MISHA KELLY

Recently in the city of Tunis, Algeria tensions reached a peak between two factions: Berbers, the indigenous people of the country and most of northern Africa, and Arabs of the Middle East. According to an article of the New York Times, an officer was injured, buildings were burned, and 18 people were killed in the unrest (Gall 2015). This is the result of long term tension over political power, land, and civil rights. The Berbers were conquered by Arabs in the seventh century and Algeria has suffered major political and economic unrest since.The country gained its independence from the French in 1962 after fighting for 8 years in the Algerian War of Independence. Algeria was at one point a sovereign institution of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which helped to overthrow invaders from Spain in 1518. Algeria was the most powerful ruler of transportation across the Mediterranean Sea as capitalism and international trade developed. Ultimately the country became a target for multiple emerging nations. 

Algeria was attacked by the United States, the English, and Dutch. However, France invaded and subdued the region in 1830. There were many restrictions and racial disparities established in the country once the new regime completely took over. Algerians could only live in the lower class of society as servants and laborers. The French controlled all of the high levels of government and major skilled positions, as well as education and law enforcement. Soon, due to the widespread displacement and injustices against the native Algerians, an underground radical movement led by Ahmed Messali Hadj was underway. In order to undermine growing civil unrest and revolution, the French created a parliament of European and Algerian representatives to uphold the foundation of the political and economic establishment. However, this was unsuccessful and soon after the National Liberation Front (NLF) was formed in 1962 (BBC). Coordinated attacks began throughout the country which led to the defeat of the French.

Today, the Berbers only make up approximately 30% of the country's population (BBC). Algeria has endured various wars throughout the years since the 1980s due to Islamic terrorism, including the most recent various bombings claimed by Al-Qaeda leaders (Chikhi 2015). The progression of the economic and political foundation of the country is fixed and unstable because of inadequate investment and economic and political seclusion in the aftermath of the country's prevalent history of foreign invasion. Rich in oil and gas, the country produces an estimated 12 billion barrels in reserves, but foreign oil company exports have not increased the economic development of the country (Alami 2015). Algeria's economy lacks diversity and depends primarily on its energy exports. In addition, a large portion of oil revenues goes to services of the government and maintaining social peace within the country instead of building infrastructure and expanding trade. 

Algeria has high rates of poverty, unemployment, and government corruption. At this point, the country appears to be heading towards a twofold reformation, one civil and the other political. The most important question one can gather from this current state of affairs is if an equilibrium can be reached without outside influence. These 2 major issues coupled together has the potential to severely prevent Algeria's long term growth, or an even more drastic economic collapse. Government officials are against political reform and the national banking system is extremely outdated in the modern world. As interconnected as the global economy is today, it almost seems as if the country’s compliance in partnering with other countries is inevitable. Algeria's national officials are currently working with the United Nations to strengthen partnerships with the European Union. This is a huge opportunity for the country to begin taking necessary steps to greatly improve foreign affairs. However, there is still a domestic war being fought among civilians. This meeting could be the first step to strengthening the government which ultimately determines the overall stability of the people. 

Sources:
BBC - Algeria country profile - Overview
NY Times - Berbers and Arabs Clash in Algeria, Leaving at Least 18 Dead
Aljazeera - 'Two Nigerias': Country Gripped by Economic Debate
Reuters - Algeria says nine soldiers killed in attack claimed by al Qaeda

Egypt and Arab Nationalism

Nationalism is defined by feeling of superiority over other countries. As Zakaria states “the rise of pride and confidence amount other nations, particularly the largest and most successful ones, is readily apparent.”  It is much easier to think one nation is above others and spit bile about ones we think are under us.

