
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Khatami
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Khatami ran on a liberal reformist platform supported by women, intellectuals, and youth. He was seen as a reformist cleric. He was first elected president in 1997 and then again in 2001. During his first election, he won by a landslide. Towards the end of the ’97 election, Ayatollah Khamenei endorsed Khatami’s opponent. Fortunately, for Khatami, most of the people were “fed up with being forcibly taken to heaven.” (Shia Revival pg 219). To them, Khatami represented secularism, bubbling below Iran’s surface mainly in the middle class, the youth, and the elites. All of which, grew tired of being repressed by the religious government
Khatami wanted rule of law, democracy, and more open decision-making process. He appealed because of the economic stagnation and repression for the regime. Khatami represented a modern day Nasser of Egypt to Shias, especially those in Lebanon. He “signaled a new dawn in Middle Eastern Politics.”(pg 170-171 Shia Revival). Unfortunately, he could not really restr |
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Mahmud Ahmadinejad is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country. An engineer and teacher from a poor background, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity after the Islamic Revolution. Appointed a provincial governor, he was removed after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and returned to teaching. Tehran's council appointed him mayor in 2003. He took a religious hard-line, reversing reform of previous moderate mayors. His 2005 presidential campaign, supported by the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, and garnered 62% of the runoff election votes, becoming President on 3 August 2005.
Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally. He has been criticized domestically for his economic lapses and disregard for human rights. He launched a gas-rationing plan in 2007 to reduce the country's fuel consumption |
Ahmadinejad
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Veleyet e-Faqih
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This was a book published by Khomeini in 1970, which was influential in promoting a modern theocratic based government and the 1979 Iran revolution. It means rule of the religious jurists and it uses the Usuli Doctrine to broaden Mujtahid's role beyond guidance in spiritual and social matters; expands it to include political leadership/governance. This concept was enshrined the Iranian constitution after the revolution of 1979. Essentially, it argues that a guardianship of the Islam religious clergy is necessary to reform society and establish Islamic Law, which should be supreme.
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Appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in Iran. The Iranian constitution calls for the council to be composed of six Islamic jurists selected by the Supreme Leader of Iran and six jurists elected by the Majlis (also approved by Supreme Leader). It is charged with interpreting the Constitution, supervising elections of, and approving of candidates to, the Assembly of Experts, the President and the Majlis and deciding whether to veto laws passed by the Majlis. The Council has played a central role in keeping only one interpretation of Islamic values from influencing Iranian law, as it consistently disqualifies reform-minded candidates and scraps laws passed by the popularly elected Majlis. When the 2009 Presidential election was announced, the popular former president, Mohammad Khatami, would not discuss his plans to run against Mahmud Ahmadinejad as the Council may disqualify the Muslim cleric as it has other reformist candidates because they wer
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Guardian Council
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Assembly of Experts
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The assembly is made up of 86 Mujtahids (Islamic Scholars). The Mujtahids are publicly elected officials chosen from a government-screened list of candidates. They are allowed eight-year terms. Their job is to elect or remove a Supreme Leader of Iran and supervise his activities. The Assembly is required to “meet for at least two days, twice a year.” The current chairman is Rafsanjani, elected September 2007.
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Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the highest-ranking Shia cleric in Iraq: one of his most notable acts was the negotiation of an end to the fighting between U.S./Iraqi forces and the militias under the control of Muqtada al-Sadr in 2005 centered around Najaf, Iraq. He is Iranian born, but does not favor a government similar to neighboring Iran; he believes that clerics should not hold office within the government. Sistani envisions an Iraq with civil liberties, elections, suffrage for women, and freedom of religion, but at the same time obeying Islamic law as the religion of the majority. His views have clashed with those of the U.S. on numerous occasions; in most instances, he has been accommodated.
