The Middle East During The Cold War

The Middle East During The Cold War The impact of the rivalry between Soviet Union and United States in the Cold War distorted internal politics and exacerbated or complicated regional conflicts. Indeed, the grafting of the USA/USSR competition over pre-existing Middle Eastern rivalries in several cases intensified them. At the same time, though, and in some cases, the Middle Eastern political à ©lites themselves made use of the Cold War to pursue their own interests of hegemony, security or colonial emancipation. Following Khalidi (2009) in assuming that during the Cold War the level of penetration of the Soviet and American influence was proportional to the degree of the strategic importance of the region, I will first discuss the strategic and geopolitical features of the Middle East. Secondly, I will describe some significant historical events, in order to show how the Cold War logic affected the area and how it shaped the regions political reality, both from a regional and a domestic point of view. The cold War and the Middle East The Cold War dominated world politics from the end of the WW2 to the collapse of Soviet Union. On 5 March 1946, when Churchill pronounced its famous speech at Westminster University, in Fulton, Missouri, describing Europe as divided by an iron curtain, with eastern Europe subjected to the Soviet sphere and the West under American influence, the Cold War was already on going. For more than forty years, superpowers competed ideologically, militarily, technologically and diplomatically. The effects of the rivalry extended all over the World, generating high degree of polarization and aggravating pre-existing conflicts. Although there were no wars fought directly by the two superpowers, proxy confrontations occurred in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. The Middle East was a primary area of contention (Khalidi, 2009). Since WWII, superpowers were aware of its importance, in terms of its strategic geographic location and its vast oilfields and gas deposits. In fact, from a geopolitical point of view, the region lays at the junction of three continents, immediately south to the border of Russia and the Caucasus and it is surrounded by four major seas, namely the Mediterranean, the Black and the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Before the end of the war, both United States and Soviet Union were already strategically interested in the Middle Easts oil reserve. In fact, not only at the time were the great powers the Worlds major oil producers (Khalidi, 2009), but also the war made them increasingly aware of the strategic role oil had acquired in warfare. Their motorised forces, in fact, were crucially dependent on oil for their propulsion, as were their navies and air forces (Khalidi, 2009). Consequentially, they become intensely concer ned about the risk of their supplies being denied by their enemies and about preserving them. Nonetheless, the regions importance in terms of military strategy and oil supply further established throughout the Cold War. In the late 1950s and until the Cuban missiles crisis of 1962, American missiles launching submarines were based in Turkey; in the 1960s and for about a decade, when a longer range missiles technology became available, American submarines were in Spain, with Soviet antisubmarine naval forces and air units based in Egypt and Turkey. During the 1970s, the military and strategic territorial concern of both powers moved to the Arab Peninsula and the region bordering the Indian Ocean, where the new generation American missiles launching submarines were positioned (Khalid, 2009). Anyway, in the aftermath of the WWII, United States and Soviet Union were already militarily and diplomatically engaged in the region, respectively in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Iranian Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. The Middle East, thus, became a major theatre of bitter rivalries between the great powers, the effects of which would deeply influence and shape its politics and historical dynamics. Conflicts, alliances, nuclear threats and the complex events which occurred in the Middle East during the Cold War were determined by the following underlying forces: fear of the superpowers of being excluded from the control over the region; their attempt to replace Britains power in the Middle East; anti-colonialism and the struggle of Middle Eastern states for the emancipation, which led to their alliances with the superpowers; the emergence of Arab nationalism and the diffusion of the communist ideology. Ideology, indeed, played a fundamental role. It was adopted both in terms of appeal made to potential allies and in terms of economic, political and social models they offered to them (Halliday in Sayigh and Shlaim, 1997). One of the events which reveal the pervasive effects of the international competition in the Region is The Arab cold war of 1958-1970, as Malcolm H. Kerr (1965) has called it. In the aftermath of the Suez crisis, in which both superpowers have supported Egypt and the Arab states against Israel, French and Britain, the pre-war Saudi-American