 

Egypt doesn’t claim too much pride in Africa due to the fact that it’s ties are all to the Middle East. The Arab world nationalism is the idea that is all one because they speak the same language, religion and have the same history. Despite continuous efforts many blame America for the lack or nationalism"with its self- serving Interests."  As nationalism can be a negative impact in the growing of countries globally, it can also be great in major movements. Egypt as many other countries who have had problems with their government are in constant fight for more representation. Egypt did just that in 2011 when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down after 30 years. This revolt was lead by the young people of Egypt that shattered the long standing of vicious political regime. This history making moment was only possible with the uniting of Egyptian Muslims and Christians. "Whenever they feel a collective threat, that feeling of patriotism re-emerges and is revived. " Egypt being 90% Muslim it has a strong sense of nationalism along with the rest of the Arab world. Christians are the minority in the Middle East but collectively everyone felt that Mubarak lack of short cuts in democracy and weakening the system, so he had insurance of is longevity as dictator was restraining. His ideas of suppressing social activism and freedom tied everyone together. "This is a revolution for all Egyptians; there is no room for a single group’s slogans, not the Brotherhood’s or anybody else."  As stated by a member of the brotherhood. This 18 day revolt was the force of nonviolence and not the cause of terrorist or killings. That's what is so great about nationalism, when a nation is behind one thing it really makes an impact. This revolt was lead by the young people of Egypt and millions of people in the streets of Cairo. Egypt had been ignoring the matter and the past president was not stepping down and only way a nation can make a change is by coming together. This was a a rise of nationalism because the people had the support of the military and even though it was a time to rebuild, the nation knew it could not be worse off and that Egypt was going to be a democratic country.

The Egyptian people did this on their own, which is another rise of nationalism because as Americans we feel that we are trying to help other countries and when countries accomplish something without America it in itself is a very prideful moment.  This was a moment of identity for the Egyptian people all over. Government depicts a lot of what happens, but when one feels that they have no say in the matter of their own country  it's a lack of worth and by having the president step down it was a gain of independence for many of the people and yet again the rise of nationalism and belonging.  Egypt already with it's deep history,  has patriotism and most matters they will always be kept the same, but like many countries nationalism can only grow if a country is tailored for the ever changing world. As Zakaeia says in The Post American World every country is growing and countries in every aspect are becoming more stable.

The Deal with Iran

Nationalism is a term that Fareed Zakaria, in his best-selling novel The Post-American World, says perplexes Americans. He describes it as a country's "assertion of identity" (Zakaria, pg. 36). The recent assertions of identity in non-western countries challenge the long-established order of American and Western dominance. Countries such as Russia, Japan, and China all want to establish themselves as powers not completely subject to the United States' every whim. Zakaria discusses how multiple powers across the globe could create hindrances and obstacles to resolving international issues or achieving such objectives (Zakaria, p. 37).  To solve any issue/crisis that affects the globe, there should be a standard for which all countries can come together and work for the common good, while maintaining their own identities and not being placed on the backburner of the United States. Manfred B. Steger, in his book Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, highlights how many countries have already formed interdependencies, and are actually consumers of globalization. The term he uses is hybridization, or “the mixing of different cultural forms and styles facilitated by global economic and cultural exchanges” (Steger, p. 5). I believe that despite the rising nationalism of countries that Zakaria describes, the effects of globalization have already taken deep root, and that no country would benefit from shutting out other countries. Nations across the globe should be open to setting aside any new or existing prejudices, in order, to tackle worldwide problems (i.e. global warming), which Zakaria identifies in his novel.
Iran announced Israel as its arch nemesis after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the American-supported monarchy and replaced it with a theocracy with anti-western tendencies. Religion can always breed conflict, and the Islamic state of Israel detests the Jewish state known as Israel. The animosity between Iran and Israel has long been a source of worry for the United States government. Iran and it’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, do not recognize Israel, and have shown to be unhesitant in rallying Anti-Israeli sentiment and calling to arms Iran’s military forces in talks of So much worry that some politicians worried that Iran would attack Israel with nuclear weapons.  If you haven’t heard, the U.S. and other western leaders are working tirelessly with the Iranian government to strike a deal, a nuclear deal.  The deal concerns the nuclear program and research in Iran. The New York Times created an excellent guide (cheat sheet) to understanding the deal and all its intentions, for all of us lay people. Read the entire piece here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/31/world/middleeast/simple-guide-nuclear-talks-iran-us.html?_r=0