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Sistani
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Muqtada al-Sadr
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An influential religious and political leader in Iraq. In September 2003, he declared a government against the Iraqi Government Council, whose members were chosen by the US. Earlier that year he had created the Sadr Bureau. The services ranged from health care to food and clean water. In June 2003, Sadr created the Mahdi Army, made up of Shia fighters against the Iraqi Security Forces. During the Shia Uprisings in 2004, the Mahdi Army began to fight against the US’s Occupation of Iraq and Coalition troops. Sadr and his army also fought against various Sunni armies who challenged his authority. Sadr is most well known for his Shia army, which took control of Sadr City and has fought with Coalition forces until recently in which thousands of people have died. The Mahdi army rejects a separate Shia autonomous area. It is also connected with Al-Qaeda. It controlled Sadr city and much of the port of Basra. Sadr’s militia imposed Taliban like authority and murderous ways such as Shari a requirement. In 2008, h
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Nuri al-Maliki
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He was the first freely elected Prime Minister in the history of Iraq. He was seen as “weak and uneffective” in his attempt to persuade others in his favor. He was unable to force minister to eschew ethnosectarion considerations”. He took office in May of 2006. He got his start in politic as a Shia dissident under Saddam Hussein. His office’s main focus was to detain or force out Iraqi officers who crack down on Shi militia or reinstate Shia officers that American commanders removed for turning a blind eye to violent Shia militia. (pg 269-273 of Iraq)
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The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, previously known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), is an Iraqi political party that gains support from the Shia community. The ISCI was led by Abd al Aziz Hakim until he died this past summer, and was succeeded by his son, Ammar al Hakim. The ISCI was founded in 1982 during the Iran/Iraq war, and grew out of the Dawa Party. The original aims of the party were to overthrow Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party. The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq supports the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s political positions, and believes that the government should be run by Islamic scholars. Today, the ISCI is one of Iraq’s most powerful political parties and the largest party in the Iraqi Council of Representatives.
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ISCI
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Badr Brigades
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militias that had been trained in Iraq. Offered protection to Shia. Sectarianism became more potent because there was no state above militias in many places.
• Definition: The armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Both the party and militia were created in Iran by Hakim brothers Baqer and Abdul-Aziz while exiled from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government in the 1980’s. More recently, it has been headed by Hadi Al-Amiri, partaking with force in pro-Shia post-invasion Iraqi sectarianism. • Significance: Served as a Shia force of violence against Sunnism throughout Iraqi sectarian conflict. Played important but costly role in 1991 Iraqi Shia uprising. With the US invasion of Iraq & downfall of Saddam, it has played a major role in promoting Shia goals and provoking sectarian violence while part of the new Shia-oriented Iraqi armed forces. US knowledge of Badr Brigade’s infiltration into Iraqi Interior Ministry in 2005 led to distrust between SCIRI and US bu |
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Who created it Iraqi Shiite Muqtada Al-Sadr. When 2003...Why: to oppose Sunni control and us intervention...What they did: The al-Sadr group drew charges of involvement in attacks and intimidation in Al-Najaf that have highlighted political differences among Shia political organizations. The most notable of those attacks was a mob killing of a pro-US cleric, Abd al-Majid al-Khoi(Khoei), shortly after his return from exile in London on 10 April 2003. Al-Khoi was himself the son of another extremely powerful former grand ayatollah, Abolqassem al-Khoi. Al-Khoi was murdered as he emerged from the city's Imam Ali Mosque in a gesture of reconciliation with the mosque's custodian, who was popularly considered to have collaborated with Hussein's regime. The custodian was killed along with al-Khoi and it is unclear whether al-Khoi was an assassination target or was struck down because he tried to defend the other man. What they stand for: A Shiite run country.
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Mehdi Army
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Sahwa (Awakening)
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Sahwa is a Sunni Muslim force, formed by combining the Anbar and Diyala tribes. Sahwa was established in 2007, in response to the violent Shia militia and their occupation in Anbar and Diyala and other local provinces. The Sahwa militia was trained, financed, and armed by the American militia. Eventually the Sahwa were able to expel the al-Qaida fighters from the provinces and towns. Other Sunni neighborhoods of Baghdad soon followed. “By Dec 2007, the numbers had gone down to 481 and 23, respectively. (pg 272 of Iraq)
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militant Islamic opposition group created by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the mid 1990s. Early on, it was made up of exiled members of the radical wing of the Islamic movement in Egypt, the Muslim Brethren. Zawahiri was the organizer, and bin Laden was the charismatic recruiter. Al-Qaeda's philosophy was that the goal was to create pure Muslim governments, and the near-jihad against regimes in the Middle East had failed, and instead of attacking the regimes directly, they would have to go after the United States, which was supporting these regimes. Their plan was the attack US targets to entice the US into coming after them, which would lure them into a trap where Al-Qaeda and Islamic opposition groups fought them until they were forced to leave (similar to what happened to the USSR in Afghanistan), and this would cause the US to lose legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and the offending regimes would either be overthrown or would have to distance themselves from the US. The three main the
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al-Qaida
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Sayyid Qutb
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There are many varying opinions of Qutb. Sayyid Qutb, was an Egyptian author of 24 books (including novels, literary arts’ reviews, works on education), and he was the leading intellectual of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known in the Muslim world for his work on what he believed to be the social and political role of Islam, particularly in his books Social Justice and Ma'alim if-l-Tariq (Milestones). His thoughts have contributed significantly to the modern perceptions of the jihad. His book, magnum opus Fi Zilal al-Qur'an (In the shade of the Qur'an), is a 30 volume commentary on the Qur'an and its modern perceptions of subjects such as jihad, and ummah. After his execution by Nasser’s government, some of his followers begun to think of him as a martyr, or as a shahid. Many of his supporters today are referred to as Qutbists or "Qutbee", though they do not use the term to describe themselves.