relationship was cemented by the Eisenhower Doctrine and Saudi adherence to it. In his famous speech of January 1957, Eisenhower admitted the strategic importance of the area and denounced the Communist threat in the Middle East and Soviet Unions interest in power politics, which have become clearer with its involvement in the Suez crisis. Soviet political, economic and military aids were depicted by President Eisenhower as International Communisms instruments of domination (Eisenhower, 1957), apparently harmless means to manipulate local instability for Soviet power-purpose. Thus, he authorized the employment of the armed forces of the United Sta tes to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid, against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by International Communism (Eisenhower, 1957). The Saudi-American relation exacerbated Saudi relations with Nassers Egypt, a former non-aligned state which was moving closer to the Soviet Union. At the same time a heterogeneous agglomerate of political forces supported by the Soviet Union was formed, including not only communist and radical parties, but also nationalist, pan-Arab, anti-colonialist and bourgeois-democratic groups. In order to balance the secular and radical wave of Arab regimes, as Khalidi (2009) pointed out, Saudi Arabia and its ally United States adopted Islam and religious propaganda as ideological counter-weapon. In this way, Islam became a crucial tool of the American intelligence during the Cold War. The result was a high degree of polarization in the Region, with the Soviet Union aligned with authoritarian nationalist regimes and USA supporting absolute monarchies in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Arab Gulf States and authoritative regimes in Pakistan, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco. Another instance of the superpowers influence over regional politics in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the origin of the conflict has little to do with superpowers rivalry (Halliday, the Cold War competition generated polarization around the issue, fuelling arms race and leading several times to the risk of a nuclear strike. In the first phase of Israel life, namely from its birth in 1948 to the Suez Crisis of 1956, superpowers competed in supporting Israel. Polarization occurred after 1956, with USA supporting Israel and Soviet Union supporting Arab States. The competition took place in terms of armaments supply and economic aids, with the stakes escalating and culminating with the 1968-1970 and the 1973 wars, when Washington declared nuclear alert for the last time in the history of the Cold War. Internally, cold war rivalries distorted economic decisions, domestic policies, social, military and political balances, with the superpowers being responsible of or supporting coups and internal rebellions (Khalidi, 2009). Religion and ideology have been instrumentalised in order to pursuit the Cold War logic of balance of power, with some impacts also on the growth of democracy. Indeed, there was no stress by the United States to promote democracy or Human rights in the area. USA itself covered or supported actions to subvert Middle Eastern democracies such as the American-Britishs coup in Iran, which brought down the elected Mossadeq government and reinstalled the autocratic Mohammad Reza Shah in 1953. This behaviour was coherent with the American security tasks to preserve the Middle East from Communism and export the capitalist logic of free market; tasks which could be effectively pursued by aligning with the wealthy and conservative local elites. Soviet Union, instead, work ed attentively to encourage the development of socialism and distributive logic in the area, trying to appeal to the working classes and local communist parties (Khalidi, 2009). An instance of the pervasive effect of rivalry at the domestic level is the case of Iran. Due to geographical contiguity, Iran felt continuously menaced by the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the war, though, communism was not perceived by the à ©lites as good option for the development of the country. Thus, at the beginning of the Cold War, United States security interests, coincided with the Iranian ones (). US supported Shah, whose conservative government led to absolutism, corruption and to political stagnation, which, combined with fast modernization and social disruption, contributed to the rise of the Islamic Revolution. USSR also played a role in undermining the power of the Shah. As Rubinstein tells us, although Soviet Union did not directly interfere in the fall of the Shah, communist agents played an important role in spreading discontent in the Iranian oilfields, contributing to the economic paralysis, which undermined the pro-American government. However, concerning the case of Iran, two considerations must be done, which, to different extents, could be applied to several other cases in the region. First, the Cold War did not represent the first case of influence and penetration by a hegemonic power in Persia. In fact, for example, both Russia and Britain had great security and economic interest in the Persian Gulf and