DOCSLIB.ORG

Water and Insecurity in the Levant by Ido Bar and Gerald Stang

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Water and Insecurity in the Levant by Ido Bar and Gerald Stang 15 2016 Rafael Ben-Ari/Cham/NEWSCOM/SIPA Ben-Ari/Cham/NEWSCOM/SIPA Rafael Water and insecurity in the Levant by Ido Bar and Gerald Stang The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a series of multi-year droughts, leading to increased the most water-stressed area in the world. In the stress on groundwater reserves. A 2016 NASA study Levant sub-region, Jordan, Syria, West Bank/Gaza, calculated that 1998-2012 was the driest period to and Israel are already water scarce while two other strike the region in 900 years. countries – Iraq and Lebanon – are ‘water stressed’. This water challenge is a major problem for more This drought has had a serious impact on regional than simple development reasons – the domestic economies, particularly in the agricultural sector: instability that led into the Syria conflict was par- the number of people employed in agriculture has tially driven by drought effects, and now the over- plummeted, as has the portion of population living flow of refugees is placing greater stress on dry in rural areas and the contribution of agriculture neighbours. to the economy. These trends are global, but have been accelerated in the Levant, most notably in For a region that is expected to become drier yet Syria, where an estimated 1.3 million people were due to a changing climate, the potential for further pushed from rural to urban areas during 2006- water-driven instability is significant. Responding 2010 as their crops and livelihoods dried up. These to this will require more than improved water sup- shifts contributed to social and economic disrup- plies. It will require integrated responses that ad- tion, as large parts of the population were forced dress technical, political and security challenges at into poverty. The government’s failure to address local and regional levels. the problems caused by the drought, among many other failings, strengthened domestic opposition The Crescent – fertile no more? and fed into the increasing domestic instability. The Levant has always been arid. But the challenge Rapid migrations such as in the Syrian case can of this natural aridity has been exacerbated by a overload urban capacities to manage, in terms of dramatic increase in population and the growing both infrastructure (sanitation, water and hous- impacts of climate change. In the last 30 years, the ing) and employment opportunities. Because both populations of Syria, Iraq and Israel have more Syria and Iraq are more reliant on agriculture to than doubled and that of Jordan has almost tripled. supply jobs and contribute to GDP than their drier Since the late 1980s, the region has been struck by neighbours Jordan and Israel, the resultant social European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) April 2016 1 realm, this involved investment in infrastructure and dams which could provide power, irrigation, and flood control. In the last 30 years, more aid has been focused on water sanitation and hygiene (WASH). From 2007 to 2013, the EU committed more than €2.4 billion to the water sector, mainly for WASH, with water a focal sector for EU sup- port in 28 countries. In the MENA region, 15% of the population still lacks improved drinking water sources and 18% lack improved sanitation, but with much of this remainder concentrated in the poorest countries, much aid for the region has shifted to other focal sectors. The money that is still spent on water issues is in- creasingly focused on water governance – to limit disruptions have been more pronounced. But the demand and pursue integrated management of overspill of refugees from Syria and Iraq into Jordan water systems. Jordan, for example, has benefited and Lebanon means that these states are also be- from support to update its water policies and work coming severely affected. on integrated water management. It is still an ineffi- cient water user – the rate of groundwater pumping Another consequence of rising water scarcity will is still far above the replacement rate – but Jordan’s be the reduced capacity of these countries to ensure agricultural sector has reduced the farming of wa- food security. Local food shortages and rapid spikes ter-intensive grains. Now, barely 2% of the grains in food prices led to food riots and clashes with consumed in Jordan are grown in the country. government forces in several countries in the late 1990s, and again in 2008 and 2011. Dependence But water is so integral to lives and economies that on food imports is already above 50% in the Levant technical support to water projects can only par- and will continue to rise. tially address the wider challenges caused by in- creasing water scarcity. Water has also been the source of distrust across borders, and has even contributed to violent con- Aid, politics and crisis flict. The erection of the Israeli National Water Carrier pipeline in the 1950s was perceived by Since the end of the Cold War, there have been two Syria and Jordan (both Jordan River riparian states) major evolutions in aid work. The first is a greater as an act of aggression; construction sites were at- focus on poverty reduction, seeking to make the tacked and several attempts to destroy the pipeline greatest impact on the poorest sectors. The second were made. In the early 1960s, the Arab League-led evolution has been an attempt to better understand plan to divert the origins of the Jordan River into and work with the political realm. Rather than at- Syria – limiting the amounts of water crossing over tempting to stay apolitical and technocratic, politi- to Israel – was considered to be a contributing fac- cally smart development takes into account politi- tor to the 1967 war. Further north, Turkey’s unilat- cal and security realities. An