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Importance of academic writing skills
Importance of academic writing skills
Importance of academic writing skills
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Anyone who has watched the news in the past few months has probably heard Qaddafi's name tossed around a couple of times and perhaps used in the same sentence as “ruthless dictator”. Yet one cannot help but wonder if Qaddafi was truly the bloodthirsty tyrant that the media painted him to be why are the Libyan people only rebelling now more than four decades after he came into power? Muammar al-Qaddafi came into power in 1969 as a young, popular, revolutionary leader who vowed to free Libya from the government corruption that was occurring under King Idris's rule. (Sullivan, 13) Qaddafi wanted a better life for all Libyans but he had his own views about what was and wasn't good for Libya. During next four decades, Qaddafi silenced political opposition and called the shots for Libya. The growing resentment towards Qaddafi came to a head on February 15, 2011 when protests sprang up all over Libya calling for an end to Qaddafi's absolute reign. The situation quickly escalated into a bloody civil war between Qaddafi's government and the rebel organization, which promises to bring democracy to Libya. Qaddafi's dictatorship has failed to be an effective form of government for Libya because his decisions do not represent the wishes and needs of the people. Democracy is the answer if the people of Libya do not want to keep paying for the mistakes of a single ruler.
The international spotlight is...
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... to improve Libyan infrastructure, education and health care. However, Qaddafi began to abuse his power when he made important decisions on behalf of Libya that promoted his personal agenda but ignored the interests and wishes of the Libyan people. His hostile foreign policy and support for terrorist groups such as the PLO and IRA alienated Libya from other nations. International sanctions coupled with unpopular economic reforms has caused the Libyan economy experience setbacks rather than success. In order to stay in power, Qaddafi oppressed dissenters by restricting the political freedom and basic rights of his people. Libyans have paid politically, economically and socially for the actions of their dictator and they are tired of it. They want a government that will represent them fairly and the 2011 civil uprising has shown that they are willing to fight for it.
In 1986, Reagan took violent action on his war against terrorism. Reagan started his presidency in 1981 beginning his war on terrorism. The United States has been struggling with having good relations with Libya, specifically relations with Muammar Gaddafi (El-Gadhafi, Quadaffi, Qadhafi). Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator first came to power in 1969. Over the past few decades, the United States tried to solve conflicts with Libya diplomatically (SOURCE). Once Reagan was elected president, he tried to continue the tradition of solving issues using diplomatic ways, however Gaddafi refused to take Reagan’s threats seriously. The conflict with Libya and the United States escalated when it was discovered that Gaddafi was behind the discotheque bombings in West Berlin on April 5th 1986. Gaddafi has violently attacked not only innocent civilians, but had planned assassination attempts on United States officials that were abroad (SOURCE). Gaddafi’s previous actions, led to the bombings in Libya on April 14th 1986, when Operation El Dorado Canyon took place. President Reagan later justified these bombings in his address to the nation the evening the bombings took place (SOURCE?).
In other words, many countries and their political regimes claim to be democracies and use this word in order to gain political favor and political power. Former President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, promised his country fair elections and suggested that his regime was a democracy. However, during Nasser’s time in office, fair or true elections were never held. These actions resonate with a number of authoritarian leaders that utilize the social meaning of ‘democracy’ in order to reach a place in office. And while many countries strive to become democracies, it’s not always a possibility. The Arab Spring has involved many countries, throughout the middle east, vocalizing their desire to have a political democracy. But since the passing of these revolutions, there has yet to be a succes...
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...
The date is March 20, 2003; American forces enter Iraq in the form of air strikes over the capital city of Baghdad. The night sky lights up from anti-aircraft fire from Iraqi sites. The echoing sound of bombs and heavy explosions tremble in the night sky that knew of silence just decades ago. Now eighteen months have pasted, the regime is overthrown, and over one thousand American soldiers have lost their lives in the battle for Democracy in the Middle East. Everyday the numbers of American deaths spent to create Democracy increase. And everyday the number of dollars spent to create Democracy increase. Is it really a possible goal? Can the Americans establish Democracy in Iraq? The five fundamental ideals of Democracy support the common man, but in Iraq is this really what the common man wants?
Living in America, we are constantly bombarded with rhetoric on “modernizing” other states by “teaching” them how to be democratic--what we judge to be the ultimate form of government. We have done this time and again, most recently in our democratic crusades in the Middle East, particularly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. We are baffled that our coerced democracy is not something that sticks as well as we had hoped, while not addressing that democracy is not meant to be something forced upon a people and the process of doing so almost negates the intention. Questioning why democracy is so elusive in the Middle East assumes two things. First, using the word “elusive” implies that there is some inherent value, a
Iraq’s history is one of both prosperity and violence, and dates back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. While dominated by a variety of civilizations, the region enjoyed a relatively stable society. Since the birth of Islam, the religion has been the dominant cultural belief of the region, and has made its way into the laws and ruling of the region. (InDepth Info, 2010)
In those countries that have not experienced government upheaval, a common outcome of the Arab Spring has been sustained civil unrest, political instability, and the extension of political and economic concessions by leaders seeking to appease protesters. Many questions could arise as one contemplated those events. One of these questions would be: Why has the Arab Spring produced different results across the Middle East? This paper is a humble attempt to suggest some answers to this sort of these logical questions.
