Darfur – Roots of Conflict and the Role of the Arab and the International Community

A Tharwa Project Statement on Darfur

The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Darfur cannot be simply attributed to a conflict over scarce resources, although this is definitely an important factor in this regard.

Indeed, there is a history in the Sudan, and many other parts of Africa, of encroachment by nomadic tribes on lands owned by farmers whenever draught conditions prevailed. This seems to have been the initial catalyst for the current crisis in Darfur, but it is definitely not the reason why it has assumed such major humanitarian proportions. Continue reading “Darfur – Roots of Conflict and the Role of the Arab and the International Community” →

A Modernizer Challenges Syria’s Old Order

washingtonpost.com
By Nora Boustany

Going out on a limb almost comes naturally for Ammar Abdulhamid. He grew up in an artsy milieu in Damascus, the only child of a celebrity couple whose daily existence depended on living on the edge of what was acceptable within a rigid political system. His father, Mohammed Shaheen, was a movie director, and his mother, Mona Wasef, is a top Syrian actress. To succeed in their field meant breaking barriers. Continue reading “A Modernizer Challenges Syria’s Old Order” →

The Siege!

I just saw The Siege on TV, the movie with Denzel Washington. Things may not have happened exactly as indirectly predicted by the movie: a major terrorist attack in New York did not exactly lead to declaring martial law, but it did lead to the Patriot Act, Preemptive War, Guantanamo Bay and an invasion of a country on the basis of false pretexts, and consequently to Abu Ghraib and other human rights abuses. The movie was based on common sense deductions. It is amazing what little common sense can do, and equally amazing how very few people are willing to listen to it.

The Internal Dynamics of Syrian Politics

Lecture at the Brookings Institution

Syria has developed a reputation as an esoteric state because of the actions of its late President, Hafez el Asad. Asad’s rural beginnings, military education, and limited exposure to the West contributed to his deep familiarity with Syrian social and political culture. But, it also limited his understanding of ever-changing global realities, especially in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the West, Asad was, nonetheless, perceived as a political genius because Western knowledge of Syria was extremely limited. Continue reading “The Internal Dynamics of Syrian Politics” →