important example of eral dam building changed flows in the Tigris and this is the new World Bank strategy for the MENA Euphrates rivers, straining relations with down- region, which explicitly recognises peace and sta- stream Iraq and Syria. This led to the deployment bility challenges, attempting to identify how devel- of the Iraqi and Syrian armies to the Turkish border opment work can address them, rather than work- in the 1970s. While that crisis de-escalated, water ing around them. relations remain tense among the three states. For the EU, both these evolutions are captured in Evolving water priorities the 2011 Agenda for Change, which has strongly informed programming for the 2014-2020 period. An understanding of these security challenges has For middle-income countries (which include all not always been integrated into the policies of in- the countries of the Levant except Israel), EU aid ternational actors working on water issues. has thus shifted to different focal areas. In Jordan, EU aid targets the rule of law, energy, employment In the 1950s and 1960s, development aid was fo- and the private sector, while in Lebanon, security cused on meeting the demand for technical knowl- sector reform, social cohesion, and natural resourc- edge and capital for economic growth. In the water es management are focal sectors. In Iraq, the EU European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) April 2016 2 Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 Data source: The World Bank had water and agriculture as a focal sector for the security, and transboundary challenges with- 2011-13 period, funding major projects on water, in river basins. The EU also uses its Instrument sanitation and comprehensive water management. Contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP), which However, oil-rich Iraq now has close to 90% ac- is based on the principle that ‘future work on se- cess to improved WASH facilities, so support has curity and development should include the se- shifted towards governance and rule of law is- curity and development implications of climate sues. change, environmental and natural resource man- agement issues, and migration’. Another valuable This makes sense since in richer countries, re- diplomatic tool is the Global Conflict Risk Index, source challenges are less about availability than produced by the Joint Research Council of the about prioritisation, management and governance. European Union, which includes water stress as a Water is both a technical and a political issue. This potential factor in determining conflict risk. is why there is great value in effective application of a comprehensive approach that integrates un- The EU has also increased support for long-term derstanding of political and security issues into resilience-building among vulnerable populations. development planning, and that raises the profile The EU has produced a smart Action Plan for of water, natural resource management and devel- Resilience in Conflict-Prone Countries, supports opment policy for diplomatic and security actors. the Global Climate Change Alliance plus (GCCA+) for the most climate vulnerable countries, and The impacts of water scarcity on security, and the runs the SHARE (Horn of Africa) and AGIR (Sahel impacts of security problems on water manage- and West Africa) initiatives to improve food secu- ment, require joined-up analysis and cooperation rity, nutrition, and livelihoods in a climate-proof across disciplines. This includes integrating water way. However, most countries in the Middle East and natural resource issues into the policies, tools are not eligible for these projects for geographic or and activities that diplomats can use to avert or wealth reasons, yet are among the countries most address crises. affected by water stress, climate change, and the resulting security consequences. The European Union has already made some progress on this integration. At the transbound- Supporting water management ary level, the European Council passed new con- clusions on water diplomacy in 2013, prioritising Building on existing efforts, there are thus sev- integrated and cooperative responses to political, eral areas in which additional resources can be European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) April 2016 3 dedicated to addressing the impacts of water scar- regions, and transmitted via markets across the city in the Levant.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nile Valley-Levant Interactions: an Eclectic Review
    Nile Valley-Levant interactions: an eclectic review The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Bar-Yosef, Ofer. 2013. Nile Valley-Levant interactions: an eclectic review. In Neolithisation of Northeastern Africa, ed. Noriyuki Shirai. Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence, and Environment 16: 237-247. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:31887680 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#OAP In: N. Shirai (ed.) Neolithization of Northeastern Africa. Studies in Early Near Eastern: Production, Subsistence, & Environment 16, ex oriente: Berlin. pp. 237-247. Nile Valley-Levant interactions: an eclectic review Ofer Bar-Yosef Department of Anthropology, Harvard University Opening remarks Writing a review of a prehistoric province as an outsider is not a simple task. The archaeological process, as we know today, is an integration of data sets – the information from the field and the laboratory analyses, and the interpretation that depends on the paradigm held by the writer affected by his or her personal experience. Even monitoring the contents of most of the published and online literature is a daunting task. It is particularly true for looking at the Egyptian Neolithic during the transition from foraging to farming and herding, when most of the difficulties originate from the poorly known bridging regions. A special hurdle is the terminological conundrum of the Neolithic, as Andrew Smith and Alison Smith discusses in this volume, and in particular the term “Neolithisation” that finally made its way to the Levantine literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Vegetation and Climate History of the Southern Levant During the Last 30,000 Years Based on Palynological Investigation
