Journal of Georgetown University-Qatar Middle Eastern Studies Student Association - Volume 2014, Issue 1

This Culture and Politics senior thesis examines and compares the imagined and the lived experience of the city, using Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, as a model. In a neo-liberal city such as Beirut, group formations can be engaged in multiple hegemonies that affect and define the ‘urban’ city experience. In this thesis, I will label two major group-formations in Beirut that shape its urban experience: the ‘Urbanistas’ and the ‘Biarts.’ The Urbanistas are an affluent upper-class group that imagines a ‘global’ and worldly Beirut that is in connection to the rest of the world. This group then lives its ‘social imaginaire’ of the city in a tightly confined upper-class conceptual map of the downtown, the Zaytouna Bay Area and Rue du Verdun. The Biartis on the other hand, a lower-income group, represent the lived experience of Beirut, living a city of manifestations, contradictions and concerns. I will argue that both groups exhibit a form of hegemony in their city, albeit a different one, and interact with each other in different ways. To explore the role of these groups in the social production of the city, this thesis analyzes interviews with Urbanistas and Biartis, participant observation of the socio- spatial habits of these groups, media coverage of Beirut and advertisement, pictorials and street art within enclaves of the city. Due to the multiple hegemonies of these groups, the ‘global’ city should no longer be taken to be identical to its image. Groups such as the Urbanistas, wishing to engage in a global and capitalist experience of urban city life, present a singular image of cities that is an imagined reflection of them. While groups such as the Biartis, have an inward looking experience, shaping the notion of the city through their daily lived occurrences.

In July 2013, the Lebanese Shi'a group Hezbollah publically announced its participation in the Syrian Civil War at the battle of al-Qusayr. Long advertized as the protector of Lebanon, many analysts believed involvement in Syria on behalf of Bashar al-Assad's regime would ultimately damage Hezbollah's position at home. Nevertheless, the Party of God has been able to maintain its power in Lebanon. This paper will investigate how Hezbollah is able to autonomously pursue objectives that potentially run contrary to the wishes of its constituents, while still acting as a powerful, domestic political actor in Lebanon. I will first identify why Hezbollah insists on pursuing selfish objectives by considering Hezbollah's weapon supplies. Next, I will show that Hezbollah owes much of its success to its unique relationship with the Lebanese Shi'i. Finally, by examining Hezbollah's media apparatus and international financial and operational networks, I will illustrate how Hezbollah has adapted to trends in globalization to cement itself as one of the most dangerous sub-state organizations in the world.

For a country so important to international affairs, Iran's politics are strikingly misunderstood. In the face of the inadequacy of explanations for the downfall of Iran's former President Ahmadinejad and other members of Iran's ‘Theocratic Left,’ this paper seeks to provide an explanation for this phenomenon that is both coherent and consistent with primary evidence. Global media, especially, has excessively emphasised global and international factors when looking at Ahmadinejad's second term, unable to notice Khamenei's need to compromise at home despite his seemingly total control of Iran's foreign policy and convinced that international sanctions caused Ahmadinejad's downfall. This paper instead places the focus on domestic political factional dynamics that emerged after the 2009 ‘Green Movement’ protests, emphasising how crucial factions and forces in Iran's domestic political landscape came together to check the power of the seemingly ascendant ‘Theocratic Left,’ thereby creating conditions that would eventually favour the victory of Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 election.

The proliferation and shifts of culture across generations is a topic that affects national policy, distribution of economic controls, and social norms that dictate what young people choose to do and what to not do. In the case of the Republic of Turkey, a large facet of culture has been built on the civil-military dynamic that puts the Turkish Armed Forces as guardians of the nation from both foreign threat and domestic cultural shifts. However, the recent emergence of civilian control over the military puts this cultural role in question. This paper examines the spheres of higher education, conscription, and media, three areas the military has typically used to socialize youth, and what the effect of civilian control has been. This research found that the AKP-led government has chosen to assimilate militarism in socialization of youth, and that has deep implications for the educational, vocational, and military structures young Turks will enter.

The objective of this paper is to describe and explain the extremely high usage of Twitter within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This topic relates strongly to the current transformations that Saudi society is undergoing, and helps to demonstrate the growing desire of the youth to express their opinions in the public sphere via social media. Although the government has attempted to censor Twitter and hold individual users accountable, in addition to legislation further criminalizing speech against the state, it has become clear that regulating the Twittersphere is incredibly difficult. Consequently, in recent years, the regime has taken a different approach and attempted to engage with the population via Twitter, creating accounts for ministries, high-profile princes, and other officials. While Twitter is commonly used to criticize the monarchy in Riyadh and explore taboo subjects, such as the right of women to drive, Saudis are also using it to defend conservative values and support the preservation of traditions. This forum is providing Saudis with access to lively and engaging debates in a way that was not previously possible.

This paper discusses the arts as an economic boon by evaluating the impact that the arts and art industries have had on three international cities' economies: Nantes in France, Asilah in Morocco, and Detroit in the United States. The paper then draws parallels between these cities and Amman, Jordan, concluding that the arts' positive impact on the aforementioned cities economies suggests similar beneficial potential for Amman, despite a number of political and economic challenges Jordan faces currently.

How has the rise of Algerian youth organizations providing legal resources to women impacted female involvement in politics, the media, and policy-making? The purpose of my research is to examine how French colonial “Family Law” and traditional Berber patriarchy in 19th century Algeria intersected, and how Islamic feminism and legal reformation grew out of that intersection with globalization. French law and Berber patriarchy aligned in such a way that women were prevented from accessing the political process until the rise of Algerian feminist organizations in the late 1900's that called for broader language interpretations. My research shows that the provision of legal resources by Algerian feminist groups has resulted in higher rates of education and alternate interpretations of Sharia, empowering women in the political arena. My data, including personal interviews I conducted and statistics collected on voting polls, show that women have reached high political offices in Algeria. They have served as Prime Ministers, run for the presidency and received a high percentage of the vote, and increased their political involvement. All this is a result of increased literacy and usage of alternate feminist interpretations of Islamic law. My research will include statistical data collected by the feminist organizations provided workshops on examining Islamic texts in the 1960's, as well as interviews and case studies of women that had fallen victim in between the jurisprudence of Islamic and French law. My intention is to demonstrate that Sharia law is often misinterpreted in today's media, and even fought against, which in turn has reaffirmed patriarchal views by avoiding open conversation rather than addressing the problem and providing resources on Islamic law interpretations.

Is Egypt witnessing the birth of a new revolutionary cinema after having undergone a wave of political consciousness and revitalization? This paper aims to trace the history of state censorship in Egypt with the aim of shedding light on the use of cinematic discourse as a tool of “Othering”. Beginning with the colonial years and ending with Anwar al-Sadat's rule, cinema in Egypt underwent slow yet complex development reflective of the sociopolitical reality of Egyptian society. How, in turn, has the scrutiny of Egyptian censorship, a rigid tool of discourse production and dissemination, been reflected on a more individualistic level? Through a Foucauldian analysis, the paper aims to explain the process of self-regulation and self-censorship performed by the Egyptian mainstream audience. More importantly, I aim to explore how hyper-sexualized, hyper-masculinized mainstream cinema has constantly escaped the scrutiny of the censorship bureau, the “patriarchal guard on morality”.