...On Bread and Circuses: Food Subsidy Reform and Popular Opposition in Egypt Ram Sachs Advisor: Professor Lisa Blaydes Center for International Security and Cooperation Stanford University May 21, 2012 ii Abstract In January 1977, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat faced tremendous public protest after implementing relatively small changes to the country’s food subsidy regime. In contrast, during the 1980s, and more aggressively in the 1990s, the government of Hosni Mubarak implemented more consequential reductions to subsidies on core food items while avoiding popular protest on a similar scale. I argue that the Mubarak regime engaged in covert price increases, distribution controls, temporary policy reversals, and repression, which allowed it to successfully reduce food subsidies without igniting regime-threatening public opposition during this period. Following the January 2011 revolution, further reform efforts are unlikely as the transitional democratic politics and the increased number of political participants will block change in the short term. iii iv Acknowledgements This thesis has served to unite my academic experience at Stanford. Four years of preparation, and the past year of writing, have produced this exploration of food, politics, and the Middle East. The CISAC Honors Program has provided a fantastic interdisciplinary home for this pursuit. I am thankful to Professors Blacker and Crenshaw for their guidance in this yearlong process. I...
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...not put up candidates for election, but seeks to influence government policy or legislation. They can also be described as ‘interest groups’, ‘lobby groups’ or ‘protest groups’. Some people avoid using the term ‘pressure group’ as it can inadvertently be interpreted as meaning the groups use actual pressure to achieve their aims, which does not necessarily happen. In Britain, the number of political parties is very small, whereas the number of pressure groups runs into thousands; as the membership of political parties has fallen, that of pressure groups has increased. The term pressure group is a very wide definition that does not clearly distinguish between the groups that fall under the term. For example, a pressure group can be a huge organisation like the CBI (Confederation of British Industry), which represents 150,000 businesses, and it can also be a single-issue locally based organisation like CLARA (Central Area Leamington Resident’s Association), which represents less than 300 households campaigning to preserve and improve the town of Leamington Spa. The definition also does not distinguish between the more extreme pressure groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, whose campaigns include the illegal activities such as planting bombs, and the pressure groups such as the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which have links to the Labour government and regular contact with cabinet ministers. The aim of all pressure groups is to influence the people who actually...
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...Executive Summary The aim of the research was to answer the main research question: ‘What caused the Arab Spring’ In order to tackle this question; desk research, case studies and an interview with Mr Farrid Benkaddour have been conducted. Farrid Benkaddour is a Moroccan sociologist, he started his career in Morocco after obtaining his baccalaureate in 1984. Since then he has been a teacher in Morocco, afterwards he went to the Netherlands to teach Dutch people about Moroccan culture. He currently works for Arabika, a company that specializes in legal assistance, translations, language trainings and intercultural communications. The desk research revealed the opinions of the Arab spring’s countries inhabitants. Inflation, unemployment and poor housing conditions prevailed as a direct consequence of insufficient dictatorial regimes. Freshly graduated youth was left jobless with no sign of improvement in the near future. People became more and more aware of the lack of political influence they had and started idealizing the western political democratic models. The interview and case studies showed there have been negative thoughts about the dictatorial regimes ever since their instalment. Protests have been seen throughout the history of the Arab world. The difference, however, between those protests and the Arab Spring is the modern age. Where earlier protests failed due to lack of support, the modern age tools such as (social-)media carried the Arab spring’s unfolding...
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...thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible. DECLARATION I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University. Signed __________________ Date _________________ ABSTRACT This research is focused on analysing the role played by Social media in the Arab Uprisings. During l8-day period, the Egyptian protesters succeeded to a large extent in achieving maximum publicity and attracting the attention of the world by mobilizing news media coverage of their protests. The role of media is to provide information and communicate messages to others. Media played a significant role in ringing political changes to the countries belonging to Arab region. Since a long time, the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other countries were facing problems due to the unequal and biased policies developed in the country by the leaders. These riots turned out to be an outcome of the frustrations and annoyance which were filling up the people of Egypt and Tunisia. With the incident when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself ablaze in Tunisia due to the injustice and unequal behaviour, a wave of frustration, riots and protests ran through...
