Multipolarity and Instability in the Middle East

 

Mehran Kamrava’s “Multipolarity and Instability in the Middle East” is an article that seeks to address the events taking place in the Middle East. Published for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, this article is relevant because of the way that it provides an interesting perspective concerning the Middle East. It considers the manner through which the Arab uprisings brought about an environment of instability because of the considerable involvement of both outside and regional powers in countries such as Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and the way that these powers have essentially changed the balance of power from one of stability to one of uncertainty.

One of the most important observations that are made within the article is that there has been a rapid shift in the way that the Middle East politics are conducted since the involvement of outside powers. This is because while previously, the United States was the leading power in the region, having considerable influence over most of its governments, the same cannot be said of the post-Arab uprising period. The role of arbitrator has essentially been flipped due to the “declining role of the United States as an off- or onshore balancer”[1] and the increasing involvement of powers such as Russia and Turkey in regional affairs. Despite the continued military presence of the United States and the UK in the region, it is important to note that there have been significant changes in the Middle East as seen through the way that powers such as Russia and China have also become involved. Russia, for example, has become more involved in the region, essentially becoming one of its most prominent power brokers, as seen in the case of Syria, where, alongside Iran and Hezbollah, it has been able to ensure that the government of President Bashar Assad remains in power. Moreover, China has taken on a more prominent role in the region economically; upstaging the role that has been played by the United States for decades. It is also noteworthy that the article looks into the way that the United States has moved away from its traditional role in the region, based on a “pragmatic realism by American policymakers in dealing with the Middle East”[2] since the disastrous invasion of Iraq during the Bush administration that brought about a decline in trust in the United States as a regional arbiter. This article therefore presents an interpretation of events that have led to multipolarity has become more prominent in the region and the way that it has affected the events currently taking place within it.

The way that Kamrava handles the issues addressed in the article is highly competent because it is an accurate description of the events that are currently taking place in the Middle East. The multipolarity in the region is one of the biggest developments of the 21^st century because it shows the manner through which the decline of the United States as a global power has taken place since the disastrous Iraq invasion. It is also important to consider that Kamrava considers the way that other nations such as Russia and China are increasingly challenging American dominance. American involvement in Syria would previously have gone unchallenged but because of the way that it handled the Iraq affair, other powers came to recognize its vulnerability. Thus, because of Russian efforts, the Syrian government has not only survived, but also managed to recapture large swathes of territory that were previously held by Western-backed rebels. The author also considers the way that the war in Syria has also led to unforeseen circumstances, such as the rise in incidents of terrorism across the region and its export to other parts of the world. One would agree with the latter stance because it shows the way that the author seeks to emphasize the new multipolar outlook of the Middle East as it unfolds. The importance of these circumstances cannot be underestimated because it provides for a bigger picture of the way that events are taking place in the region. There is also a consideration of the way that the handling of the Arab uprisings by Western powers such as the United States, France, and the UK in such countries as Libya, resulted in the disastrous events that continue to take place in the country. However, despite this being the case, it is pertinent to note that Kamrava does not address the refugee crisis that emerged in the region following the attempts to overthrow the Syrian government.

This article is very satisfactory when it comes to the way that it has addressed its thesis. Its consideration of the changes that have taken place in the Middle East and their impact is important because it shows the way that new players such as Turkey and Iran, as well as Russia and China have come to take on a more prominent role in the region from political, military, and economic perspectives. Finally, it allows for a contemplation of the reasons behind the decline of the United States’ role in the Middle East.

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[1] Mehran Kamrava, "Multipolarity and Instability in the Middle East," Orbis 62, no. 4 (2018): 598.

[2] Ibid., 600.

How does the individual relate or interact with an educational organizational culture?

 

Organizational culture can have an extremely important influence over an organization, especially when it comes to the way that the employees of the said organization conduct their duties (Tierney & Lanford, 2015). It has the ability to ensure that individuals are made to focus on the specific objectives of the organization in such a way that they are able to undertake them without feeling any pressure to do so. The importance of organizational culture can also be seen through the way that it develops with the aim of fulfilling the goals of the organization, in this case the vision and the mission (Zafar et al., 2016). Within an educational setting, it plays a pertinent role in securing the academic objectives of the institution in such a way that the management, tutors, and students end up pursuing the same culture that defines the institution. This paper considers the way that the individual interacts with the educational organizational culture using the organizational learning paradigm, with specific reference to management training, management development, and organizational development.

