The Middle East and North Africa are areas that have seen plenty of authoritarian regimes come and go over the centuries. Since the beginning of the 21st Century this has not changed. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was swept from power in a US-led invasion in 2003. In 2011 the Arab Spring send shockwaves throughout the Arab world and resulted in multiple regimes being toppled in countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and others. Syria would see a civil war that continues to this very day. With all the major changes that occurred, much of the world would most likely want to know why this happened, how it occurred, and what the consequences are. In this regard many people would use news channels. This would allow them to get an idea of what is happening. However, it only tells part of the story. In order to fully understand MENA and the changes it has seen, one has to deploy a number of tools. These include tools such as books on the history of a country going back a century or so. That way observers and others who want to know more can get more context of a country and the situation it is in. The next tool would be political science articles, such as the one written by Lisa Anderson, that focus on specific countries in regard to their political institutions, their type of political economy, and the regime type of that particular country.
Other tools include statistical analysis, looking at whether the country is labor poor, resource rich, or the other way around. In order to get an idea of how the situation on the ground is, one could get access to government records on topics such as birth rates, economic growth, gross domestic product, and others. However, one must be careful not to completely rely on these numbers as sometimes they can be manipulated by government officials to make a situation look better than it actually is. Therefore, looking at alternative forms of information from other sources, such as NGOs can be helpful, and will allow someone to either confirm what the government has stated or question it. Out of all these tools, the best one for an avid observer to use would probably be the sources that focus on the historical context and sources that cover the political situation in a country. Statistical numbers for a country are important when put together with other forms of information, such as the history and politics of a country, but by itself, it would not be very effective. After all, if an observer knows what a country’s birth rate or GDP is, but is not familiar with the history and political landscape of that state, then they can not be relied upon to give an accurate and concrete assessment of that country, in a scenario in which they had to, for instance.
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