Question.2364 - Assignment 7: Summary and Reflection on North Africa & Southwest Asia (the “Middle East”) The summaries and reflections on the topics that we will discuss throughout the semester are designed to insure that you have reviewed the PowerPoint presentations carefully and thought about the important points and critical issues. All of the summaries and reflections will have the same format and include two sections: Part 1 - a simple list of important points and critical issues that we have covered in each of the subject or geographic areas, much like the table of contents of a book, an outline of a book chapter, or a list of key statements from each of the sections covered in one or more PowerPoint slides of each presentation, and Part 2 - your reflection or comments on each topic, or one or more selected elements of each topic. The first part clearly represents a brief overview of each topic. The second part is designed to show that you have seriously thought about some of the important points and critical issues and to demonstrate your thoughtful reactions or creative ideas. Three waves of expansions of hominins out of Africa traversed this region around 2.1 million (Homo erectus), 1.4 million (Homo neanderthalensis) and 200,000 years ago (Homo sapiens). One of the earliest human civilizations developed in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan as well as the southeastern fringe of Turkey and the western fringes of Iran. A unified kingdom was founded about 3150 BCE, leading to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Several major religions have their origins in the Middle East, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and numerous other belief systems. The region is also particularly rich in energy resources (oil), which has attracted enormous interests, investments and interferences from many foreign powers. This region has also suffered from intense religious wars, territorial fights and disputes, military conflicts, and internal political instabilities over the last three thousand years. The focus of this assignment will be: As we share the common desire for regional stability and global peace and search for effective solutions for the daunting challenges in this part of the world, what are the major issues and complexities that we must focus on, if we are going to have any chance for success? Part 1 (simple list of important points and critical issues) should be about one-page long (single space). Part 2 (your commentary or reflection) should be about two pages (double space and 12-point size). Please submit your completed assignment as a WORD document or pdf file through the Blackboard by clicking “Assignments” and then following the on-screen instructions.
Answer Below:
Table of Contents Part 1 3 Part 2 4 Introduction 4 Petroleum Reserves are causing barriers to reform 4 Women Participation is on the rise in Middle-east 5 Digital Adoption will decrease Regional instability 5 Conclusion 5 Reference List 7 3 Part 1 The critical issues that are hampering the stability in the Middle East are as follows: Distribution of Oil: Armed conflict predominates far too frequently in oil-rich nations since they spend a significant portion of their national income on it. The state used force to end social and political unrest in Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq while Saddam Hussein was in power (Amadi and Udumaga, 2020). After 2011, Bashar al-assad Assad's regime and the transient Islamic State caliphate were both supported by Syrian oil. Widespread Corruption: One of the major reasons for regional instability in the Middle East is because of the widespread corruption in the MENA countries. According to reports in 2015, around 50 million people across the Middle East had to engage in government and institutionalized corruption (Alhassan et al., 2021). This corruption has directly led to terrorist attacks being dominant in the region. Foreign Intervention: It has been seen in the Middle East that foreign aids and intervention also increases corruption in the Middle East. The United States has donated close to $300 billion to Middle Eastern nations since 1946, yet neither democratization nor stability have benefited. Labour Importation: Many Middle Eastern nations, especially the oil-rich emirates of the Persian Gulf, depend on immigrant labour. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates routinely ranked among the countries with the largest number of migrant workers as a share of the total population (Silvey and Parreñas, 2020). Some of these labourers are Arabs from less developed countries like Egypt and Jordan, despite the fact that the majority of them are Asians from India, Bengal, and Pakistan. Women Rights: In terms of the economic potential of women, only South Asia is ranked higher than the Middle East in the Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum. Additionally, if parity were to be achieved at the current rate, it would take 153 years to close the gender gap completely. Disruptive Technology: The development and disruption of technology all through the region has increased the potential to overcome the disparities between education and employability. With regard to information and communication technologies, the Middle East is beginning to catch up to the rest of the world. Software creation, e-commerce, and telecommunication services that are available online and on mobile devices are a few of the technology-related businesses that have sprouted up in the area (Fraumeni and Liu, 2021). The "Arab Silicon Revolution," a group of tech-savvy people, makes about 40% of the local population. According to a McKinsey analysis, communication channels between the Middle East and the rest of the world surged and more than 150 times between 2006 and 2016. 