The Middle East in Transition Political Directions

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The Middle East in TransitionPolitical Directions

• Chapter 27
• Section 1

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Middle East Political Directions

• Students will create a political cartoon on one
  of the following political concepts/ideologies
• Pan-Arabism may include obstacles
• monarchy absolute and constitutional
• republics single party vs. multiparty
• shift from Islamic law to western-style secular
  laws
• Islamists
• Islamic Extremists
• Arab Spring

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Pan-Arabism

• to unite all Arabs based on their common language
  and culture (1)
• Goal Felt that a unified Arab state would be a
  major world power would be able to end European
  domination in the middle east (1a)
• Arab League main goal Build relations and
  collaborate among Arab Nation
• Support their interests

4
Obstacles of Pan-Arabism (1b)

• National, ethnic kinship ties proved to be
  stronger than the pan-Arabism movement
• Religious Diversity
• Arab lands had no geographic unity
• Settlements were scattered across a wide area
• Economic gaps between rich and poor nations
• United Arab Republic (1958)

5
Generalization of ME Governments after
Independence 2

• Experimentation to find their individual
  identities
• Built powerful central governments

6
Forms of Government (3)

• Most countries built strong central governments
• Citizen participation varies
• Monarchies
• absolute monarchies
• constitutional monarchy
• Republics
• Multiparty Republics
• Single Party Republics

7
Monarchy

• Saudi Arabia Jordan are ruled by kings
• Saudi Arabia is a monarchy that has absolute
  power
• Constitutional Monarchy
• Monarch Head of State
• Has elected Parliament and Prime Minister
• Jordan is a constitutional monarchy
• They have an elected parliament but the king
  holds most of the power

8
Republics

• Multiparty Republics citizens are generally much
  more free to express their political opinion
• Hold free elections
• Examples Turkey Israel
• Single Party Republics strongman ruler
• More like a dictatorship
• Examples Syria formerly Iraq

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Parliamentary System Presidential System
Legislative Branch Parliament elected by voters. The majority party in Parliament chooses the prime minister. Congress elected by voters. Legislative and executive functions are separate.
Chief Executive(Government Head) Prime minister who heads council of ministers, or "Cabinet" President, elected by voters, nominates cabinet members.
Head of State Often a constitutional monarch. Legislatures often choose a ceremonial president, who acts as head of state. President is head of state.
Elections Prime minister can call new elections. Held at fixed intervals.
Political Parties Often a multiparty system. Government is formed by a ruling coalition of cooperating parties. Usually a two-party system with third parties holding marginal power.
Examples Israel, Great Britain, and her former colonies, such as India. The United States, Mexico, and Brazil.
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Establishing Stable Governments 3b

• To end western domination in their countries
• Modernization

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Islamic Law 4

• Islamic Law Sharia to Western Style Laws
• Muslims recognize the Quran as governing all
  aspects of life
• It provides guidance for political, social, and
  economic life as well as for private behavior
• Today only a few countries rely on Sharia
• Example Saudi Arabia Iran
• Most Middle East nations have western-style law
  codes

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Challenges to Political Stability 5

• Ethnic Minorities demanding self-rule
• Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran
• Rapid population growth and urbanization
• Strains on governments
• Poverty
• illiteracy

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Conflict In Lebanon 5aCause religious diversity

• For many years, Lebanon was one of the most
  unstable places in the Middle East
• It is home to a number of different religious
  groups
• The Lebanese constitution divided power among the
  various groups
• The Christians had more power than the fast
  growing Muslim population

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Conflict In LebanonCause religious diversity

• In 1975, Lebanon plunged into a civil war that
  lasted 16 years some foreign involvement
• Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing October 23, 1983
• In 1991, the Lebanese agreed to a power-sharing
  agreement that gave the Muslims a greater say in
  government
• confessionalism
• In political science terminology, confessionalism
  is a system of government that proportionally
  allocates political power among a country's
  communitieswhether religious or ethnicaccording
  to their percentage of the population

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Westernization 6

• Secular governments and schools
• Western style law replaced Islamic law
• In cities
• Young western music, clothing and values
• Women for freedoms
• Ex. No veil
• All leads to the Rise of Fundamentalism

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Fundamentalism

• Belief that society should be based on the
  principles of ones religion
• Grounded in scriptures that describe gender
  roles, duties, and relations.

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Characteristics of Fundamentalism

• Desire of a people to return to the values and
  traditions of their religion
• Reaction against secularism and the loss of
  values/traditions
• Tend to believe in a literal interpretation of
  the scriptures
• infallible and historically accurate
• Opposition to westernization.
• Western influences corrupt the society

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Secularism Fundamentalism
Liberals
Conservatives Socialists
Communists
Extremists
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Islamist Movement (7)(Islamic Fundamentalism)

• Response to westernization (7a)
• Seen as a form of imperialism
• It undermines, weakens, challenges Islamic
  Society
• Insisted that the government use the Sharia as
  the basis of law - Return to Muslim Traditions
• Wanted
• to restore authority to religious leaders and
• to enforce the strict separation of men and women
  in public places, such as the workplace and
  schools
• Offered a balance to social and economic changes
• End foreign dominance in the region

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Extremism 8

• Use terror and violence to promote their
  values/cause
• Claim to be involved in a holy struggle against
  their enemies of Islam those who spread
  western culture and values (new form of
  imperialism/colonialism) 8a including US
• Example of Extremist groups al Qaeda, Hezbollah,
  Hamas, Taliban, ISIS
• In many Muslim countries, people who feel they
  have no future continue to be drawn to the
  extremists 8b
• Most Middle East leaders reject the actions of
  Islamic extremists

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The Arab Spring (or the Arab Revolutions) refers
to the recent revolutionary wave of
demonstrations and protests occurring in the
Arab world.
Video A Year of Protest
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Arab Spring

• Arab Spring
• refers to the democratic uprisings that arose
  independently and spread across the Arab world in
  2011.
• originated in Tunisia in December 2010
• quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen,
  Bahrain,
• Mohamed Bouazizi
• was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on
  fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the
  confiscation of his wares and the harassment and
  humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him
  by a municipal official and her aides.
• His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian
  Revolution and the wider Arab Spring

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Arab Spring

• Arab Spring
• refers to the democratic uprisings that arose
  independently and spread across the Arab world in
  2011.
• originated in Tunisia in December 2010
• quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen,
  Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
• Mohamed Bouazizi
• was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on
  fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the
  confiscation of his wares and the harassment and
  humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him
  by a municipal official and her aides.
• His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian
  Revolution and the wider Arab Spring

24
Arab Spring

• Causes
• educated but dissatisfied youth
• human rights violations
• to overthrow of authoritarian government
• government corruption
• unemployment
• extreme poverty

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Arab Spring

• Effects
• Overthrow of several governments
• Tunisia Overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
  Ben Ali flees into exile in Saudi Arabia
• Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned in
  February, 2011, after two weeks days of massive
  protests, ending his 30-year presidency.
• Libyan leader Muammar al-Gadafi refused to step
  down, causing a civil war between his loyalists
  and rebels. Killed by rebels
• Yemen Overthrow of Ali Abdullah Saleh Saleh
  granted immunity from prosecution
• Syria contunied fighting between Govt army and
  Free Syrian army

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Arab Spring

• Effects
• Continued fighting and protests
• Political reforms
• Governments overthrown and the formation of new
  governments
• Arab Spring Timeline Link