As the Arab Spring enters its second year, major uprisings and revolts have occurred all over the Middle East, pushing for an end to the corrupt autocratic rule and an expansion of civil liberties and political rights. Most recently, images from Syria have emerged, depicting the government’s use of force to suppress the voice of its people. One might ask, “Is this the beginning of a revolution? Is the country on the path to democracy?” To assess this question and examine the future trends in the region, one must look back on the country’s somewhat tumultuous history, the relationship between the citizens and the state, and the political economy.
This is the order in which the civil war was happening. “During the first year of the war, the RUF took control in eastern and southern Sierra Leone which had a great mining industry to its gold and diamonds. The Sierra Leone government had a tough time combatting against the RUF.
“Democracy can only exist with the presence of the people and not in the presence of representatives of the people. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the “Mad dog of the Middle East,” said that quote. Baba Suleiman, Moosa, and many others were fighting for democracy. However, according to Gaddafi that was the type of Government Libya was already under. All the revolutionary men fighting with Baba were all for democracy so why would they be leading a revolution while their leader had the same ideas as them? Researching Gaddafi was a mystery alone. The wide spread of opinion and facts of what he actually did was mind-boggling. Finding legitimate information about such a famous person was never so difficult. Gaddafi was criticized and praised by people around the world and from his own county. He supported women’s rights, free public education, and he increased the overall economic growth by 10%. However, there are always two sides to a story, especially in politics. At first Gaddafi began to appear as a warm hearted caring man, but I was soon able to find the dark side to him that he would let out on anyone who got in his way. Gaddafi’s other side is certainly shown in the country of men and is seen as wrong or bizarre behavior by a minor collection of people. In the novel there is talk of hangings, government surveillance, public executions, corruption, and deportations. Most of these acts Gaddafi did enforce the reasons behind Hisham Matar putting them in the novel is logical.
By Fire: Writings on the Arab Spring by Tahar Ben Jelloun is a book about the injustices that took place in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region before and during the Arab Spring revolt. Ben Jelloun entirety of his work is written in French, although his first language is Arabic. Today he lives in Paris and continues to write. He has been short-listed for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Translated by Rita Nezami from French to English and published in 2016 by Northwestern University Press, the book is composed of three parts: the translator’s introduction, a nonfiction piece, “The Spark,” and a novella, “By Fire”. By Fire, the first fictional account published on the Arab Spring, reimagines the true-life self-immolation of Mohamed
The major, direct and the most important reason of the Libyan revolution was the improper treatment of people by Muammar Gaddafi. “Most nations were once sympathetic with the Libyan revolution with the international media focusing on the crisis in Libya. Regional and international organizations also ...
The mishandle and corruption of the public funds in Sierra Leone has lead to high unemployment for young adults, a huge increase in basic commodity prices, and an extended amount of insecurity within the sub-region. All those factors contributed to leave Sierra Leone vulnerable to future instability. Even though there has been remarkable reforms since the war that ended in 2002, there are still many problems. Such as poor infrastructure (including roads and energy), low capacity, high death rates among mother’s and children, extensive rural poverty, the impact of global and economic downturns, and regressions in public financial management and governance that still persist today. There is also the formidable challenge of managing the country’s
Freedom: something taken for granted by citizens all over the first world countries. The struggle for freedom all around the world is a very real one. Recently, the fight for freedom has taken the oppressed by storm. All over the globe, there have been many examples of people fed up with corruption and ready to take control of their lives and the lives of their children. This is evident through the struggles for freedom seen in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, and most recently Ukraine. It’s 2014 and governments controlled by a central authority or dictator are still prevalent. Countries all over the world have been isolated and stripped of their individual voices. The struggle for freedom coexists with the struggle of finding a voice. A voice is what the Libyan people found in February of 2011 when they started protests against a regime that ruled for forty-two years in isolated dictatorship. Three years later, the very same voice that liberated them is one of the gigantic obstacles they’re facing in establishing a functioning government in the country. This emphatic voice that has been silenced for 42 years by an iron-fisted rule is now louder than ever. The consensus is that they want an operational democracy in place as soon as possible. But three years have passed, and the country is more restless than ever. The country is completely dysfunctional and there is no telling what the people will do next if a stable democratic constitution isn’t in place soon. They’ve just ousted their fourth prime minister in less than three years and casualties are increasing by the day. The current Libyan situation is widely attributed to the 2011 revolution. That being said, understanding how the 2011 revolution happened and why it unfolded the way it...
Libya is located in Northern Africa along the Mediterranean Sea which provides a northern coastal border. On the east Libya borders Egypt and Sudan and on the west Libya borders Tunisia and Algeria. To the south Libya has Chad and Niger as neighboring countries. One may ask what type of relations that Libya has with these bordering countries. Libya occupies a very interesting position. Libya has a long history of great trade relations with these other countries. Trade between these countries has depended on two types of routes which are the “western” route and the “commercial” route. The commercial route is used every season and leads to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.