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...Tottenham – a borough in Greater London. The event created a strong reaction form the local youth. After a march on Tottenham Police station to protest the death of the man, the demonstration turned into a series of violent acts in the streets that quickly developed and spread across London and other cities all over England. A major debate arose about the inner causes of the insurrections and the media and politicians promptly pointed out several hypothesis. The August 2011 events have been primarily interpreted, especially amongst the political class, through a lens that emphasises criminality. ,one prominent argument advocates that the cause of the unrest was the moral decay of ‘a feral underclass’ (Scrambler; Grover 2011) However, many of such explanations tend to be mostly speculative and they often fail to provide a consistent account of the causes of the riots based on solid evidence (the LSE/theguardian, 2011, Solomos, 2011). Against this background this essay attempts to disentangle the motives of the London 2011 riots, by focusing on the relations of causality between factors and events that led to the burst of the unrest. It argues that urban social inequalities as well as uneven processes of exclusion and inclusion of a marginalised class are the main factor underlying the disturbances. Yet this essay claims that these riots need also to be analysed in the very specific context in which they have arisen: the financial crisis, a society which is becoming increasingly...
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...Introduction Between the 6th and 10th of August 2011, English cities experienced serious civil disorder after the shooting of a young black man (Lea, 2013). Now referred to as the English riots, they are regarded by many as the most serious disturbances in the UK since the Brixton riots of the early 1980s (Barentsen, 2013). The Criminal Justice System (CJS) rapidly dispensed over 3,000 arrests upon those who participated (Ashe, 2014). Through local media outlets, authorities such as the CJS and the government gave their explanation as to the causes of this uproar (Pieri, 2014). However, there was little information from the point of view of those arrested and it is arguable that the CJS has provided a clear and concise exploration of the...
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...to Fox News, the recent Baltimore riots following the controversial arrest and death of Freddie Gray has left the city with an estimated $20 million in damages (FoxNews, May 28 2015). Besides these damages caused by Baltimore riots, the long-lasting economic impact in Baltimore is even larger than that of natural disasters since businesses see Baltimore as a less attractive place to invest. Additionally, earlier in 2014, after Michael Brown’s shooting and Eric Garner’s chokehold death, violent protests against police killings of unarmed blacks had already taken place across America in many cities. Those outbursts led to huge economic loss and were harmful for social stability. Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and Eric Garner were not the only black unarmed men killed by police. The Guardian’s statistics illustrates how disproportionately black Americans are killed by police: among the 102 unarmed victims killed by police this year, 32% were African Americans compared with 15% of white people (Swaine, Laughland and Lartey, June 1 2015). In other words, unarmed black Americans were more than twice as likely to be killed during encounters with police as white people. Consequently, those outbursts or protests are rooted in legitimate anger toward a justice system that has in many ways failed them. Not as simple as "thugs" and "criminals" Some public and leaders consider Gray’s death not serious enough to cause the Baltimore riots and dismiss these types of violent...
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...analysis “Kissing in the Carnage: An Examination of Framing on Twitter During the Vancouver Riots” by Lauren M. Burch, Evan L. Frederick & Ann Pegoraro; it was certain that the biggest hockey game of the National Hockey League season had been occurring, but the riot it has spawned in Vancouver makes it look like something far more politically charged may be the cause. In the introduction of the text it states “On June 15, 2011, more than 150,000 fans assembled on the streets of Vancouver to watch game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins. Within minutes of the Canucks loss, a riot began. One aspect that made this event unique was that it was documented on Twitter” this would clearly indicate that there was a relationship between the fans knowledge of the current affair which was the hockey game and the Literary review-RQ- 1. Is there a relationship between social media use and KNOWLEDGE of current affairs? 2. What is the relationship between social media use and knowledge of stand your ground law? 3. What is the relationship between social media use and attitude toward stand your ground law? Methodology- In the text it is stated that Twitter is a fairly new medium within the sport communication scenery; a growing body of literature has examined its utilization among various user groups such as athletes. Sport-specific research regarding Twitter has largely focused on general usage trends, however, this particular event...