Although he was a believer of "Civilization should favor humanity, not a |
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son of a well-off Saudi father and a founding leader of Al-Qaeda. He became radicalized by the Islamist movement in the mid 1980s, went to Afghanistan to help fight against the Soviets, and formed relationships with the Afghani Mujahedeen, since he had access to his father's wealth. When the Soviets pull out in 1989, Osama goes back to Saudi Arabia, victorious. He was put into exile in 1992 after criticizing the Saudi government for cooperating with the Americans over Saddam invading Kuwait, rather than supporting Osama and his followers. In exile in Sudan, he starts to build more of a following, until the Americans persuade the Sudanese government to move him elsewhere. He and his followers go to Afghanistan, where he already has supporters from the war against the USSR. He joins up with Ayman al-Zawahiri, from the Muslim Brethren in Egypt, and they become the founding members and leaders of Al-Qaeda.
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bin Laden
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Zawahiri
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Terrorist sought after by the UN and on the most wanted list as a terrorist for several 1989 bombing of embassies in Tanzania….+…. He is also one of the leading figureheads of al-Qaeda and lieutenant to bin Laden. He is also known as the “brains” of al-Qaeda. Zawahiri is also a certified surgeon and author of several books. He was the second and last emir(prince/general/commander) of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, before he merged it with al-Qaeda in ’98.
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Bouteflicka has been the President of Algeria since 1999. Bouteflika is a military supported candidate. He was instated after the previous President,. Chaldi was dismissed by the military. During his tenure, he actually began to show liberal tendencies with the creation and successful passage of Civil Harmony Laws welcoming former FIS militia fighters back. In 2006, the Charter for Peace and Reconciliation was in force and advanced the civil harmony laws previously adopted however, the military ensured its position within the Algerian regime was unchallenged. For example, a few CPR laws still outlawed religious use for political gain, which would threaten the strong military hold on Algeria.
The struggle is similar to Turkey’s in that the military wanted to ensure primacy in all issues related to foreign affairs and security policies. And even AB’s desire to rebuild Algeria and the defeat of the FIS causing the military to be lax in political expression still caused the military to oppose his efforts |
Bouteflicka
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FLN
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Front de Liberation Nationale) National Liberation Front is a socialist party in Algeria set up in 1954 by merging numerous smaller groups, whose goal is to obtain the independence of Algeria from France. The Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action (CRUA) created it. It was also an emergent of paramilitary networks continuing the nationalist tradition of the Algerian People's Party (PPA). It consisted of a five-man executive and legislative body, and was organized territorially into six wilayas (also known as vilayet meaning to govern or in this case a province), following the Ottoman era administrative boundaries. The FLN's armed wing during the war was called the Armée de Libération nationale (ALN). It was divided into guerrilla units fighting France and the MNA in Algeria (and wrestling with Messali's followers over control of the expatriate community, in the so-called "café wars" in France), and another, stronger component more resembling a traditional army. These units were based in neighboring A
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stands for Islamic Salvation Front. A political party formerly based in Algeria. Was formed in 1989 under the leadership of both Abbassi Madani, an ex-Independence fighter, and Ali Belhadj, a former high school teacher, who preached to lower class male youths on a platform of forming an Islamic Republic based on Shariah laws and free trade. The party existed due to amending of the Algerian constitution in 1988 allowing parties other than the FLN to be created. When holding free elections in 1992, it was apparent to the army and security forces of Algeria that the FIS were going to sweep the elections and create a government of their own. Seeing this as unacceptable, the election process was cancelled on January 11, 1992 and Madani and Belhadj were arrested. This would lead, beginning in 1994, to a Civil War in Algeria that would claim around 200,000 lives. The guerilla groups that supported the formation of an Islamic Republic would become the Islamic Salvation Army. The ensuing Civil War would last until 20
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FIS
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October 1988 Uprising
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Algeria’s moment of crisis that prompted the first move toward greater political openness came dramatically in October 1988.2 The generation that had come of age after independence, but for whom jobs were lacking after the oil-price collapse of the mid-1980s, took to the streets in a genuine youth revolt. Many Algerians who had endured the dreariness and depravations of the one-party era were willing to cheer the angry young men on. The regime, dominated since independence in 1962 by the Front de Libe´ration Nationale (FLN) and the military/security apparatus, resisted the temptation to resort to a policy of pure repression. Instead, President Chadli Bendjedid, egged on by some young reformers, decided to engage in dramatic political reform.