Organizational culture is often developed through management training. This is a process that involves a scenario where the managers of the educational institution involved are provided with training that is in line with its objectives (Cookson, 2017). Organizational cultures as a whole will often have considerable influence on individuals, in this case managers, to such an extent that they end up in a situation where they become more similar than different. A consequence is that it leads to the development of a unified perspective concerning how the institution is to be run to such an extent that the culture that is developed not only remains prevalent, but it is adopted by future generations of managers. Thus, through management training, the institution will often seek to maintain its culture by instilling its philosophy as well as values in such a way that inculcates its norms as examples that should be adhered to by managers. In this way, it becomes possible for the institution involved to maintain its culture over long periods without any notable change unless the change is necessary.

Another important aspect of individual interaction with organizational culture that can be considered through the organizational learning paradigm is management development. Within an educational institution, it is often necessary for there to be the promotion of the unique capabilities of the managers in a bid to utilize them to further the interests of the institution (Megheirkouni, 2017). Institutions will often seek to ensure that they provide their employees with management development through considerable investment. This is seen through the presence of counseling programs, and career testing, which ensures that the individual involved is able to receive feedback on the test results concerning their abilities, personalities, and interests. Individuals are also encouraged to undergo personal growth experiences as a means of making sure that there is the advancement of means through which they can gain new ideas concerning technological advancements and management that could be useful for the educational institution. However, while self-development is the major focus of their process, it is important to note that it is often conducted based on the culture of the institution involved.

Individuals also interact with educational culture through the process of organizational development. From an organizational learning perspective, this is a process that involves planned efforts that are made to ensure that there is the changing of the culture of the institution (Hayat et al., 2019). Organizational culture in this case is used through the use of knowledge from behavioral science. In this way, it becomes possible to ensure that there is the advancement of initiatives aimed at influencing employees to cater to the health and effectiveness of the institution involved through actively participating in cultural change. As such, the major focus of this process is not merely aimed at ensuring the personal growth of the individuals within an institution, but is instead aimed at making sure that there is the establishment of guidelines concerning how the individual is related to his or her work group. The major reason for the use of organizational development is to ensure that there is the improvement of a part or the entire system that makes up the institution as a whole. It allows for the advancement of means through which the individual participates in the promotion of culture change within the institution in order to adapt it to a new environment.

In conclusion, the above discussion considers the way that the individual interacts with the educational organizational culture using the organizational learning paradigm, with specific reference to management training, management development, and organizational development. This is because the educational organizational culture interacts with individuals within the institution in a diversity of ways, including through training, personal development, and through the process of cultural change. In this way, the way that individuals interact with educational organizational culture is significant because it allows for cultural stability within the institutional setting.

The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines

 

The book The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines by Mike Madrid is one that addresses the representation of women in comic books. This representation is one that involves a scenario where the women are shown from different perspectives. However, it recognizes that being women in society is not an easy matter, even in the 21^st century and because of this, there should be the advancement of a situation where women are given more prominent roles in comics. In addition, Madrid considers the way that the representation of women in comics, especially in the beginning, came about during a period when men still made more money than women, and were therefore considered to be providers and protectors. He also considers the way that women continually face an assault when it comes to having control over their bodies, as seen through the presentation of women in scanty attire and large breasts by media. The presentation of women is shown to be a challenge for the image of women in comics, especially when one considers that comics were originally only intended for a male audience. Therefore, this book seeks to explore the way that super heroines have evolved over time from some of the weakest characters in the world of comics to among the strongest as presented in the modern world.

The exploration of the evolution of the super heroine is a significant aspect of this book. This is because Madrid seeks to explore such women as the Blonde Phantom, Black Canary, Manhunter, and Wonder Woman, among others, in a bid to gain a better understanding of the manner through which these individuals have evolved through the decades.[1] He considers the stereotypes that have plagued female superheroes, including their being considerably over-sexualized to such an extent that their relevance is based more on their image than on their actions.[2] The over-sexualization is shown to have reached its peak in the 1990s, when there was the promotion of a bad girl trend that had serious negative ramifications for the image of the women superhero. Another significant aspect of women in comics that is explored by Madrid is the way that they are portrayed as being inferior to men in addition to their being portrayed as pining for the love of a man to the highly ineffectual reasons behind their decisions to fight crime. Therefore, Madrid ensures that he considers the evolution of the manner that women superheroes changed over the decades to such an extent that there was a significant improvement of their image in comics. Thus, he considers their evolution from weaklings to individuals of great strength who are not only selfless, but also brave, like their male counterparts.

