The amount of content covered by this course in just over three months has been rather extensive, and there are some areas and methods of research which seem to be far superior to others in order to understand authoritarianism and change in MENA. As has been continuously shown across each country examined, understanding the historical…

Images of the “good” monarch in popular culture depict a ruler whose crown weighs heavy upon his head for the immense tasks and stresses that comes with leading an entire nation of people, but this image cannot be applied to the Middle East and North Africa. Shakespeare’s line, “Uneasy lies the head,” would serve as…

Rentier states, regardless of where they are located in the world, continually result in the creation of states in which a ultra-wealthy class controls nearly all of a country’s resources while allowing very little of it to improve the lives of the average citizen. The issue is not a unique case in MENA, but the…

In her article, “Standing Where the Light Shines”, Lisa Anderson examines the many things political scientists have gotten wrong in their attempts to study on the lack of democratization in the Middle East and North Africa. Political scientists have continually struggled to explain the this issue, and this lack of understanding often leads to inaccuracies…

The US-led coalition against Saddam Hussein following his invasion of Kuwait in 1990 saw a stronger bond emerge between states in the Middle East and the West. While this invasion resulted in great success for the Coalition forces, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 brought about a series of great divides in the region…

The UN Sustainable Development Goals seek to establish guidelines and a series of goals for States to achieve in order to push themselves to be better for their citizens, as well as for the environment of the planet as a whole. Given the nature of these goals and the upfront costs to achieving some of…

The water footprint of the average US household ranks among the largest in the world, at 1,802 gallons per day. Despite this, as a result of my own lifestyle choices, the water footprint I create is far lower, at only 1,128 gallons of water used per day. A large piece of the calculation for this…

There are a number of communities in which I have been quite involved in throughout my time both on and off campus. What I have undoubtedly spent the most of my time doing, especially since settling in New Hampshire, is hiking and backpacking. Due to the beauty of the area, I have had the pleasure…

For nearly all of my adolescent life, I have moved around from state to state due to my father’s job in the USMC. I was born in California, but later moved to Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, before finally settling in New Hampshire. I would undoubtable refer to myself as an American, but also a resident…