A new constitution in 1989 opened the way for the end of the monopoly of The FLN, and within a short time Algeria was alive with new political organizations, A free press and a plethora of civic associations. The most popular of the new political groupings was the |
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- Notes from last year: Barak like the idea about the Syrian track. During Campaign, promised to get Israeli troops out of Lebanon. Just as Barak comes to power 5 yr. time span of Oslo has ended. Begin to since frustration on Palestinian side. Took most of the next year. Would Barak live up to the Rabin commitment to withdraw from those lines (cease fire line, 1967 line etc). Will the sovereignty go the lakeshore? Negotiations began and many though Barak would fall back on this agreement. Asad, foreign minister and Shada make demand to reform territorial demands.
Barak: nothing said about the June 4th line. The Syrians got mad. Negotiations close to breaking down. Clinton (ill) agrees to go to see Asad in Geneva. Told in advance it will be close to what the Syrians need. Barak tells Clinton: We cannot go back to June 4th line but with about 200 yards buffer along the lake shore. Clinton knew Asad would not accept this and told Barak I will try to persuade him. Asad says no. They talk, Clinton leaves |
Barak
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Olmert
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Prime Minister of Israel who served from 2006-2009 after health relate issue incapacitated Ariel Sharon (seen as an ineffective replacement). Like his predecessor, Olmert was a member of the Kadima party who then believed that Israel could not rule out the possibility of a military attack against from Iran, and called for the international community to step up action against the country. He called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated threats to destroy Israel "absolutely criminal", and said that he expected "more dramatic steps to be taken." During his tenure as Prime Minister, there were major military conflicts with both Hezbollah and Hamas (predominately in the Gaza Strip). Olmert and his Minister of Defense, Amir Peretz, were heavily criticized for their handling of the 2006 Lebanon War. In late 2008, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel ended, which led to the 2008-2009 Arab-Israeli conflict. Olmert has since declared that the Israeli Defense Force should target the Hamas leadership and infr
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Fifth prime minister of Israel, first native-born prime minister, assassinated in 1995 for support of the Oslo Accords. Served in military as Chief of Staff on the IDF and then became Ambassador to the U.S. then as prime minister in ’74. Pushed for peace for the Middle East through diplomacy, not war, signed for peace with Egypt. Resigned in ’77 after scandal involving unauthorized U.S. accounts. Later served as Minister of Defense and then in 1992 was re-elected prime minister and chairman of the Labor Party. Won Nobel for his involvement in the Oslo accords and his help in the pursuit of peace for the Middle East. Many disagreed with his position as it gave up land many Israelis believed to be rightly theirs.
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Rabin
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Current President of the State of Israel. During his career, he has represented five political parties in the Knesset: Mapai, Rafi, the Alignment, Labor and Kadima, and has led Alignment and Labour. Peres won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for the peace talks, which he participated in as Israeli Foreign Minister, producing the Oslo Accords. Peres was nominated in early 2007 by Kadima to run in that year's presidential election.
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Peres
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Livni
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Female Israeli politician and leader of the Kadima, largest party in the Knesset (Isreali legislature). Appointed as foreign minister in 2005 and acting-prime minister in 2006 and her power continued to rise. Platform included defense of Israeli troops from Palestinian guerillas and terrorists based on the distinction between civilian and military causalities. She was also an avid proponent of humanitarian causes involving citizens of both Palestine and Israel, making attempts to work for the mutual benefit of both groups. In 2009, she became the party opposition leader and continues to be on of the most powerful women in Middle East politics.
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Ariel Sharon was the Prime Minister of Israel from 2001-2006, of the Kadima Party. He was formerly a member of Likud and was defense minister under Begin. During the 1982 War in Lebanon, and the massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps resulted in his resignation. The IDF had been found indirectly responsible for these massacres because they surrounded the camps and allowed the phallanges to kill the victims.