Madrid begins his assessment from the 1940s and moves it over the decades to the present. He considers the manner through which women superheroes were forced to endure the same problems are their counterparts in real life.[3] Among the most significant of these aspects is based on the way that they were perceived. Thus, if women fought as hard as men, they were looked upon as being too masculine and when they expressed their feelings, they ended up being referred to as either spoiled or as bitches. Moreover, in circumstances where they either submitted to or were rescued by men, they ended up being viewed as weak. Therefore, Madrid essentially promotes an image of women superheroes as undergoing the same issues as women in real life in such a way that he provides a perspective concerning the way that society viewed them. He shows that society was essentially not satisfied with women, and would always find something to fault them. However, while this may have been the case, it is pertinent to note Madrid makes sure to show the way that these superheroes evolved, as seen through the way that comic book creators who grew up in the women’s liberation movement were able to change the perspective of female superheroes to a more positive and equal one.

Therefore, Madrid considers the way that despite women in the real world being a way from attaining equality, the same cannot be said of superheroes, which are closer to such a goal. This is especially the case when one considers that Wonder Woman, for example, is featured in different comic titles on a consistent basis[4]; a sign of the rising equality in the world of comics. Furthermore, an all-female cast is often published in the X-Men series by Marvel Comics; the latter being a cast that has proven to be quite significant because of their considerable capabilities and strength as portrayed in the Marvel universe. Additionally, the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four is a woman, the Invisible Woman, and this is in combination with her also balancing her role as a mother and a wife. The most dominant comics, Marvel and DC, have undertaken to make sure that they display a diverse array of female superheroes in such a way that has proven significant since these individuals are pushed towards headlining comics, such as She-Hulk, and Bat-Woman. These women have been developed in such a way that they inspire the current generation to overcome gender bias and instead have the women within it fight for their dreams.

Madrid is also concerned about the failures that comic book companies have made over the years. This is especially the case when it comes to the way that they have failed to develop decent films which female heroes headline. The film studios that are associated with these comics have failed to ensure that such strong characters as Catwoman and Elektra as well as Supergirl are provided with an opportunity to truly portray the image of the modern woman.[5] A consequence is that when the films portraying these women have been complete failures due to the lack of significant effort being place in their development. Moreover, Madrid notes that women continue to be portrayed in comics as targets of serious violence; a sign of the manner through which female heroines continue to show the experiences of real life women. It is noteworthy that such individuals, despite coming out of such experiences stronger than ever, are a sign of the way that they are portrayed as inferior. While this may be the case, it is essential to consider that there are increasingly vocal voices calling for the better treatment of female characters in comics. The latter action is significant because it has come to influence the way that female characters in comics are treated, including a process within which women stop being portrayed as victims, and are instead placed in the lead as strong characters.

One of the biggest flaws of the book is that it does not dig deeper into the violence against women that is touched on. It would have been extremely interesting to consider the substantial number of women superheroes that have been tortured, raped, maimed, and killed since they began being portrayed in comic books in comparison to their male counterparts. A consideration of such circumstances would have made for an interesting analysis of the treatment of heroines in comic books over the decades and the manner through which, despite their being portrayed as strong characters, their treatment was still inferior to that of male superheroes. One of the reasons that make this book highly significant is that it gives hope that the super heroine will eventually gain equality in such a way that inspires their real life counterparts to attain the same.

In conclusion, Madrid makes an examination of the way that super heroines have evolved over time from some of the weakest characters in the world of comics to among the strongest as presented in the modern world. The exploration of the evolution of the super heroine is a significant aspect of this book. Madrid begins his assessment from the 1940s and moves it over the decades to the present. Moreover, Madrid considers the way that despite women in the real world being a way from attaining equality, the same cannot be said of superheroes, which are closer to such a goal. Finally, Madrid is concerned about the failures that comic book companies have made over the years, including not putting much effort in the development of viable films headlined by female heroes.

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[1] Mike Madrid, The Supergirls: Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines (Revised and Updated) (Exterminating Angel Press, 2016), 28.

[2] Matthew Facciani, Peter Warren, and Jennifer Vendemia, "A Content-Analysis of Race, Gender, and Class in American Comic Books," Race, Gender & Class 22, no. 3-4 (2015): 218.

[3] Madrid, 1.

[4] Ibid., 110.

[5] Kaitlyn A Cummings, "Same Image, Different Lens: Revisiting the Critical Reception of Two Different Generations of Cinematic Superheroism," Panic at the Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal 1, no. 1: 28.

