Notions

     The news today read that the Polish experimentalist Ania Lisewska, who is on a mission to engage in sexual intercourse with one thousand men from around the world, was banned from entering Lebanon. She was also denied a visa to enter Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia and Yemen amongst other Arab countries. Despite the fact that the decision to ban her entry breaches every right and freedom that most of these countries repeatedly claim to protect, the irony of the decision within the current circumstances the Arab world is absolutely ridiculous.        Hundreds of thousands of infiltrators have smuggled their way into Middle Eastern countries, whether to take part in the Godly war against imperialism and infidelity; whether to help fellow warriors by sending conjugal services performed by female mujaaheeden; or whether to assist fellow Arabs and believers by smuggling weapons, money and drugs and use such resources for extortion and black mail...

      The current civil war in Syria is in no doubt fuelled by many factors and has its roots dug deep in the history of the troubled region. The long established regime of Al Assad clan and the authoritarian iron grip of power has enjoyed less and less fans from national, regional and international stakeholders. Yes, stakeholders. One cannot deny that what happens at one's backyard will have an immediate effect on one's own home, especially given the state of globalization and interconnection of the world. A troubled Syria does cause problems for its immediate neighbours (mainly Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey) and its neighbours located further away such as Russia, and those located furthest away such as the USA and China. We are all connected, and we should therefore all be concerned. Going back to the reasons behind the conflict, some factors can be mentioned: Dire economic conditions suffered by the Syrian people as a result of the international financial crisi...

              L ong has it been established that history repeats itself, and that countries tend to tread the same path chosen by nations before (whether for their own good or destruction). The European experience throughout the past centuries, supported by the countless studies that have been conducted to investigate Europe's history and political development, are of utmost importance to understand the current crisis through which some Arab states are passing. Examining the current state of affairs in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt reveals extreme tension on all levels as well as the need to disseminate political and intellectual consciousness so as to prevent the transformation of this current crisis into a state of constant and permanent instability. In this context, Leonardo Morlino's reference in his book “Democracies and Democratization”, published in 2009, in which he referred to the phases of transformation from democratic regimes to auth...

Political parties in Western Europe have been developing throughout the past two centuries, reinventing themselves and reorganizing their structures to reflect socio-economic changes in their societies. Elitist parties that dominated European politics had to expand their support-base and include members from other social classes following the introduction of universal suffrage. The expanded parties – known as mass parties – were actively recruiting members and gaining supporters at the beginning of the 20 th  century, adhering strictly at the same time to their ideological agendas and party doctrines. With the organizational modernization of contemporary politics following the Second World War and the birth of pressure groups and strong political bureaucracies, in addition to the expansion of public participation, technological advances and intense competition between parties and political opponents, mass parties transformed themselves to  catch-all  parties. These p...

   Nationality, patriotism, panarabism, regionalism....terms designed to define individuals residing certain geographic areas and thier feelings towards their patria. Long have I – as an Arab – heard the praise of Arab glories...the readiness to die for this stretch of land, ideals and history...the supremacy of the nation's historic and heroic figures and the injustice the imperialist world has served it in our modern days. Examining the history of Arabs, the problems emerge from the very beginning of this quest. Who are Arabs? Are they defined by their language? History? Religion? Culture? Does a Yemeni beduin have much in common with a Morrocan citizen? Is the arguement of some Lebanese intellectuals of pertaining to a generic meditteranean race of phonecian history rather than the Arab race accurate? Are caucasian residents in Jordan, Syria and Palestine considered Arabs? What about Kurds? They speak Arabic afterall, and are Muslims and Christians – the two main ...

         La evaluación del desempeño y funcionamiento de las instituciones publicas y los programas   y políticas se han convertido en una actividad integral y clave en el trabajo de la administración pública moderna. Tal evaluación, sea ejecutada por la institución misma en cuestión (autoevaluación) o por una agencia exterior evaluadora, ayuda en mejorar la calidad de las políticas y programas diseñados, en incrementar la transparencia y rendición de cuenta, y en mejorar la capacidad de los gestores, políticos y empleados públicos en modificar sus procesos de formar políticas que responden a las necesidades de los ciudadanos. Además, la evaluación es un bloque de construcción de la estrategia de regulación inteligente, que establece los planes de las administraciones para mejorar aún más la calidad de la regulación. Según la Comisión Europea, la evaluación ayuda en asegurar la mejor calidad posible de la legislación e identificar oportunidades para ...

             The military coup that just took place in Egypt, ousting the democratically elected leader from his position in the name of democracy and protection of freedoms reminded me of a question raised by one of my professors in a course I was taking. His question went as follows: At the end of 1932, the German President Von Hindenburg named General Von Schleicher the new Chancellor. At the time, the National Socialist Party of Germany and the German Communist Party represented the majority at the parliament, but the mutual hate and animosity between them both deemed an alliance or coalition impossible. The new Chancellor understood that little time was left to save the constitutional order in the country and decided to meet with Leipart, the Secretary General of socialist syndicates, and ask him to keep the syndicates' militants and organizations inactive for a few days whilst the army arrests Nazi leaders based on pending judicial orde...