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Sharon
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Netanyahu
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Elected Prime Minister in 1996, Netanyahu became the youngest and first elected PM. However, his election had been heralded by his predecessor Shimon Peres inability to deter terrorist attacks thus helping Netanyahu along with a strategic election campaign to win office. Netanyahu represented the Right political organization, Likud, opposing concessions based on preconditions with Palestinians. However, his ‘tactical’ approaches such as continued West bank expansion, flew in the face of his ‘intentions’ to follow the Oslo accords. His approach involved stalling measures to follow the accords satisfying the hard right while seeming to moderate Rights as if some measures were being taken toward a two state solution.
His inability to follow the Oslo accords but undermining them caused Palestinian hostility to increase, the US to lose some patience with Israel, and Egypt and Jordan, moderate states, to severely damage state relations. His defeat to Ehud Barak (Labor) was another seesaw to the oppo |
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Likud (Consolidation) is the major rightist political party in Israel. Founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin as an alternate to the dominant Labour (Meimad) Party, it was a ‘consolidation’ of numerous right wing and liberal parties. Since winning in the 1977 elections, the first time the Left in Israel lost, it has continued to struggle with Labor and, recently, its own centrist offshoot, Kadima, formed by the comatose, former Likud member Ariel Sharon. It currently has control of the Israeli government after it was able to form a stable, predominantly rightist coalition in the 2009 elections (even though Kadima as a single party got more seats than Likud, it, like all Israeli parties, had a plurality and not a majority, and was unable to form a coalition). Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is the head of Likud.
Menachem Begin emerged as leader of the right-wing movement, first in the Herut, and later the Likud movement. Begin, despite personal animosity from Ben-Gurion, joined the Labor-dominated governmen |
Likud
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Kadima
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Kadima was founded as a centrist political party in Israel by moderates from Likud; it was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians. It became the largest party in the Knesset after the 2006 elections, winning 29 of the 120 seats. Kadima was originally founded largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and classified itself broadly as centrist and liberal. The party is currently headed by Tzipi Livni, who places strong emphasis on both Israel's security and continuing the peace process, and its members include moderates of the political center and center-left who support diplomatic steps to peace with the Palestinians.
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• Centrist political party in Israel
• Dominated politics when Israel was being founded • In 1992, Yitzak Rabin is Prime Minister, allowing the Labor party to have a comeback in government after almost being eliminated by government by Shamir of the Likud party • Foreign policy was then the dividing line between the Labor and the Likud parties • a center-left political party in Israel. It is a social democratic and Zionist party • On 23 January 1968 Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (with the exception of Ben-Gurion, who formed the National List in protest) merged into one body; the Israeli Labor Party. • On 28 January 1969, the party allied itself with Mapam, the alliance becoming known as the Alignment. • On 7 October 1991 the Alignment ceased to exist, with all factions formally merged into the Labor Party. Led by Yitzhak Rabin, the party won the 1992 elections and formed the government. • in 1999 Ehud Barak won the internal primaries, and was nominated as the Labor candidate for |
Labor Party
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Democracy
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A: government by the people; especially : rule of the majority. B : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. C: a political unit that has a democratic government. D: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority. E: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges. (Webster’s Dictionary)
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- Not a smooth process- reallocation of power. Those who will lose power fight back. Then why does it happen?
- Usually b/c of split within a ruling regime. If you don't reform, you will be overthrown - With more space for contestation, rulers will rally support through sectarianism - Money can quickly lead toward corruption - Democratization can go hand in hand with corruption Advantages of Democracy: - New government, claims legitimacy because chosen by people fairly - give people right to change their mind - Both incumbents and opposition must be uncertain about future for democracy to work. |
Democratization
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Liberalization
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The term liberalization, when it applies to politics, generally means the loosening of previous government restrictions. This often precedes democratization and involves lifting government restrictions on things such as media censorship, emigration, free speech/religion etc. In reference to the economy, liberalization means making reforms toward a market economy by privatizing government-owned enterprise and fostering a competitive economy.
