Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

From what we have studied in class this semester there are many different examples of what the class could focus on. However I think that a mix of studying regime types and the studying of resource endowments are the most important. Historical factors are important but they are not likely to influence the region completely…

There are countless reasons why the monarchies of the Middle East are facing sleepless nights thinking about their power being taken from them. Most the these monarchies rely on tactics we have covered in class such as the idea of being a forceful leader and using intimidation to stay in power, or using means of…

Rentierism is not a distinctly MENA problem, however the concentration in MENA is such that it does warrant explaining why there tends to be a higher quantity of poor social and democratic outcomes within the region. That said I do agree with the statement of oil rents interacting with other factors that produce the level…

Lisa Anderson writes the piece about the study of democracy in the Middle East knowing that she is not observing something new in this region, but only adding on to the already explored subject. Instead of attempting to just rewrite what has already been said on the topic, she attempts to talk about colleagues of…