A Counterargument to David Brook's The Prison Problem

 

David Brooks, in his The Prison Problem considers the way that the criminal justice reform is discussed. He essentially criticizes the way that this issue is addressed and he does so in a manner that while well intentioned, is not based on a realistic perspective of the problem. He makes the argument that individuals in society will often be too quick to blame the war on drugs as well as mandatory minimum sentences are the main reason behind mass incarceration. He notes that social problems are more complex than they might seem and that the obvious explanation for these problems tend to be wrong (Brooks). The latter stance is one that can be agreed upon, but despite the pertinence of his point, Brooks is an individual that does not follow his own advice. The arguments made by Brooks are not well considered because he misunderstands the diverse relationships between policy and practice.

One of the arguments that can be made against Brooks’ stance is that harsh laws are what give prosecutors the power to bring about the imprisonment of individuals in society. Brooks makes the conclusion that mass incarceration is not driven by the harsh laws in place. He bases his argument on the work of the Fordham scholar John Pfaff, who has written considerably about the way that prosecutors are the main drivers of mass incarcerations. Pfaff makes the argument that the increase in the filings of felonies per arrest, which is left to the discretion of the prosecutor involved, has been the major driver of the overall population in prison as well as new admissions to these institutions for over two decades. This is the study that Brooks bases his arguments on an suggests that rather than harsh laws being the cause of mass incarceration, it is the fault of prosecutors, who make the decision of whether or not to file any cases.

The arguments made by Pfaff in his research are importance and it is one that can be agreed upon. However, the point of disagreement is with Brooks, who draws conclusions from Pfaff’s findings that are completely wrong. This is because despite the assumption that Brooks makes, prosecutors do not exist or conduct their work in a vacuum, but are rather a part of the wider justice system. Their role in driving mass incarceration can therefore be considered to be based on the manner through which they implement the harsh laws that have been passed by state legislatures. These harsh laws tend to be aimed at not only sending individuals to prison, but also making sure that they remain there for longer periods. The mandatory minimums that are contained within these laws are the driving force behind mass incarceration because they provide prosecutors with the ability to ensure that they secure long sentences. Therefore, the removal of these tough laws and it is most likely that the charging practices of prosecutors will also be changed.

Another argument that Brooks makes is that the reduction in the number of individuals in prison for drugs crimes shows that the war on drugs did not make a contribution to the incarceration rates (Brooks). This is an argument that is quite wrong because when it comes to the problem of mass incarceration, there is the need to ensure that drug reforms are implemented. Brooks argues that drug reforms alone will not lead to a solution to the mass incarceration problem and that this problem can only be undertaken through a process involving a more diversified reform of the justice system. The stance taken by Brooks is one that fails to consider the way that the war on drugs has for the most part brought about a scenario where mass incarceration has become the norm, and that the reality of the situation is that it is far more complex. Therefore the reform of this area has the potential of bringing about real change to the mass incarceration issue.

The reality of the mass incarceration through rolling back the war on drugs would be an extremely difficult task. This is especially the case when one considers the more than four decades of practices and policies that have resulted in the mass incarceration of individuals. Rolling back these policies requires that there is a diverse range of reforms that target all types of offenses. Moreover, the impact of any reforms to drug policies will depend on the state where a prosecution is conducted. The case of the manner through which states have essentially undertaken to pass laws that are tough on sentencing has created an environment within which prosecutors leverage them in making charging decisions. Some of the states that have been rolling back the harsh laws have seen a decline in the number of new admissions in drug offenses; showing the Brooks is wrong concerning the lack of importance of the war on drugs on the problem of mass incarceration.

The impact of reforms on the war on drugs would be positive in relation to ending the problem of mass incarceration. This is especially the case when it comes to the manner through which some states, which have a prevalence of mass incarceration, could end up halving their prison populations. However, while this case is still being debated, it is important to note that a significant number of individuals would still remain in prison. In states such as New York, drug reforms would lead to only about one percent of the prison population being reduced. It is therefore important to make sure that there is the promotion of an environment within which reforms to the justice system, especially in those areas related to the war on drugs, are undertaken in order to ensure that there is the advancement of their interests of all the communities in the United States. Brooks is therefore wrong in his stance that the war on drugs has had little impact on mass incarceration. He fails to consider the way that the drug war has exacerbated the problem and led to the incarceration of individuals for felonies that would otherwise not have happened.

It is therefore critical to ensure that there is an understanding of the issue of mass incarceration from a local and state level rather than the federal one. This is because the national data that Brooks uses to make his argument are obscure at best and should be discarded. A state by state issue would greatly enhance the understanding of mass incarceration and the manner through which it has taken a toll in some communities.