intervened several times in the country, both militarily and not. In 1907, in order to balance their influence, the two states agreed to divide Iran; 1942, unsatisfied of its neutrality, they agreed to invade it. Secondly, not only the rivalry logic diverted Iranian domestic policy, but also Iranian (and not only) à ©lites made use of the Cold War and of USA support in order to pursue their security goals and keep itself independent from the Soviet threat, which, as previous events show, had worried them long before the beginning of the USA/USSR competition. Finally, as Halliday (1997) pointed out, the Cold War competition had also another role in the region. It worked as a distraction, diverting attention from domestic problems, which could otherwise be earlier observed and solved. What emerged from the end of the competition and the victory of the West, thus, is just a not distorted and more grasping picture of the region and its pre-existent complexities. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1957eisenhowerdoctrine.html (Eisenhower doctrine)

Information technology and college experience Essay

Technology is continually changing the way the world is going. Education is not an exemption. Today, it is helping shape the way students are procuring information, and the way teachers are getting the information which they share. In fact, many students, teachers, and schools now perceive that it is unimaginable to go back to the stage when there is no internet, electronic mail, or word processing. This shows that the partnership between education and technology should be further nurtured. Meanwhile, there are issues that need to be addressed. This research shows how all of these are happening, and how they are affecting college experience. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTINGS The paper will focus on the way technology has changed in the past ten years. In the process, it will also involve how technology is still changing the way in which education is being changed today by new innovations. There will be discussions on learning with technology, specifically through the use of online learning methods and distance education instruction. The research will focus on the college environment. The population for the research will likewise be college students. On the process, teachers will also be involved in the research to qualify or disqualify conclusions throughout the research. Overall, the goal of the research is to identify how technological changes in college education have impacted the experiences of the students studying in college. Sub-problems The following sub-problems will be posed in the research. The sub-problems are: 1. to compare college education today and ten years ago to determine the specific innovations that were introduced during the ten-year period; 3. to identify the positive and negative effects of the changes and the innovations; 4. to know how the changes affected the college experience of students; and 5. to recognize the needs of the students and the technological framework that is working in the education industry. Hypothesis This research hypothesizes that technology is a powerful tool. By its power, a great deal of innovations has been contributed to many industries. Thus, it can also be said that it has impacted and affected the education industry especially in the college level positively. Statement of delimitations The research will focus on college students who are taking courses in the traditional classroom setting. However, no limitations will be set pertaining to any determinants such as age, gender, location, or religion. There will also be no limitations as to the courses that they are taking. Students who are attending online courses while attending traditional classroom setting will also be allowed to join. There will also be points when teachers will also be tapped to provide information on several research sub-topics. This will give the paper a diverse yet focused population for its research. Definition of terms In the course of the study, several terms and jargons will come up. Most of these words are referring to terms used in technology and education. The following words are most likely to appear throughout the study. They are defined here for reference and clarity.

Sociological View of Women and Body Image - 850 Words

The Sociological View of Women and Body Image You have just bought a new pair of jeans. You think that you look absolutely great in them until you turn on the television or compare yourself to the person on side of you. Today, women all over the world are focused on the way society views them, which has an influence on the way they view themselves. The field known as sociology of the body investigates the ways in which our bodies are affected by our social experiences, as well as by the norms and values of the groups to which we belong (Giddens, Duneier, et al, 2007). Body image is an ideal image of what one’s body looks like or what she wants it to look like. It can also be defined as the value one may put on physical appearance. This†¦show more content†¦However, white women are usually dissatisfied with their figure, and they focus on