Why Now: The Palestinian Bid for Statehood
The Palestinian Authority approached the United Nations Security Council with a bid for statehood. They are seeking to be recognized, legally, as a state and to be accepted as a full member into the United Nations. One of the largest questions this move raises is: Why now? The current Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been ongoing […]
Mumbai Bleeds Again: An Ongoing Security Crisis
The recent bombings in Mumbai, which killed 26 people and injured 130 more, are a grim reminder of how far Indian security has yet to go in effectively maintaining order and eradicating terrorism within its own borders.i Such occurrences threaten India’s stability at a time when it is hoping to establish itself as a leading […]
Yemen: The New Frontier in the Global Fight Against Terrorism
Recent shifts in American security policy, including the killing of Osama bin Laden and dismantling of Al-Qaeda along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, indicate that Al-Qaeda operations are no longer centered in the Af-Pak region but rather in the often overlooked nation of Yemen. A poor country in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen has been a stronghold […]
Film Review: We Are Egypt
Three months ago, the political conflict in Egypt appeared on people’s radars. The social and political turmoil that erupted in January 2011 was unexpected to say the least, and took its rightful place on the front page of every major media outlet around the world. Hearts went out to the struggling nation. Every outcry was […]
Somali Piracy: When Short-term Solutions Turn to Long-term Problems
Kidnappings and hijackings off the coast of Somalia have been the topic of sensationalist media attention over the last few years. When Americans Jean and Scott Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Bob Riggle were killed this past February in a Somali hijacking, most saw a one-dimensional report of a crime committed by a barbaric people.[i] The […]
Feeding the People: What Has Lead to the Global Food Crisis?
Rising global food prices do not only threaten the lives of individuals but threaten the political stability of entire regions. High food prices have been cited as one factor behind the current instability in Africa and the Middle East, and a spike in food prices this year risks the potential of even more widespread problems.[i] […]
The Myth of the Muslim Women: The False Narrative of Salvation
On November 17, 2001, Laura Bush made an appeal to the American people to support the war in Afghanistan. In her speech, no link was made between the military operation in Afghanistan and the September 11th attacks. Instead, she called upon the American people to support an operation that would encompass the salvation of Afghan […]
Rereading The Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Radicalism, 1860-1914: The Mobilization of Radical Ideologies in the Arab World
Northeastern University’s own Ilham Khuri Makdisi published the groundbreaking work The Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Radicalism, 1860-1914 last April, less than a year before the international community rested its gaze on the rapid ideological revolution and protest movement that has swept the region in the last few months. Rereading Khuri-Makdisi’s work in […]
The Winter Uprisings: An Awakening for All
The cascade of pro-democracy protest across the Middle East presumably should not have caught the West off guard, but it did. The United States spends billions of dollars each year supporting Arab governments and on a vast intelligence service dedicated to better informing officials about on goings in the region. Regardless of the United States’ […]