Robin Wright

Arab Spring, The & The World Social, Political, and Communication Change in the Middle East MEDIA MAPPING RESEARCH TERMS & RESOURCES

• Important Abbreviations/Terms: • ICT = Information and Communication Technologies • STI = Science Technology & Innovation • Important Resources: 1. Reporters w/o Borders 2. UNESCO Reports and Research Data 3. Global Road Warrior

American Global Ignorance?! What can/should be done? • Facts:  ~25-30% of Americans have a college degree  Less than 20% of Americans have a passport.  Less than 10% have used it for places other than , Canada, and the Caribbean.  Top 3 Travel Destinations for Americans – Disneyland/World – Las Vegas – NYC (Times Square) • News Readership?

The Middle East Middle East and North (MENA) World Distribution of Muslim Population *Only countries with more than 1 million Muslims are shown

Oil Reserves by Country/Region Oil Producing Countries Largest Oil Consuming Countries in the World Oil, Pipelines, and US Military Middle East & US Military U.S. Military Aid Map

Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon Denominations and Schools within Islam (Global Distribution) Sunni ~75% | ~Shia 20% | ~Suffi 5% Robin Wright Background

• B.A. from • American foreign affairs analyst, journalist and author. • Big Picture Perspective: Worked in The Middle East, Europe, Africa, and as a roving foreign correspondent in and . Reported from 140 Countries U.S. for Written for The , The Sunday Times of London, CBS News and The Christian Science Monitor. Currently works for and serves as a Middle East “Expert” for Global TV • Blog Spot: http://robinwrightblog.blogspot.com/

• 7 Books: – Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World (July 19, 2011) – The Primer: Power, Politics, and U.S. Policy Institute of Peace Press (December 1, 2010) Link – Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East (2008) a New York Times Notable Book in 2008 and one of The Washington Post’s “Best Books of 2008” – The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran (2000) – Flashpoints: Promise and Peril in a New World, (December 22, 1992), with Doyle McManus. – In the Name of God: The Khomeini Decade (October 1989) – Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam (October 1985).

• Awards: Fellow at Yale, Duke, Stanford, Brookings, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Among many awards, she won the U.N. Correspondents Gold Medal, the National Magazine Award, and the Overseas Press Club Award for "best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initiative." The American Academy of Diplomacy selected her as the journalist of the year in 2004

Wright’s Bigger Picture Arguments

 The Middle East is at the CENTER of GLOBAL Geo-Political COMMUNICATION  The U.S. leadership (Pentagon, Congress, Presidential Admin from both parties) does not have a clue about what is really going on in middle eastern and largely Muslim societies. They are operating on the advice of middle eastern exiles/expats who haven’t been in their home countries for years.

The majority of Muslims (young and old) are shying Iran's Supreme leader since 1989, Ali Khameni has away from extremism and extremist/violent groups (i.e. Hamas, charted a hard-line course. Chosen by the Assembly Al Quaeda). of Clerics/Experts

Authoritarian and Extremist groups STILL HOLD major power positions and won’t go down easily.

Youth populations are rapidly embracing technology and global information networks over violence as tools for social change.  Muslims are finding that terrorism doesn’t win wars, but intimidates peoples into extreme acts.  The jihadis have failed to provide anything constructive for positive social change. Hosni Mubarak is a former Egyptian military and political leader who  Many Muslims have integrated seamlessly into American society, served as the fourth President of taking positions in Congress, women’s professional basketball, Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he and surgical teams. entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force Wright’s Arguments about new media technologies in the Middle East (Scent of Jasmine) 1. Optimism of positive real political, economic, and cultural change vs. Pessimism, cynicism/nihilism, violence. 2. Global News focus: War, Conflict, ViolenceStandard news stereotypes 3. Pop culturePoliticsDissent (MUSIC, fashion, entertainment are important vehicles of dissent.)

4. POWER of Social and MOBILE Media Networks for POLITICAL PURPOSE (2008-2014) —Speed of organization via mobile/social media

• YouTube, Facebook, Texting, Twitter—tools for gathering, communication, dissent.

• Hard to censor (at least initially)

• Gender! The rights and views of women

• Dissent/Violence/Backlash can become communicated GLOBALLY as it is happening! • LINK PBS Video

Tunisian rap musician El Général is best known for his song“Rais Lebled,” released in 2010, has been described as the anthem of the Jasmine Revolution

Syria

• The Assad Family rule. • President Hafez al-Assad ruled from 1970 to 2000. • Authoritarian Rule • Strong Connections to: – Russia – Lebanon – Iraq – Iran • “Emergency Law” in place since 1963 • Opposition Link

Who are the Syrian opposition? World Map Exam 2 Parts 1. World Map ~196 countries 2. 2-3 Short Answer Questions a. Comparative World News Approaches & Problems b. Global Ignorance-Education- Enculturation c. GloCal= Global + Local d. Modern Media and Ethno- symbolism Top Oil Consumption/Gas Price World Distribution of Muslim Population