4 Part 2 Introduction The Middle East in its entirety is balanced dangerously economically and on the verge of collapse, despite the Persian Gulf having one of the highest numbers of environmental assets in the entire globe. As per my opinion, Asia, Southeast Asia, as well as Central America have overtaken the Middle East. Middle Eastern industries are still stuck in the credit bubble stages of their economic growth, occasionally moving ahead and then sliding backwards, instead of aiming for smooth and steady advancement. Desertification and a freshwater deficit are other environmental issues. However, other places have succeeded despite comparable challenges. Petroleum Reserves are causing barriers to reform The Middle East's debt problems have been made worse primarily by the renationalization of the oil sectors, particularly in the 1970s. The government's coffers were overflowing with oil revenues, or rent, as economists prefer to call them. According to studies, large oil and gas resource leases influence government officials to prioritise short-term revenue from natural resources above establishing pro-growth regulations that would guarantee long-term stability (Jessop and Shackleton, 2019). I have gone through the data that low-population and based on it I can say that oil-rich republics may be enticing targets for bankrupt states seeking a quick fix to repair their finances without undertaking onerous changes. Saddam Hussein nevertheless sent Iraqi troops to assault the tiny nation of Kuwait in order to bolster Baghdad's resources and power structures. I can conclude that a dispute over drilling was what sparked the invasion. Women Participation is on the rise in Middle-east 5 Nations with no or little oil and gas production, including Beirut, Marrakech, and Tunis, have increased rates of female participation within their labour forces, politics, and governments than their oil-rich counterparts Yemen, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. As per my collected data large government, spending is partially to blame for this, as it promotes patriarchy and lowers the need for women to enter the workforce. Government employment is another common option for those who are employed, as evidenced in Jordan, where 82% of civil service positions are held by women (ElBehairy et al., 2022). However, I have noticed that, women that do work are expected to work in professions like as healthcare, education, clerical work, and other roles that are deemed appropriate by society. Digital Adoption will decrease Regional instability The Arab attitude toward internet connectivity is generally supportive, in contrast to widespread resistance to specific initiatives like privatisation. According to a survey, 90% of young people with internet connection believe that having access to a computer will make it simpler for them to start their own businesses and find employment. I can say that governments might start to view the youth boom as less of a burden and more of a resource if they grant access to the internet market to today's youth (Mahajan and Popma, 2022). Tech-enabled entrepreneurship and the modernization and improvement of the educational system in the area go hand in hand in the Middle East. Conclusion After the completion of the task I am now able to conclude that in order to improve the regional stability of the Middle East, it important fo0r organization to empower women and youth. 6 According to the data, I can conclude that over dependence on oil is the root cause of all problems in the Middle East. 7 Reference List Alhassan, A., Li, L., Reddy, K. and Duppati, G., 2021. The relationship between political instability and financial inclusion: Evidence from Middle East and North Africa. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 26(1), pp.353-374. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ijfe.1793 Amadi, J.C. and Udumaga, C., 2020. OIL EXPLORATION AND ARMED CONFLICT; IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL COMMUNITIES IN NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA. IN AFFILIATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA, p.182. https://alvanikoku.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jounal-of-School-of- Arts-and-Social-Sciences-vol.-8-no-1-Sept.-2020.pdf#page=175 ElBehairy, H., Hendy, R. and Yassin, S., 2022, August. The Impact of Covid-19 on MENA Labor Markets: A Gendered Analysis from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan. In Economic Research Forum Working Paper Series No (Vol. 1559). https://www.academia.edu/download/90139566/1661085904_542_807269_1559.pdf Fraumeni, B.M. and Liu, G., 2021. Summary of World Economic Forum,“The Global Human Capital Report 2017—Preparing people for the future of work”. In Measuring Human Capital (pp. 125-138). Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128190579000081 Jessop, J., and Shackleton, J. R. 2019. Renationalisation: Back to the Future?. Institute of Economic Affairs Current Controversies, (72). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3852063 Mahajan, N. and Popma, F., 2022. The Emerging Smart Supply Solutions in Fresh Fruits: India Matching the International Business Standards, New Formats, and New Technologies. In Integrating New Technologies In International Business (pp. 187-203). Apple Academic Press. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9781003130352-11/emerging-smart- supply-solutions-fresh-fruits-india-matching-international-business-standards-new-formats-new- technologies-navita-mahajan-frits-popma 8 Silvey, R. and Parreñas, R., 2020. Precarity chains: Cycles of domestic worker migration from Southeast Asia to the Middle East. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(16), pp.3457- 3471. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1592398
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