I am studying international relations and I am specializing in Middle East region. The article I will summarize below is examining the determinants of Arab public opinion towards other countries.
Especially after September 11, 2001, many commentators in the United States have speculated on the roots of Arab resentment toward the USA. In fact, academia has long before discussing various and more generalizable hypotheses about enmity and rivalry. Furia and Lucas (2006) are trying to find quantitative proofs for those hypotheses among Arab public.
The population of interest in the study is the adults in 7 Arab countries. Since the all Arab population is more than 300 million and living in different countries, making a census including all of their opinions is almost impossible. For that reason to determine the trends and social attributes, authors used an international poll data named Zogby International “Arab Values Survey”. The sample of the poll consist 3400 adults from 7 Arab countries (subject countries). Respondents are chosen as 600 adults per country from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and 400 adults per country from Morocco, Lebanon, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Each country divided into geographic regions and participants from each region were selected at random.
Within the poll, the participants are asked to answer the following question to determine their attitudes toward 13 non-Arab “object” countries.
Interviewer: “I will read you a list of countries. Please tell me if your overall impression of each is either very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable, or if you are not familiar enough to form a judgment.”
The object countries in the Zogby study were Russia, China, the United...
... middle of paper ...
... in behaviors of those object countries.
To summarize, the parameter that the researchers tried to generalize is the Arab public attitudes toward other countries and the determinants of those attitudes. Even the average AFFECT score has found as 42.32 per cent for the 7 subject Arab countries it has shown in the research that this value is depending on the object countries behaviors about salient issues in the region rather than their identities, cultures, economic situations or military capabilities. Thus the researchers suggest that countries wishing to improve their image among ordinary Arabs can do so and the most effective way to do this is simply by altering its policies in regard to Palestine and Iraq.
Works Cited
FURIA, P. A., & LUCAS, R. E. (2006). Determinants of Arab Public Opinion on Foreign Relations. International Studies Quarterly, 50(3), 585-605.
In his current job, Friedman writes a 740-word column twice a week. It appears in many of the world’s newspapers and on the Web. This latest book, Longitudes and Attitudes, is a compendium of his more recent columns and a diary of supporting incidents. The text relates to the theme that has consumed him in his career: the failure of the Arab nation to develop, democratize, and compete properly with the West. This theme is given point by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the attack of 9/11.
War and Peace in the Middle East by Avi Shlaim. In the novel War and Peace In the Middle East, author Avi Shlaim argues that Arab nations have been unable to escape the post-Ottoman syndrome. In particular, he describes how the various powers inside and outside the region have failed to produce peace. While some of Shlaim's arguments hinder the message, I agree with his overall thesis that the Middle East problems were caused and prolonged by the failure of both powers and superpowers to take into account the regional interests of the local states.
The Middle East has since time immemorial been on the global scope because of its explosive disposition. The Arab Israeli conflict has not been an exception as it has stood out to be one of the major endless conflicts not only in the region but also in the world. Its impact continues to be felt all over the world while a satisfying solution still remains intangible. A lot has also been said and written on the conflict, both factual and fallacious with some allegations being obviously evocative. All these allegations offer an array of disparate views on the conflict. This essay presents an overview of some of the major literature on the controversial conflict by offering precise and clear insights into the cause, nature, evolution and future of the Israel Arab conflict.
Hassan, Nafaa. "ARAB NATIONALISM: A RESPONSE TO AJAMI'S THESIS ON THE "END OF PAN-ARABISM." Journal of Arab Affairs 2.2 (1983): n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Early 2011 uprisings swept across the Middle East and North Africa, and many rebellions are still going on today. The Arab region has seen revolts and conflict since the 1800‘s, but only recently have these revolts been redirected to the problems of Arab society (Ghannam, J. 2011 pg 4-5)The Arab Spring Uprising was first sparked in Tunisia and eventually struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and then spread to other countries. Citizens throughout these countries were dissatisfied with the rule of their local governments. Issues like human rights violations, political corruption, economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, dictators...
To many people today, Arab immigrants are the latest group of a long list that have come to the United States since it’s’ inception. However, people of Arab origin have been immigrating to the United States since before The Declaration of Independence was penned in 1776, and haven’t really stopped since. There were not many Arab immigrants at this time, however. The first notable “wave” of immigrants was not until the late nineteenth century. Since then, there have been multiple distinct waves, but most often they are categorized into two groups: pre-World War 2, and post-World War 2, as the demographics and ideologies are inherently different. As a result, it may seem quite obvious that their presence in American life as well as their identification in such has changed. However, it would be foolish to state that there is no continuity between several aspects of Arab American life then and today. Because both are present in American politics, we can only measure whether there has been a greater degree of continuity or change within past or present-day Arab-American experiences. There are several aspects to both claims. However, after careful analysis it is clear that there has been a greater degree of change amongst Arab Americans because of the change in how they view themselves as a collective entity.
Maynes, Charles. "The Middle East in the Twenty-First Century." Middle East Journal 52.1 (1998): 9-16. JSTOR. Web. 6 June 2011.
The continuous military defeats of the Arab countries against Israel (1948, 1967, and 1973) have caused a heavy burden in the psychology of the Arab Muslims. These defeats confirmed the loss of Muslim power. This led to abandoning the idea of secularism and going back towards the commitment to Islam to regain the former ...
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
...gely by religious values: Conservative dress, conservative literature, and conservative behavior. Freedom of political and religious expression is not allowed, and diversions like dancing, or movies, activities are almost nonexistence in Saudi Arabia. As it has been for centuries, the cultural and political life of Saudi Arabia continues to be expressed in terms of Islamic principles.
Both countries have nearly identical scores in the dimension of masculinity. This exhibits the driving cultural forces of competition and achievement, with success held in high regard over other values. With Uncertainty Avoidance, the country is once again polarized. With the USA's relatively low score, the culture exhibits acceptance for new ideas with an emphasis on innovation and toleration. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Saudi Arabia maintains rigidity in belief systems and acceptable behaviors and ideas, valuing security over uncertainty.
In this study, I aim to determine the effects of globalization on Middle Eastern society, particularly that of Iran. By globalization, I mean the expansion of influence via growing global economies, particularly that of the west, and its unique and very common interaction with the Middle East. Aside from economical expansion, I also include military, political and cultural expansion, or globalization, by that of western cultures and states onto Middle Eastern societies. Cultural expansion can be an effect of economic globalization, as well as military presence in or around a said area. International politics also play a role in affecting cultures, as politics are quite intertwined with economics and military action. Economically, globalization has caused the distribution of wealth to shift dramatically. This is due to many causes, but the oil industry in particular is the source of much of the changes in Middle Eastern society. Iran is no exception, with the oil industry casting a great shadow on the nation’s economy. Obviously, the oil industry also dominates the global economy, therefore bringing many different factors into the Middle East. The pursuit of a “competitive business environment”, international business and political pressures combined with internal and international cultural conflicts, military presence and international image all play huge roles in impacting society. I will be exploring these three variables: GDP, Effect(s) on culture, and rate of growth.
The. New Media and Conflict After the Arab Spring? United States Institute of Peace. Available online at: http://www. usip.
...nd Politics." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Ed. Philip Mattar. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 890-895. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.
International Journal of Middle East Studies. 7.1 (1985): 25-36. Web. The Web. The Web. 2 Dec. 2013.