Both Benazir Bhutto 's and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 's goals, were to persuade their audience, and to share view. Even if they can’t get them to agree completely, they still get them to see that at least there is something to be said for this view, and that this is a position a reasonable person can hold. In Bhutto’s piece Islam and Democracy, she mentions how the Quran states “Allah (god) created people in different ways and that diversity is good. It’s the natural part of god’s plan” (183) This is her reasoning for why we should be open and understand rather than being shallow and arrogant. Bhutto says “Thus humans must seek and apply knowledge, must use reason, must consult and build a consensus for a just society on earth on which they will be judged in the…
Why do Middle Eastern and North African countries lack democratic governments? Is it the Arabic language or the Muslim faith? Columbia University scholars, Alfred Stephan and Graeme B. Robertson, seem to have the answers.…
The middle east has been at the centre of involvement for great powers for centuries. Its people have been subjected to conquest, colonization, and regime change. The Ottoman Empire, European powers and the United States have each impacted the region. The combination of their actions created the modern states of the Middle East as we know them today. This argues that the current social and political situation in the region is a direct consequence of these various powers.…
At first glance it looks like a very logical and understandable that every state that has '' more democracy '' in respect to another, assist another country on the path of democratization. The United States as a world superpower and probably one of the most organized countries in the world should definitely do that. In practice, this is not necessarily always…
In places like Saudi Arabia, women are still not allowed to drive or have many of the rights that men have. The United States has been reluctant to criticize the Saudi Arabian government because they hold so much of the world’s oil supply, but the U.S. needs to start prioritizing human rights and equality over possible negative outcomes. To add a similar point, countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia strictly enforce Islamic law. While political Islam is not a problem in and of its self, the enforcement of it can lead to discrimination against religious minorities, women, and others that are not accepted by Islamic law. The United States needs to work towards human rights and equality in the…
In today’s globalizing world, US interests are increasingly intertwined with those of our allies and opponents. Access to strategic resources and pathways for trade – Afghanistan and the developing South and Central Asia transnational lines of communication in particular – exposes Americans to foreign cultures where a citizens’ ability to freely express themselves democratically will not always mirror our values. In this environment, Americans must abide by democratic principles at home, and pursue our…
Over the summer I choose to read The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad by Fareed Zakaria, published by W.W. Norton& Company Inc. New York, New York © 2007. This is a unique and intricately assembled collection of 270 pages of opinions, facts, and theories depicting the authors view on what else, democracy in its past present and future state at home and abroad. Democracy is a word with a million meanings: free and equal representation of the people; political and social equality; and a tool or system for trade and economy. Zakaria starts by briefly explaining how democracy has come about, and its origination in the west, and how geographical features such as location (for example the move of the capital to Constantinople), along with its long history and ever changing politics have led to be the building blocks of what we see democracy as today. Liberal institutions and culture were just as important to the growth of freedom in the West as democracy. I also took note that the democracy in terms of what I see and have been taught to view as, is that with democracy comes happiness and equality, each person is important and has a say in our government. Although this book has really opened my eyes in the sense it showed me that democracy wasn’t and isn’t always the right tool to use when trying to fix or setup a government and its policies and is certainly not the ticket to freedom. Civil society was a key element in the stability and development of freedom and democracy; also that economic freedom and political freedom are intertwined. Each government and country was formed differently, not one I don’t think has the exact same history, politics, culture, or philosophy. Sometimes the idealistic features tacked onto democracy don’t always flow correctly in sync with human growth, nature, and cultures. “Geography and history combined to help shape Europe’s political structure”…
After September attacks, the American democracy is discredited by the failure to achieve values that America has promoted for decades. A poll, which was conducted for BBC in eighteen countries to know peoples' views of America's influence in the last three years, showed that positive views of America across the eighteen countries have slipped from forty percent in 2005 to thirty six percent in 2006 to 29 percent in 2007. Negative views have risen from forty six percent in 2005 to fifty two percent in 2007.…
Not all countries/cultures are suited to democracy. The reason being is that some cultures are very feisty and in those cultures…
As Islam entered and began to spread throughout the Middle East, more and more cultural changes began to occur and the people of the Middle East began to change. The Middle East went from a low social economic status to one of the most growing regions in the world as Islam came and changed the lives of the people living in the Middle East. As the journey of Islam began to spread and develop a new “Middle East” came to play. One of the biggest elements Islam changed for the people of the Middle East was their religion, not only did Islam change the religion of the people but it brought many of the tribes together and brought unity, Islam had also given the people organized laws a simple way to live by. As Islam took form, the culture and…
Under the pretext of spreading democracy and a Western value system, America’s military intervene causes our endless warfare…
Critique of an Author: Anton Chekhov As a man who had the capability to juggle two careers, medicine and writing, there is little doubt that Anton Chekov is anything less than an intelligent man. Although the author is known to sketch his characters with morality and mindfulness behind them, he often chooses to portray human weakness, faults, and ignorance in them as well. Within the short story, The Lady with the Dog, Chekov uses adultery to show temptation of mankind as well as two people who are able to find what they are looking for within each other as a result of the affair. It is through literary elements such as setting, tone, and imagery that Chekov’s strengths as a writer are portrayed allowing readers to recognize the strengths within…
“Once an invasive species arrives, it’s about impossible to get rid of it,” - Sean Hanna. There are many animals that create problems. An invasive species is an animal or a plant that is brought into a new environment and damages the animals and plants that live there. There are many invasive species today such has the Burmese python, starling, and the red fox. Invasive species are a problem and there is many ways that the problem is being addressed.…
His first explanation implicates that there must be something within the Islam or Arab culture or religion, that prevents the formation of a democratic society. Because as Alfred Stepan and Graeme Robertson stated, the “democracy gap” among states in the world is an Arab gap much more than a “Muslim” gap as there are eight, non-Arab Muslim-majority states that have democratic governments, verses zero Arab ones. He uses data from the Freedom House Scales that show us that Arab states score almost a whole point lower than the other Muslim-majority states. Diamond says that despite British historian, Elie Kedourie’s, work which states that there were no traditions in the Islamic culture that they could base a constitutional government off of, outside the Arab world a number of countries with Muslim political traditions have had experiences with democracy. And those ideas of modern democracy have taken hold in a number of countries for which there really were no precedents, so it cannot be their culture or religion.…
Do you ever wonder if your coach or your child’s coach was a good athlete and that’s why they coach so well? In most cases that’s not true. “It's rare to find a great coach that was a great player.” One of the hardest transitions in the “athletic world” is transitioning between player and coach. This transition comes with a lot of different quality changes. Coaches tend to have more qualities than being a player.…