    Vegetation and climate history of the southern Levant during the last 30,000 years based on palynological investigation Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades (Dr. rer. nat.) der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn vorgelegt von Vera Schiebel aus Troisdorf Bonn, März 2013 Angefertigt mit Genehmigung der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn 1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Thomas Litt 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Dietmar Quandt Tag des Promotionskolloquium: 06. Juni 2013 Erscheinungsjahr: 2013 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Current state of research 6 2.1 Paleoclimate since the Last Glacial Maximum 6 2.2 Paleo-vegetation in the Levant 7 2.3 Settlement history in the Levant 8 3 Area of work 11 3.1 Topography 12 3.2 Geology 14 3.3 Modern climate conditions 15 3.4 Vegetation 18 3.5 Coring Sites 22 4 Material and methods 24 4.1 Coring campaign 24 4.2 Lake Kinneret 24 4.3 Birkat Ram 31 4.4 Reconstruction of vegetation based on pollen data 37 4.5 Dating of Late Pleistocene/Holocene lake sediments 38 5 Results 41 5.1 Lake Kinneret 41 5.2 Birkat Ram 47 6 Discussion 56 6.1 The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 56 6.2 The Late Glacial 58 6.3 The Younger Dryas (YD) 60 6.4 The Holocene 61 7 Summary 72 8 Zusammenfassung 74 9 Résumé 76 10 Appendix 78 11 Table of figures and charts 89 12 References 90 1 Introduction Understanding the relations between variations of paleo-climate and its effects on the paleo-vegetation is of particular interest to a broad range of scientific disciplines.
    [Show full text]
  • The Levant and Europe: Shipping and Trade -- Networks of People and Knowledge
    H-SAE CfP: The Levant and Europe: Shipping and Trade -- Networks of People and Knowledge. 2nd International Conference of The Levantine Heritage Foundation Discussion published by Axel Corlu on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Type: Call for Papers Date: November 2, 2016 to November 4, 2016 Location: United Kingdom Subject Fields: Architecture and Architectural History, Economic History / Studies, Immigration & Migration History / Studies, Maritime History / Studies, Middle East History / Studies Call for Papers The Levant and Europe: Shipping and Trade -- Networks of People and Knowledge The Levantine Heritage Foundation 2 – 4 November, 2016 Europe House and the Hellenic Centre, London In November 2016, the Levantine Heritage Foundation is organizing its second interdisciplinary conference, entitled “The Levant and Europe: Shipping and Trade – Networks of People and Knowledge,” in London, at Europe House and the Hellenic Centre. Building on the success of the groundbreaking first international conference on Levantines in Istanbul, 2014, this conference will emphasize the theme of trade as the central dynamic in the creation of a Levantine world, with complex economic networks giving rise to equally complex social, cultural, political, and material interactions and syntheses. Although the Levant has been part of Eurasian trade networks for millennia, it played an increasingly central role, and provided a formative geocultural space for exchanges, during the creation of the modern world: the economic expansion of capitalism, accompanied by imperialism, nationalism, and the movement of people through the Levant shaped the Middle East as we know it. The essential “engine of history” in most of these historical dynamics was trade, providing the material exchanges and networks, which in turn generated an array of social and cultural interactions.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Effects of Potential Deep Trade Integration in the Levant
    Missed Opportunities: Economic Effects of Potential Deep Trade Integration in the Levant Elena Ianchovichina and Maros Ivanic. Abstract On the eve of the Arab Spring, economies in the Levant region were considering options for deep regional trade integration, but the spread of unrest that culminated into the Syrian civil war interrupted this process. Using new data for six Levant economies, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey, set within a database suitable for global general equilibrium analysis, the paper assesses the medium-term economic effects of potential deep trade reforms in the Levant. The results suggest that all Levant economies could have gained considerably had they continued strengthening their trade ties. In per capita terms, Iraq could have gained the most, followed by Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Services liberalization would have led to greatest benefits, estimated to contribute between 70% and 95% of the overall estimated welfare gains from deeper trade integration. Other measures, including further liberalization of agricultural trade with Turkey, reduction in non-tariff barriers, and improved transport logistics, would have led to modest welfare gains. However, the effects on exports vary by country, sector, and reform instrument, and are estimated to be sizable for some sectors. These results are indicative of some of the opportunity costs of the political conflict in the Levant and should be factored into assessments of its long-term costs on the Levant economies. JEL classification: F13, F15 Keywords: Trade integration, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Levant, Mashreq, Middle East, Syrian civil war, long-term costs We would like to thanks Sibel Kulaksiz and Jorge Araujo for comments on earlier versions of this paper.