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Term developed by the Dutch political scientist Arend Lijphart to explain the mechanisms of political stability in societies with deep social cleavages. Through government by an elite cartel, a democracy with a fragmented political culture was stabilized, e.g. Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Consociationism: is a form of government involving guaranteed group representation. It is often suggested for managing conflict in deeply divided societies, and viewed as synonymous with power sharing, although it is technically only one form of power sharing. A Middle East example is Lebanon, which has a consociational regime, which makes it so that no one group feels excluded, yet at the same time there is not a majority. It relies on a representative system, which may be hard to transcend because there are different sets of rules. Below, is a list of favorable factors in which this system is likely to be successful. Segmental isolation of ethnic communities • A multiple balance of power • The pre |
Consociational Democracy
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Civil Society
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Luciani proposed that civil society becomes more imperative whenever the state is in any sort of crisis. Therefore, society takes up some of the roles that would otherwise pertain to the state since the state is in crisis and does not have the means to make any decisions. The demand for democratic participation is the foremost tool to limit the power of the state. In addition, he also assumed that the state would expand to the limit of its economic capabilities. If the state can expand and has the means and necessary resources to do so, the state will do everything it can to expand, and there will be nothing that civil society can do except in support the state. However, If the state does not have the means and has to get them from society (the private sector), then there is a chance for the civil society to limit the power of the state. (Luciani reading)
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Israel elects the Knesset through proportional representation. Proportional Representation refers to the electoral system in which the parties each list their candidates and the people vote for the list they want. Each party is then allocated seats in proportion to the number of votes. This is the closed list system used by Israel. There is also the open list where voters may vote for individuals on the list and not the whole party. This system gives representation to all social groups, which is good for a divided society like Israel and Iraq’s.
Winner-Take-All: - The party who gets the majority of votes wins - If neither party wins a majority, there is usually a run-off vote - This systems makes parties form coalitions and work together in order to get a majority - Makes it easy for large parties to dominate the system and small parties to be drowned out |
Proportional Representation vs. Winner Take All electoral systems-
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• Discrimination based on religious beliefs or political values; could be a combination of the two
• Iraq, Lebanon, Sunnis vs. Shi’ites • Violence, state division, persecution of peoples • Current and past problem of middle east—might be a good essay question |
Sectarianism
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Ethinicity
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Ethnicity is groups of humans whose members identify with each other through a common heritage, either real or presumed. Ethnic identity and is further marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common cultural, linguistic, religious, and behavioral traits as indicators of contrast vis-a-vis other groups.
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• Response to Cedar revolution mass demonstrations triggered by assassination of anti-Syrian prime minister Rafiq Hariri
• Mainly against soldiers in Syria and pro Syria attitude of government • Led by Sa’ad Hariri Rafiq Hariri’s second son • Made up dominant block of parliament members 71 of 128 and were able to form a government • Reforming of coalitions in Lebanon in 2005 after elections make it unable for the existing coalitions to form government • So all the anti-Syrian parties united to demand Syrian troops expelled from Lebanon, investigate murder of Rafiq Hariri • Important change in relationship of Lebanon and Syria which for a long while had heavily impacted Lebanese politics much to the dismay of many Lebanese |
March 14 Movement
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Hariri
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Sunni Premier He Died February 2005, from a road mine in Beirut. After his death, the US supported anti-Syria movement in Lebanon that led to withdrawal of Syrian troops. Hariri was a Lebanese businessman and politician. He was known for being a self-made billionaire, which automatically demanded respect. He was first elected to office as Prime Minister in ’92 and again in ’00. His first goal as P.M. was to reconstruct Beirut. His ideology behind it was “when the financial sector ran well the rest of the economy would follow.” Lebanon ended up going into debt and Hariri was blamed. Syrians wanted to get rid of him, but were afraid of what would happen without him. Therefore,…they re-elected him in ’00. In his second term, he pushed for Syrian independence, which angered Damascus rulers. He was assassinated in February 2005. It is speculated to be the work of the Damascus rulers but was never proven.
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- Hafez al-Assad (October 6, 1930 – June 10, 2000) was the president of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule stabilized and consolidated the power of the country's central government after decades of coups and counter-coups. Al-Assad inherited a dictatorial government shaped by years of unstable military rule, and lately organized along one-party lines after the Baathist coup. He increased repression and attempted to secure his domination of every sector of society through a vast web of police informers and agents. Under his rule, Syria turned genuinely authoritarian. He was made the object of a state-sponsored cult of personality, which depicted as a wise, just, and strong leader of Syria and of the Arab world in general.
Significance Syria under Assad never quite reached the levels of repression practiced in neighboring Iraq, ruled by a rivaling Baathist faction. Where Saddam Hussein's policies of perpetual state terrorism aimed to secure his rule through fear, Hafez al-Assad took a more sophisticate |
Hafiz al-Asad
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Bachar al-Asad
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The current president of Syria (elected 2000), al-Assad is a member of the Ba'ath Party and succeeded his father as president. While he claims to focus on liberalization and economic reforms, in truth Syria has remained fairly undemocratic under his leadership, maintaining the autocratic leadership style of his father. During his tenure, Syria has been accused of allowing terrorist groups to operate within its borders; prompting sanctions from the U.S. Experts theorize that al-Assad maintains his power partly through the fact that 50% of country's population is state employees – thus giving him direct control over their income. In general, al-Assad's presidency has changed very little in Syria since 2000.