dieting and regular exercise (Baugh, 106). The way a woman perceives her body also has an effect on her sexual behavior. When thinking of the connection between body image and sexuality, it may seem rather simple. If you are positive about the way you look, you’re more likely to be more comfortable having sex and may enjoy it much better (Ackard). On the other hand, if you are not pleased with your body, you may abstain from sexual activity. This isn’t always the case; a person with a positive view may still abstain from sex because of religious beliefs or family values. Therefore, it depends on the individual and may have different effects on different people. However, sexual behavior also has an effect on body image. Over the years, feminists and sex educators have worked with women in order to help them obtain positive sexual experiences (Ackard). They teach women how to sexually satisfy themselves and their partners. The outcome of this was that sexual exploration and sexual behavior can have a positive imp act on body image (Ackard). Just as body image is seen as a personal trouble, it is very well a social problem. Body image is also graded by social factors such as gender, social class, and race (Giddens, Duneier, et al, 2007). Women are more likely to suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia than men because of the way society expects them toShow MoreRelatedThe Medias Impossible Value Of Body Image1332 Words   |  6 Pages As young women go through puberty, they begin to mature both physically and emotionally. Particularly, women begin to gain weight when they undergo puberty. Throughout their adolescence, women are exposed to harsh opinions others have on their bodies and how they should carry themselves. Most importantly, women are exposed to society’s values through the use of media. Women begin to value their body image and force themselves to conform to society’s idea of the â€Å"perfect body†. Personally, I thinkRead MoreFeminism1121 Words   |  5 PagesFeminist Theory is a n outgrowth of the general movement to empower women worldwide. Feminism can be defined as a recognition and critique of male supremacy combined with efforts to change it. Feminism The goals of feminism are: To demonstrate the importance of women To reveal that historically women have been subordinate to men To bring about gender equity. Feminism Simply put: Feminists fight for the equality of women and argue that women should share equally in society’s opportunities and scare resourcesRead MoreSocial Problems And The Social Problem1259 Words   |  6 Pagesthat we try to solve or reduce in many different ways. In order to solve them, we must first look for them. Tara Hardinge is my Sociology professor. During her lecture, she stated that â€Å"Social problem it is a social condition that a part of society view as dangerous or harmful to members of society and there is a need to cure or remedy it† (Hardinge 2015). Linda Mooney, David Knox, and Caroline Schacht are Sociology professors at East Carolina University and are authors of the textbook UnderstandingRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination, C. Wright Mills1268 Words   |  6 PagesIn the novel, The Sociological Imagination, C. Wright Mills is trying to present the concept of how an individual’s ability is able to develop reason by using the information surrounding him. Mills explains that the sociological imagination is an important concept because it is what dif ferentiate sociology from other social sciences such as political science or economic. It is the concept that will help people to have a better understanding of our world, to be clear of the connections within societyRead MoreAnalysis Of Disney s The Outer Shell Of Innocence 1427 Words   |  6 Pagesmirror the perfect body images surrounding us in today’s media. Body image dominates media everywhere you look, every time you turn your head we are pestered with beautiful women and perfect figures. The overwhelming urge for women to have a body just like the perfect models and idols we see plastered in media has spilled over into our children. Despite the outer shell of innocence, the psychological and sociological effects of Disney figures misrepresent the ideal body image as distorted to perfectionRead MoreInequality Young People with Disabilities Experience in Leisure Activities1724 Words   |  7 Pagesmeaning of the holiday and discover, the importance families place on holidays. When examining leisure, a range of disciplinary approaches can be applied, and in this case psychology and sociology will be explored. More specifically psychology and how body image and cyber bullying can impact leisure participation, along with sociology, which gives an insight into gendered leisure and social class. This essay will explore inequality and will be achieved by critically examining 5 young people with disabilitiesRead MoreStory of an Hour vs. Barbiedoll Essay919 Words   |  4 Pagesin describing a woman that feels socially oppressed in her marriage. Marge Piercys Barbie Doll explores gender roles by describing a woman as she goes through life and her infatuation with becoming the perfect image of society. Each of