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...Notes for Exam 5- Geography North America Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Physical Geography * Latitude is very important –broad range * Western climates- Mountains (change the climate of the region) * Example: Sierra Nevada and Rockies * Deserts and dryness- Because the mountains are so tall they absorb the precipitation * Further west- very wet * Louisiana- very close to the equator, nothing to stop the storms -2 of the largest countries in the world include (Population)- 1. Canada- 1/10th of the US- 33 million * Lots of empty land in this area 2. The US- 300 million pop * Highly urbanized (D): Megalopolis- Applies to the US and Canada, very big *PROS OF North America 1. -Farming and Ranching and Agriculture * Used to be dominate * 1790: employed 90% of the work force * 1880: dropped down to 50%- because of industrialization * Today: less than 2% * In the US only 1% of population are farmers * Farm populations fell by 2/3 in the beginning of the 20th century * Farms are consolidating * 20% drop in the number of farms * Agriculture has become more meganized (more industrial) More money to keep it going, more land and more machines * Farms are still critical in the US and Canadian economy * 2000: US Alone, $216 billion dollars in farming alone * Land use, agriculture remains dominant * Varies by region * Dairy farming in the east * Live Stock...
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...The Boston Massacre took place on the evening of March 5, 1770. This rebellion resulted in the killing of around five colonists and it raised the tensions even more between the colonists and the British government, which later on lead to the awareness of a possible American Revolution. The question to be addressed in this research paper is which were the major events that over time lead to the Boston Massacre, such as the “Stamp Act of 1765”, “Quartering Act of 1765”, and the “Townshend Act of 1767”. The British Parliament introduced the “Stamp Act of 1765”, this new act had the main purpose to help the British crown pay the expenses of the results from the “French and Indian War”. This new introduction by the British Parliament resulted in a negative reaction from the people of the colonies. They believed that this new Act was just a justification to obtain more money from the colonies and continue to benefit only the Mother Country. Also, they believed that the British crown had no right to tax them due to the fact that they weren’t allowed to choose their representatives (“No Taxation Without Representation”). Riots and protests were very popular during this time period especially aggressive actions toward the tax officials. This actions later lead to the arrive of more British troops to prevent more revolts and maintain a...
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...It is widely agreed among historians that the Gay Liberation Movement was only slightly successfully in obtaining social equality, and almost entirely unsuccessful in obtaining political equality for the 1970’s and 1980’s. These advancements came almost entirely from the style of protest that was adopted during the time period by gay activist, and it's resonation with the American people. Following the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the Gay Liberation Movement adopted the style of protesting that had become popular during towards the end of World War II in GermanyThese ideas were popularized by Oscar Wilde, who had discovered them from a pamphlet titled The Early Homosexual Rights Movements. These new forms of revolution were based around peaceful...
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...Social History ISSN: 0307-1022 (Print) 1470-1200 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rshi20 The search for ‘General Ludd’: the mythology of Luddism Katrina Navickas To cite this article: Katrina Navickas (2005) The search for ‘General Ludd’: the mythology of Luddism, Social History, 30:3, 281-295, DOI: 10.1080/03071020500185406 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03071020500185406 Published online: 05 Aug 2006. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 574 View related articles Citing articles: 4 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rshi20 Download by: [York University Libraries] Date: 17 February 2016, At: 09:19 Social History Vol. 30 No. 3 August 2005 Katrina Navickas Downloaded by [York University Libraries] at 09:19 17 February 2016 The search for ‘General Ludd’: the mythology of Luddism1 In attempting to make sense of the working-class disturbances of the period 1811–13, both contemporaries and historians have searched for ‘General Ludd’ and his followers. The magistrates who sent out their spies to uncover the underground organization of the movement, the witnesses and prosecutors at the Assize trials giving their versions of events, the parliamentary Secret Committee set up to investigate the disturbances, and the historians who rely on evidence surviving from these...