Basically, the deal requires Iran to limit its use of resources that could create nuclear weapons of mass destruction (uranium, plutonium, all that science-y stuff), in exchange for removal of international sanctions on oil and finances. Israel practically begged the United States to include in the nuclear deal some sort of stipulation requiring Tehran to finally recognize Israel as a state. The requests were denied, as President Obama saw it as transforming the deal into something it was not. Read more about what the president had to say about the issue here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/06/obama-iran-nuclear-deal_n_7013424.html

I really don’t have any idea how this whole Iran nuclear deal will pan out, but I can confidently say you won’t have any trouble finding coverage on the matter.

         In Iran, there is still what I would consider startling gender inequality. Women lack many rights and are subject to strict dress codes and laws that they must abide by, or be subject to arrest. Islamic law states that women must always be dressed in a hijab, which Muslim women wear to display privacy and modesty.

                                                 Traditional Hijab (https://www.inayahcollection.com/images/BROWN_KNITTED_HIJAB_NEW.jpg)

 Multiple women’s rights campaigns have moved to battle the stark gender inequality in Iran and make strides in a better direction. Many of the women who begin these movements do so through the use of blogging. Social media applications like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so blogging on alternative sites gives Muslim women the opportunity to voice their opinions and call others to action.

Iran continues to fascinate me with all of its cultural complexities. Stay tuned for more posts!

Moroccan Nationalism

Nationalism can be defined as patriotic feelings, principles, or efforts. It is based around the strong belief that one’s country is superior to others, and the advocacy of political independence. So what does nationalism do for a country? JFK once said, “It is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Having pride in your nation can definitely be a positive thing, but it can also backfire. So how does nationalism play out all over the world?

            According to Cline’s “Nationalism in Morocco” article in The Middle East Journal,

            “In contrast to most Moslem lands under European domination, Morocco has proved to be poor soil for the growth of political nationalism. Several factors have contributed to its infertility, the chief among them being the radical divisions in Moroccan society.” (Cline)

            Zakaria sees danger in the rise of nationalism because it dominates the world with one country’s beliefs and burns the remainder. With the rise of nationalism growing stronger and stronger every day, we seem to let go of cultural appreciation for countries other than our own. It is important to teach the future generations to both have pride for our nation and also appreciate and respect the ideas of other nations. If we stop listening to others’ ideas and only care about our own, we will lose a vital part of what makes the world work, and that is the melting pot of nations and ideas. Nationalism isn’t the only thing Morocco should be worried about.

            Recently, inequality has been an issue plaguing Morocco, mostly due to the fact that

            “In the short run, the lack of access to the labour market has driven up poverty and inequality, despite a significant rollout of social services. Besides the risk of political unrest, the worst effect is the loss of human capital associated with the under-utilisation of human resources. As the lack of access to income is the main driver of poverty, we may see an increase in inequality. This would be an unbearable strain.”(Young)

            Nationalism can be good or bad, but inequality can be toxic to a country. Like every other country in the world, Morocco has its own hurdles as far as making sure everything lines up appropriately.

 

Cline, Walter. "Nationalism in Morocco." The Middle East Journal 1.1: 18-28. Print.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/aug/20/youth-unemployment-interactive-abdeslam-seddiki-morocco

Nationalism Adds Fuel to the Syrian Fire

               Nationalism is a complex term, often considered equivalent to the word patriotism. However, while the two terms share some similarities, they are fairly different concepts. Patriotism is considered a strong pride, love, support, or general emotional attachment to one’s nation or homeland, and can be compared with national pride. Nationalism, on the other hand, is not defined by state borders. According to Dictionary.com, nationalism is the “belief that a people who share a common language, history, and culture should constitute an independent nation, free of foreign domination”. Therefore, it is possible to have multiple groups feel nationalist pride within the borders of a single nation state. Zakaria says nationalism is “a tension that is likely to define the next decades”, and when looking at the current situation in Syria, where there are a number of ethnic and religious groups fighting each other over the future of their country, it is easy to see where he gets this idea.