    [Show full text]
  • The Caucasian Toad, Bufo Verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814) in the Levant: Evidence from Mitochondrial DNA
    Herpetozoa 32: 255–258 (2019) DOI 10.3897/herpetozoa.32.e37560 The Caucasian Toad, Bufo verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814) in the Levant: evidence from mitochondrial DNA Daniel Jablonski1, Riyad A. Sadek2 1 Department of Zoology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, Mlynská dolina, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia 2 Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, Bliss Street, 1107 2020, Beirut, Lebanon http://zoobank.org/017F0D1F-7467-43A9-9D7C-46335D293038 Corresponding author: Daniel Jablonski ([email protected]) Academic editor: Günter Gollmann ♦ Received 20 June 2019 ♦ Accepted 5 October 2019 ♦ Published 29 October 2019 Abstract We present the first molecular analysis of the Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) complex population in the Levant. This complex contains four species distributed through the Western Palearctic. Based on the analysis of the widely used mitochondrial marker 16S rRNA, populations from the Levant belong to B. verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814) and have a close affiliation to populations from the Trans- caucasian region rather than southern Turkey. Such identified relationships may imply past rapid colonisation from north to south and support the need for further research. Key Words common toad, Bufonidae, mtDNA, biogeography, taxonomy, Middle East The Caucasian Toad, Bufo verrucosissimus (Pallas, western and southern Turkey (García-Porta et al. 2012; 1814), is a member of the Western Palearctic B. bufo (Lin- Arntzen et al. 2013). naeus, 1758) complex along with three other species: B. Although information about B. bufo complex in the bufo, B. eichwaldi and B. spinosus (García-Porta et al. Levant region (Syria, Lebanon) is absent in recent phylo- 2012; Recuero et al. 2012; Arntzen et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Windows Into the Bible Cultural & Historical Insights from the Bible for Modern Readers
    WINDOWS INTO THE BIBLE CULTURAL & HISTORICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE BIBLE FOR MODERN READERS MARC TURNAGE FOREWORD BY GREG SURRATT COFOUNDER & PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF RELATED CHURCHES AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF IRREVREND WINDOWS INTO THE BIBLE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE BIBLE FOR MODERN READERS MARC TURNAGE Copyright © 2016 by Marc Turnage ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Portions of this work were previously copyrighted in A Pilgrim’s Journey and in articles in The Enrichment Journal. Published by Logion Press 1445 N. Boonville Ave. Springfield, Missouri 65802 No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Cover design by PlainJoe Studios (www.plainjoestudios.com) Interior formatting by Prodigy Pixel (www.prodigypixel.com) Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture quotations are the author’s own translation. Scripture quotations marked niv are taken from the Holy Bible, New Interna- tional Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked nrsv are from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible. © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60731-418-9 19 18 17 16 • 1 2 3 4 5 Printed in the United States of America 1 THE LAND BETWEEN mong the sacred writings of the world’s religions, the Bible alone presents a message tied to geography.
    [Show full text]
  • ESTIMATING the ECONOMIC BENEFITS of Levant Integration
    ESTIMATING THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS of Levant Integration Daniel Egel Andrew Parasiliti Charles P. Ries Dori Walker C O R P O R A T I O N Acknowledgments We thank the New Levant Initiative for its support of this project; Keith Crane, Justin Lee, and Howard Shatz for their excellent feedback on earlier versions of this report and on the online calculator; Brian Phillips for his assistance in painstak- ingly reviewing the calculator; and Arwen Bicknell for her editing of this report. Andrew Parasiliti was director of the RAND Center for Global Risk and Security when he coauthored this study. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. is a registered trademark. For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR2375.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Conceptualizing Orders in the Mena Region the Analytical Framework of the Menara Project
    No. 1, November 2016 METHODOLOGY AND CONCEPT PAPERS RE-CONCEPTUALIZING ORDERS IN THE MENA REGION THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE MENARA PROJECT Edited by Eduard Soler i Lecha (coordinator), Silvia Colombo, Lorenzo Kamel and Jordi Quero This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 693244 Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture: Mapping Geopolitical Shifts, Regional Order and Domestic Transformations METHODOLOGY AND CONCEPT PAPERS No. 1, November 2016 RE-CONCEPTUALIZING ORDERS IN THE MENA REGION THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE MENARA PROJECT Edited by Eduard Soler i Lecha (coordinator), Silvia Colombo, Lorenzo Kamel and Jordi Quero ABSTRACT The aim of this work is to set the conceptual architecture for the MENARA Project. It is articulated in five thematic sections. The first one traces back the major historical junctures in which key powers shaped the defining features of the present-day MENA region. Section 2 sets the geographical scope of the project, maps the distribution of power and defines regional order and its main features. Section 3 focuses on the domestic orders in a changing region by gauging and tracing the evolution of four trends, namely the erosion of state capacity; the securitization of regime policies; the militarization of contention; and the pluralization of collective identities. Section 4 links developments in the global order to their impact on the region in terms of power, ideas, norms and identities. The last section focuses on foresight studies and proposes a methodology to project trends and build scenarios. All sections, as well as the conclusion, formulate specific research questions that should help us understand the emerging geopolitical order in the MENA.
