Tired of sitting amidst iPhone engrossed travelers in Istanbul I reached for the first piece of print material I could find under the broken coffee table and came across the following special report from The Economist on the Arab Spring:
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21580624-spring-proved-fickle-arabs-are-still-yearning-it-says-max-rodenbeck
The report consists of a series articles addressing issues ranging from Islam to constitution-building to youth involvement in society. The first article in the report offers a cautiously optimistic tone:
Whereas the concluding article appears to reinforce caution and patience:
On a lighter note, thanks to Megan and Emily, I also stumbled across this music video while in Turkey. Enjoy:
Finally, you can find several pictures from Turkey on my Instagram @smithcraigandrew.
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21580624-spring-proved-fickle-arabs-are-still-yearning-it-says-max-rodenbeck
The report consists of a series articles addressing issues ranging from Islam to constitution-building to youth involvement in society. The first article in the report offers a cautiously optimistic tone:
"In short, the scorecard for the Arab spring so far looks overwhelmingly negative. But this special report will argue that such an assessment is premature. Rather than having reached a sorry end-point, the wave of change may have only just begun. Judging by experience elsewhere, such transitions take not months but years, even decades.
"Further unrest and almost certainly further bloodshed lie in store. But this may well be unavoidable in a part of the world where bewildering social change, including extremely rapid population growth and urbanisation, for so long went woefully unmatched by any evolution in politics. Debate on such crucial issues as the relationship between state and religion, central authority and local demands, and individual and collective rights could not be indefinitely stifled. Something had to give."
Whereas the concluding article appears to reinforce caution and patience:
"Faleh Abdel Jabbar, an Iraqi sociologist, gives warning that for now in most Arab countries 'all the elements that theory says should build democracy are absent, and all those that should prevent it are present.' The middle classes are weak, clannishness prevails, and oil-soaked states see no need for consent from citizens they do not need to tax. That equation is changing, but it will take time."
On a lighter note, thanks to Megan and Emily, I also stumbled across this music video while in Turkey. Enjoy:
Finally, you can find several pictures from Turkey on my Instagram @smithcraigandrew.
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