Map of Control throughout Syria as of September 2015

  

              Syria is currently four years strong into its civil war. The war began in 2011 after protests were met with violence at the hands of the state regime headed by Bashar Al-Assad, and has since garnered participation from several groups into the fight. The first group to begin fighting in the war was the Free Syrian Army, created by seven defected Syrian officers who took issue with the security forces attacking civilians. There are also several rebel groups participating in the war. One major player fighting alongside of the opposition is the Islamic Front, which was formed in 2013 by the merger of seven different groups into one united front seeking to establish an Islamic state ruled by sharia law. Another rebel group often fighting alongside the opposition is the Al-Nusra Front, which is considered the largest jihadist group in Syria. Al-Nusra is recognized as a terrorist organization by both the Syrian and United States governments, and has strong ties to al-Qaeda. Near the end of 2012, the Shiite Muslim militant group based out of Lebanon, Hezbollah, also joined the fight, taking the side of their long-time ally, Bashar Al-Assad. But the most powerful rebel group in the fight is considered to be the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Since entering the conflict in 2013, ISIS has made large military gains and now controls over 50% of the land and about 40% of the Syrian population. As you can tell, Syria’s civil war is full of actors with different ideas of what the country should be, and are willing to fight to achieve their goals. In my eyes, the willingness of so many groups to participate in this conflict demonstrates the amount of nationalism felt in the area, as well as the divisiveness over their ideal views of the state.

               These four years of war have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, irreparable damage to priceless historic sites, destruction of entire cities, and displaced millions of people. Unsurprisingly, the Syrian economy has suffered drastically as well. This is well represented in Syria’s GDP. According to the Syrian Center for Policy Research’s March 2014 Alienation and Violence Report, it is estimated that, had the conflict not happened, the Syrian GDP would have risen by 29% from 2010 to 2014. However, that is not the case, and Syrian GDP has fallen an accumulated total of 229% in the same time frame. Zakaria claims Syria “operate(s) largely outside the global economy and thus (has) less to lose by making trouble.” But this doesn’t seem to be the case, especially for the citizens of Syria, who have lost a whole lot. Pre-war unemployment rates were under 10%, but have skyrocketed since the conflict began, now sitting just under 60%. Oil production in the country has plummeted as well, by about 97%. But perhaps the biggest consequence for Syrian citizens has been displacement, with an estimated 11 million people, or over half the Syrian population, having become refugees or been internally displaced since 2011, with more than half of the refugee population being children who are now without access to an education. The civil war has set the Syrian economy back decades, and with the youth population now becoming less literate and less educated than their prior populations, the eventual recovery seems quite far away.

Syrian children pose for a picture in the Za'atari Refugee Camp in Za'atari, Jordan.

Egypy

Growing up as a child in Ethiopia and living only a couple countries down where we shared the same river, I didn’t realize the impact that Egypt had in Ethiopia. There were some Egyptians in Ethiopia and most of them were Muslim. I would walk past the mosque and hear the calling for prayer and never actually saw them outside. Ethiopia as a third world country was not the same as Egypt as Ethiopia did not have the same standard of living, being a part of the Arab world separated it from the rest of Africa.  I was always intrigued about Egypt and never thought much of it beside it being just a big desert; in my eyes it was basically the same as the Middle East because it differentiated so much from the rest of Africa. 