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...Constitutional Rights Strayer University PAD 525 Korb v. Raytheonr of 1989 is a case predicated on the freedom of speech and if a corporation has the right to dismiss you based on whether your speech directly or indirectly affects the company and a individual as there is associated with that company. Mr Korb was released from his duties as vice president for Washington operations of Raytheon Corporation because he spoke the media publicly and expressed views in direct conflict with the corporation's economic interest. It was noted that he spoke on behalf of the organization that he joined the executive board of the Committee for National Security (CNS). Although he was given permission by his company join CNS the company wanted Mr. Korb to still uphold the values and corporate initiatives the represented. Mr Korb gave a press conference on February 25, 1986 with CNS in the senate building during Korb's normal lunch hour in connection with the release of its annual alternative defense budget. Korb spoke at the press conference. Because this was during lunch and not an unscheduled break Mr. Korb felt like he wouldn’t be associated with Raytheon. The reporters present at the press definitely did as they reported to their outlets. The Washington Post newspaper the day after the press conference reported on the event. The article described Korb as a former assistant secretary of defense and now a private civil citizen working for arms maker Raytheon Co. It...
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...| 2015 | | | [Cultural Analysis - brazil] | MKT 6003 RESEARCH PAPER | Abstract I currently lead a team called Pontonet as part of my responsibilities as Sr. Strategic Customer Manager who is based in Brazil. When I began my job in August I was quickly introduced and held meetings with my manager and a co-worker. I noticed very quickly that our abrasive American ways of communicating was not effective by listening in on conference calls with the three of us. I noticed as well that there was a seemingly deep sense that creating a more relation type of Management/Vendor management style was would make for a clearer and cleaner method than the alternative. I learned in haste that my report Jurandir at Pontonet began to surpass expectations quickly in comparison to other vendors in a surprisingly quick time frame. This paper shall also attempt to analyze the business and social culture of Brazil from an American point of view. In addition my purpose is to help achieve the most success when participating in a leadership activity with Pontonet. By having a better grasp of the cultural norms I believe that it will greater help me to have an advantage as a leader for this 3rd party management role I have accepted as part of my responsibilities. It is my understanding through research that Brazil’s business culture is much more stringent than the United States. In this paper it will be my intent to provide analysis and review the current business culture and...
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...Allegations of the use of excessive force by U.S. police departments continue to generate headlines more than two decades after the 1992 Los Angeles riots brought the issue to mass public attention and spurred some law enforcement reforms. On Staten Island, N.Y., the July 2014 death of Eric Garner because of the apparent use of a “chokehold” by an officer sparked outrage. A month later in Ferguson, Mo., the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson ignited protests, and a grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson triggered further unrest. In November, Tamir Rice was shot by police in Cleveland, Ohio. He was 12 years old and playing with a toy pistol. On April 4, 2015, Walter L. Scott was shot by a police officer after a routine traffic stop in North Charleston, S.C. The same month, Freddie Gray died while in police custody in Baltimore, setting off widespread unrest. The policeman in the South Carolina case, Michael T. Slager, was charged with murder based on a cellphone video. In Baltimore, the driver of the police van in which Gray died, Caesar Goodson, was charged with second-degree murder, with lesser charges for five other officers. There have been no indictments in the earlier cases. These follow other recent incidents and controversies, including an April 2014 finding by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), following a two-year investigation, that the Albuquerque, N.M., police department “engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive...
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