these authors uses women and how these women deal with their situation. Kate Chopin uses nature and Mrs. Mallard inner feelings, while Marge Piercy uses societies assumptions and their effect. Kate Chopins The Story Of an Hour is a perfect example of socialRead MoreSociological Imagination: Generalized Anxiety Disorder1536 Words   |  7 Pageswill be discussing the generalized anxiety disorder and how if effects society today. The sociological Imagination allows a person to look at a social problem past the particular circumstances of a certain person and look at how it affects people as a whole. Using this theory sociologist have been taught to ignore individuals and look at society as a whole. Social forces are a big part of the sociological imagination. Social forces are anything that affects society. So, a social forces could beRead MoreMedia s Influence On The Media1169 Words   |  5 Pagespeople try to photo chop girl’s bodies. For example, in a magazine you can see that a girl is photo chopped, but in reality the girl is just like us. They have birthmarks, scars, and a little more weight then what the picture is showing. This is where the trust is removed for some and how vulnerable girls believe that this is how a girl’s body should look like. Melissa A. Milkie (1999) also writes that, â€Å"most of the respondents were critical in that they said media images of girls were not real isticRead MoreThe Picture On The Right1457 Words   |  6 Pagesadvertise a beautiful women in their Calvin Klein clothing, but the ads say something completely different. If you look at the first picture on the left, and compare it to the second picture on the right you will see the difference immediately. The picture on the left is from 30 years ago and women were not viewed as strong of members of society that they are today, like the viewed star Kendall Jenner in the picture on the right. If you look at the coloring of the first image it is bland, just a simple

Hypothesis Testing With One-Sample t-Tests

Youve collected your data, youve got your model, youve run your regression and youve got your results. Now what do you do with your results? In this article we consider the Okuns Law model and results from the article How to Do a Painless Econometrics Project. One sample t-tests will be introduced and used in order to see if the theory matches the data. The theory behind Okuns Law was described in the article: Instant Econometrics Project 1 - Okuns Law: Okuns law is an empirical relationship between the change in the unemployment rate and the percentage growth in real output, as measured by GNP. Arthur Okun estimated the following relationship between the two: Yt - 0.4 (Xt - 2.5 ) This can also be expressed as a more traditional linear regression as: Yt 1 - 0.4 Xt Where:Yt is the change in the unemployment rate in percentage points.Xt is the percentage growth rate in real output, as measured by real GNP. So our theory is that the values of our parameters are B1 1 for the slope parameter and B2 -0.4 for the intercept parameter. We used American data to see how well the data matched the theory. From How to Do a Painless Econometrics Project we saw that we needed to estimate the model: Yt = b1 + b2 Xt Yt Xt b1 b2 B1 B2 Using Microsoft Excel, we calculated the parameters b1 and b2. Now we need to see if those parameters match our theory, which was that B1 1 and B2 -0.4. Before we can do that, we need to jot down some figures that Excel gave us. If you look at the results screenshot youll notice that the values are missing. That was intentional, as I want you to calculate the values on your own. For the purposes of this article, I will make up some values and show you in what cells you can find the real values. Before we begin our hypothesis testing, we need to jot down the following values: Observations Number of Observations (Cell B8) Obs 219 Intercept Coefficient (Cell B17) b1 0.47 (appears on chart as AAA)Standard Error (Cell C17) se1 0.23 (appears on chart as CCC)t Stat (Cell D17) t1 2.0435 (appears on chart as x)P-value (Cell E17) p1 0.0422 (appears on chart as x) X Variable Coefficient (Cell B18) b2 - 0.31 (appears on chart as BBB)Standard Error (Cell C18) se2 0.03 (appears on chart as DDD)t Stat (Cell D18) t2 10.333 (appears on chart as x)P-value (Cell E18) p2 0.0001 (appears on chart as x) In the next section well look at hypothesis testing and well see if our data matches our theory. Be Sure to Continue to Page 2 of Hypothesis Testing Using One-Sample t-Tests. First we’ll consider our hypothesis that the intercept variable equals one. The idea behind this is explained quite well in Gujarati’s Essentials of Econometrics. On page 105 Gujarati describes hypothesis testing: â€Å"[S]uppose we hypothesize that the true B1 takes a particular numerical value, e.g., B1 1. Our task now is to â€Å"test† this hypothesis.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"In the language of hypothesis testing a hypothesis such as B1 1 is called the null hypothesis and is generally denoted by the symbol H0. Thus H0: B1 1. The null hypothesis is usually tested against an alternative hypothesis, denoted by the symbol H1. The alternative hypothesis can take one of three forms:H1: B1 1, which is called a one-sided alternative hypothesis, orH1: B1 1, also a one-sided alternative hypothesis, orH1: B1 not equal 1, which is called a two-sided alternative hypothesis. That is the true value is either greater or less than 1.