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Political party in the Arab World advocating the related concepts of Arab nationalism, Pan-Arabism, and Arab socialism. It was founded in Damascus, Syria in 1940 by the Syrian intellectuals Michel Aflaq, and Salah al-Bitar, as a secular Arab nationalist movement opposed to Western imperialism in the Arab World, and seeking to unify all Arab countries in one state. In Arabic, Baath means "renaissance" or "resurrection", referring to Aflaq and al-Bitar's vision of 'resurrecting' the freedom and glory of the Arab Nation that had been destroyed by Ottoman, and Western imperialism
The party found support among romantic intellectuals who waxed eloquent about Arab unity as wells as among hardcore organizers. This latter group had received its political education during the Depression of the 1930s. It thus brought to the party populist demands for economic and social reform. The Ba‘thist regimes were, a bit less ideological but no less fervent about holding onto power, still control the government of Syria and |
Baath Party
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Sadam Hussein
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Fled Iraq after failed assassination attempt, returned in the 1960's during a period of transition
- 1969 his party (Baath Party- very strong) comes to power (he is #2 guy) - He is not a military song - Baath was a secular regime - Socialist, Arab Nationalist - Started to invest in education, wanted to modernize, but wasn't democratic -1979 Saddam becomes #1 in Baath party. At this time tension with Syria who was also being run by Baaths - Announces conspiracy with Syria Regime - Sadam purges own part to show his strength - 1980 decides to attack Iran. Turned to U.S. for arms and restored diplomatic relations with them - Sadaam concludes Kurds are not loyal to him so in 1983 Anfal Campaign- pushes Kurds out of rural areas to urban areas. Mass killing - The United States helped Sadaam to become who he is - US wanted Sadaam to pay back war debts; Aug 1990 he moves troops to Kuwait border. -1991 US fight alongside Arab nationalists against Iraq to help Kuwait. At this point, we decided not t |
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Sadat was the third president of Egypt who served from 1970 through 1981, until assassinated by a radical Arab who opposed Sadat’s policies. Anwar Sadat was a member of the Free Officer’s group with Nasser that overthrew the Egyptian monarchy in 1952. Sadat succeeded Nasser as the Egyptian President in 1970, and reinstituted the multi-party system and made market reforms in the economy and encouraged foreign investment in Egypt. Sadat incited the October 1973 war with Israel, as a bargaining chip for his eventual landmark peace settlement with Israel at the 1978 Camp David Accords, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. This act was immensely unpopular with many Arab groups and was one of the reasons why they assassinated him.
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Anwar Sadat
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Mubarak is the current President of Egypt, elected in 1981 following the assassination of Anwar el-Sadat. He has been re-elected by majority votes in a referendum for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, and 1999. The results of these referendums are of questionable validity. No one ever runs against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptian constitution in which the law states that the People's Assembly plays the main role in electing the President of the Republic. However, in February 2005 Mubarak passed a constitutional amendment allowing parties directly running against the incumbent president. However, as expected, he was re-elected. Egypt is a country, which represents a one-party dominated institution. Many also speculate that Mubarak’s son will succeed him, adding a hereditary element to Egyptian politics. Mubarak has a strong view on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and believes that the initiative offered by the Arab League for full normalization of the relations with Israe
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Mubarak
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National Democratic Party
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- The NDP is a reformist party established in 1978. It was headed by Anwar Sadat. The party was originally named the Liberation Rally, and Sadat the name changed to the Arab Socialist Union, and finally to the National Democratic Party. It was named the National Democratic Party, to give it the look of promoting democracy. When the Liberation Rally was first replaced, Sadat decided to open the political floodgates to left, right and center parties. The ruling party would have loyalty from all other parties. NDP was the ruling party and therefore, made all the rules. One of the first acts of the NDP was to set up rules for the creation of new parties. The rules were so vague, that it became hard for new parties to emerge. For example, one rule stated that no two similar parties could exist. The rule never states what is considered similar. These rules give no definite answers, leaving it up to the ruling party to decide on what parties can be considered legitimate new parties. This leaves the door open for ma
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Arafat was a Palestinian leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and leader of the Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959. Arafat spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Originally opposed to Israel's existence, he modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242. Arafat and his movement operated from several Arab countries. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fatah faced off with Jordan in a brief civil war. Forced out of Jordan and into Lebanon, Arafat and Fatah were major targets of Israel's 1978 and 1982 invasions of that country. He was "revered by many Arabs," and the majority of the Palestinian people, regardless of political ideology or faction, viewed him as a freedom fighter who symbolized their national aspirations. However, he was "reviled by many Israelis" and described "in much of the West as the world's number one
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Yasser Arafat
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Mahmoud Abbas
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Mahmud Abbas, or Abu Mazen, has been president of the Palestinian National Authority since 2005. His term expired in January of 2009 but he extended, refusing to step down. He claims no intention of running again once elections are held. He was also the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority under Yassir Arafat. He leads Fatah, Hamas's political rival faction.