A Middle Eastern country in Africa, Egypt is defined by the Nile and the Sahara desert and located at the northeast corner or Africa.  It is bordered by the Gaza Strip, Libya, Israel, Sudan and the Mediterranean Sea along with the Red Sea. Most people only know Egypt for their pyramids, the powerful ancient dynasty and the desert but there is a lot more to this country. Egypt has a population of over 80 million people; this is the second highest in Africa and the largest in the Arab world.  Egypt has a republican government and their President is Gen. Abdel Fattah el- Sisi Prim Minister is Ibrahim Mehlib. Egypt is Most of the population lives along the Nile, which would make the Nile Valley one of the most populated areas.  95% of the population lives only on 5% of the land, the Sahara Desert once used to be covered with grass and life but over time it dried up. They rely a lot on the Nile, it is more or less the source of life. The river is very temperamental and when the floods are low it can cause distress, famine and civil unrest. Most Egyptians are Muslim and speak mostly Arabic but like most other countries they also speak English.  The life expectancy is longer than most African countries at about 70 years. Their flag symbolizes the Arab Legislation, the red represents the bloody struggle against oppression, and black represents oppression and white is for a bright future.  

One can’t talk about Egypt without talking about ancient Egypt. Starting from the pharaoh to the great pyramid at Giza, which took more than 20 years to build and are the only Seven Wonders of the World that survived. The ancient Egyptians had three different calendar years an everyday calendar astronomical calendar and a lunar calendar. Hieroglyphs, which still can be seen today, are a great representation of the ancient Egyptian lifestyles.  Egyptians worshiped more than 1,000 different gods and goddesses. The ancient Egyptians didn’t only invent clocks but the first people to have a year consisting of 365 days in a year that is used till this day.  The ancient Egyptians were truly a powerful house and have made a huge impact on the world.

Morocco

Mamoune Bouhdoud, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment, and Digital had an interview on Bloomberg TB Africa on August 26^th about how Morocco is planning to create new jobs in multiple industries.
            The plan was to create 500,000 jobs in Morocco. Bouhdoud told Bloomberg that the main structure of the plan had been formulated for two reasons; one being that Morocco needed a clear view of its’ own future, and two being that national and international companies needed a better stance on the country’s industries to better provide and place investors.

            Bouhdoud goes on to point out that Morocco has a few strong points. With 56           FTAs in different countries, including the only FTA between the USA and Africa, Morocco is an open economy with strong political and economic stability.  The Moroccan economy has grown an average of 5% in the last decades while maintaining a very low inflation rate. Also pooled in with this data is the fact that Morocco is home to the largest harbor in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Casablanca Airport which connects with many different areas.  He states that the Moroccan economy is ready to push forward as an emerging force. Turkey, Malaysia, and even parts of South Korea have went through stages where their portion of industry reflective in their GDP floats in the same region as Morocco’s, which is roughly around 14%. Now the economies of these countries have been raised to around 20-22%. The focus has now shifted to placing their energy on industry to move to the same level as the other countries.

            Bouhdoud states that once Morocco placed the focus on industries, they had to set a clear objective. Not only did they want to create half a million jobs, but they also wanted to add 9 industrial points to the GDP, and the balance to be equal to 0. “For the existing sectors,” he proclaims, “we want to have higher integration rates.” He points out that this is the first factor for job creation. The second factor to reaching a higher level of GDP points is industrial funding set by Morocco at $2.5 billion. This is the largest amount Morocco has ever put in place for the industrial sector.  Industrial isn’t the only sector Morocco is focusing on, though. Bouhdoud points out that it is important to capitalize on other sectors, such as automobile, and make them profitable for the country. Renewable energy, agribusiness, and textiles fall among the rankings of high pay off Moroccan industries.

            When asked by the Bloomberg reporter what changes would be made to the free trade agreements, Bouhdoud responded by saying that their free trade agreements, especially the one signed with the US in 2006, are in full force, but the potential is huge and they have room to work on them. He points out that it only takes 9 days for a shipment to leave Morocco and arrive in the states.

            With its efforts in capitalizing on foreign investments and investing in different sectors, Morocco is on its way to creating half a million new jobs for its people.