† In the above I’ve substituted in our hypothesis for Gujarati’s to make it easier to follow. In our case we want a two-sided alternative hypothesis, as we’re interested in knowing if B1 is equal to 1 or not equal to 1. The first thing we need to do to test our hypothesis is to calculate at t-Test statistic. The theory behind the statistic is beyond the scope of this article. Essentially what we are doing is calculating a statistic which can be tested against a t distribution to determine how probable it is that the true value of the coefficient is equal to some hypothesized value. When our hypothesis is B1 1 we denote our t-Statistic as t1(B11) and it can be calculated by the formula: t1(B11) (b1 - B1 / se1) Let’s try this for our intercept data. Recall we had the following data: Intercept b1 0.47se1 0.23 Our t-Statistic for the hypothesis that B1 1 is simply: t1(B11) (0.47 – 1) / 0.23 2.0435 So t1(B11) is 2.0435. We can also calculate our t-test for the hypothesis that the slope variable is equal to -0.4: X Variable b2 -0.31se2 0.03 Our t-Statistic for the hypothesis that B2 -0.4 is simply: t2(B2 -0.4) ((-0.31) – (-0.4)) / 0.23 3.0000 So t2(B2 -0.4) is 3.0000. Next we have to convert these into p-values. The p-value may be defined as the lowest significance level at which a null hypothesis can be rejected...As a rule, the smaller the p value, the stronger is the evidence against the null hypothesis. (Gujarati, 113) As a standard rule of thumb, if the p-value is lower than 0.05, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. This means that if the p-value associated with the test t1(B11) is less than 0.05 we reject the hypothesis that B11 and accept the hypothesis that B1 not equal to 1. If the associated p-value is equal to or greater than 0.05, we do just the opposite, that is we accept the null hypothesis that B11. Calculating the p-value Unfortunately, you cannot calculate the p-value. To obtain a p-value, you generally have to look it up in a chart. Most standard statistics and econometrics books contain a p-value chart in the back of the book. Fortunately with the advent of the internet, there’s a much simpler way of obtaining p-values. The site Graphpad Quickcalcs: One sample t test allows you to quickly and easily obtain p-values. Using this site, here’s how you obtain a p-value for each test. Steps Needed to Estimate a p-value for B11 Click on the radio box containing â€Å"Enter mean, SEM and N.† Mean is the parameter value we estimated, SEM is the standard error, and N is the number of observations.Enter 0.47 in the box labelled â€Å"Mean:†.Enter 0.23 in the box labelled â€Å"SEM:†Enter 219 in the box labelled â€Å"N:†, as this is the number of observations we had.Under 3. Specify the hypothetical mean value click on the radio button beside the blank box. In that box enter 1, as that is our hypothesis.Click â€Å"Calculate Now† You should get an output page. On the top of the output page you should see the following information: P value and statistical significance:The two-tailed P value equals 0.0221By conventional criteria, this difference is considered to be statistically significant. So our p-value is 0.0221 which is less than 0.05. In this case we reject our null hypothesis and accept our alternative hypothesis. In our words, for this parameter, our theory did not match the data. Be Sure to Continue to Page 3 of Hypothesis Testing Using One-Sample t-Tests. Again using site Graphpad Quickcalcs: One sample t test we can quickly obtain the p-value for our second hypothesis test: Steps Needed to Estimate a p-value for B2 -0.4 Click on the radio box containing “Enter mean, SEM and N.” Mean is the parameter value we estimated, SEM is the standard error, and N is the number of observations. Enter -0.31 in the box labelled “Mean:”. Enter 0.03 in the box labelled “SEM:” Enter 219 in the box labelled “N:”, as this is the number of observations we had. Under “3. Specify the hypothetical mean value” click on the radio button beside the blank box. In that box enter -0.4, as that is our hypothesis. Click “Calculate Now” P value and statistical significance: The two-tailed P value equals 0.0030By conventional criteria, this difference is considered to be statistically significant. We used U.S. data to estimate the Okuns Law model. Using that data we found that both the intercept and slope parameters are statistically significantly different than those in Okuns Law. Therefore we can conclude that in the United States Okuns Law does not hold. Now youve seen how to calculate and use one-sample t-tests, you will be able to interpret the numbers youve calculated in your regression. If youd like to ask a question about econometrics, hypothesis testing, or any other topic or comment on this story, please use the feedback form. If youre interested in winning cash for your economics term paper or article, be sure to check out The 2004 Moffatt Prize in Economic Writing