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a major Palestinian political party founded in 1958 by Yasser Arafat. The party, associated with more left-wing political stances and focused on the self-determination of a Palestinian State, took on a strong following especially after the failures of the Arab Nationalist Party during the Six-Day War in 1967. Fatah joined the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) with around 1/3 of all the PLO seats, and Arafat became chairman of the PLO in 1969. On January 25, 2006, following Arafat’s death in 2004, the party lost all of its seats in Parliament to Hamas and became an opposition party.
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Fatah
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PLO
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- Was founded in 1964. By the instigation of President Nasser of Egypt. He did so because he wanted to maintain control of the Palestinian movement
- Initially led by a career driven diplomat = Ahmed Shuqairy (he didn’t make a difference) - Wake of 1967 War: Leader of the Palestinian’s largest guerilla group, Yasser Arafat is chosen as leader. He is leader until his dead in 2004. - 1974: PLO launches a political coup = Recognized as “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. o Structure: Made of durable group leaders from the largest guerilla groups Therefore, it is a coalition • Any change in strategy and objectives are slow BUT possible Initial Policy: the Liberation of all of historic Palestine (which included Jordan) Post 1977 Policy: Establishment of a Palestinian mini state in the West Bank and Gaza • Also worked hard to shed their appearance of being a group that runs bombings and hijackings but inste4ad are a legitimate stable government - During the Os |
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also known as the “Islamic Resistance Movement”, is a Palestinian Islamic socio-political organization, which includes a paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Since June 2007, after winning a large majority in the Palestinian Parliament and defeating rival Palestinian party Fatah in a series of violent clashes, Hamas has governed the Gaza portion of the Palestinian Territories. The governments of Canada, the European Union, Israel, and the United States classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Through its funding and management of schools, health-care clinics, mosques, youth groups, athletic clubs and day-care centers, Hamas by the mid-1990s had attained a "well-entrenched" presence in the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas's 1988 charter calls for replacing the State of Israel with a Palestinian Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
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Hamas
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Khaled Mishaal
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the main leader of the Hamas (the Palestinian paramilitary organization) since 2004. As an Islamic student leader at Kuwait University, he challenged the political dominance of Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization. After the founding of Hamas in 1987, he began to lead the Kuwait branch of the organization, and now leads the Hamas.
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Hezbollah, or the Party of God, “emerged in the 1980’s with Syrian and Iranian backing”. It took the place of the Amal Party (Hope), which was then the dominant party at the time. It consisted of “Iranian fighters trained by the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards under Iranian clerics…from Tehran.” Hezbollah developed into a highly developed radical, military party, led by its charismatic leader Fadallah. Hezbollah is committed to pan-Islamic revolution. To maintain a majority, the Hezbollah party paired up with Palestinians, by naturalizing Palestinians. This means Palestinians converted to Shia, even if they may have a different religion. Most Palestinians tend to vote for Shias. This majority faction eventually leads to an ammunitions war between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah slowly begins taking over and Israel is surprised, not by the fact Hezbollah is fighting, but by the fact, Hezbollah is winning. (pg 115 of The Shia Revival)
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Hezbollah
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Nasrallah
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Is the current and third secretary general of Hezbollah (Lebanese Islamist Party and Parliamentary Organization)
- He is the “turbaned chieftain” in Lebanon where has grown in prominence in some part due to Shiite marginalization. o Remember from its foundation in 1979 was closely linked with Iran who offered funding and training for some of the militia men o Also remember the Hezbollah is continuing the fight against Israel, which in fact defuses the tensions between Shiite’s vs. Palestinians in Lebanon o Palestinian refugees are slowly being naturalized in Lebanon; and will most likely be sympathetic to some extent of Hezbollah (especially Palestinian Shiite’s). - His military campaigns of the late 1990’s are attributed as being one of the main reasons Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000 (ends 18 years of occupation) - Became leader in 1992 following the assassination of then leader Abbas Al-Mussawi - In 2004 he played a large role in the prisoner exchange with Israel, this increas |