    [Show full text]
  • Assembling the Iron Age Levant: the Archaeology of Communities, Polities, and Imperial Peripheries
    J Archaeol Res (2016) 24:373–420 DOI 10.1007/s10814-016-9093-8 Assembling the Iron Age Levant: The Archaeology of Communities, Polities, and Imperial Peripheries Benjamin W. Porter1 Published online: 5 March 2016 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract Archaeological research on the Iron Age (1200–500 BC) Levant, a narrow strip of land bounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Desert, has been balkanized into smaller culture historical zones structured by modern national borders and disciplinary schools. One consequence of this division has been an inability to articulate broader research themes that span the wider region. This article reviews scholarly debates over the past two decades and identifies shared research interests in issues such as ethnogenesis, the development of territorial polities, economic intensification, and divergent responses to imperial interventions. The broader contributions that Iron Age Levantine archaeology offers global archaeological inquiry become apparent when the evidence from different corners of the region is assembled. Keywords Empire · Ethnicity · Middle East · State Introduction The Levantine Iron Age (c. 1200–500 BC) was a transformative historical period that began with the decline of Bronze Age societies throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and concluded with the collapse of Babylonian imperial rule at the end of the sixth century BC. Sandwiched between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean Sea on the east and west, and Anatolia and Egypt on the north and south (Figs. 1 and 2), respectively, a patchwork of Levantine societies gradually established political polities, only to see them dismantled and reshaped in the wake & Benjamin W. Porter [email protected] 1 Phoebe A.
    [Show full text]
  • Natufian Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins Of
    Evolutionary Anthropology 159 ARTICLES The Natufian Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins of Agriculture OFER BAR-YOSEF The aim of this paper is to provide the reader with an updated description of the sites, together with this reconstruc- archeological evidence for the origins of agriculture in the Near East. Specifically, I tion of natural resources, allow us to will address the question of why the emergence of farming communities in the Near answer the questions of when and East was an inevitable outcome of a series of social and economic circumstances where the Neolithic Revolution oc- that caused the Natufian culture to be considered the threshold for this major curred. However, we are still far from evolutionary change.1–4 The importance of such an understanding has global providing a definitive answer to the implications. Currently, updated archeological information points to two other question of why it occurred. centers of early cultivation, central Mexico and the middle Yangtze River in China, Within the large region of the Near that led to the emergence of complex civilizations.4 However, the best-recorded East, recent archeological work has sequence from foraging to farming is found in the Near East. Its presence warns demonstrated the importance of the against the approach of viewing all three evolutionary sequences as identical in area known as the Mediterranean Le- terms of primary conditions, economic and social motivations and activities, and the vant. Today it is one of the most re- resulting cultural, social, and ideological changes. searched parts of the Near East.1–4,9–18 It is therefore possible that the picture I will draw is somewhat biased due to As with other crucial thresholds in marked a major organizational depar- the limited number of excavations else- cultural evolution, the impact of the ture from the old ways of life.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greater Middle East Initiative: Sea Island and Beyond
    S. HRG. 108–646 THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST INITIATIVE: SEA ISLAND AND BEYOND HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 2, 2004 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 96–429 PDF WASHINGTON : 2004 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:29 Nov 10, 2004 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 96429.TXT SFORELA1 PsN: SFORELA1 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana, Chairman CHUCK HAGEL, Nebraska JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware LINCOLN CHAFEE, Rhode Island PAUL S. SARBANES, Maryland GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio BARBARA BOXER, California LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee BILL NELSON, Florida NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire JON S. CORZINE, New Jersey KENNETH A. MYERS, JR., Staff Director ANTONY J. BLINKEN, Democratic Staff Director (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:29 Nov 10, 2004 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 96429.TXT SFORELA1 PsN: SFORELA1 CONTENTS Page Biden, Hon. Joseph R., Jr., U.S. Senator from Delaware, opening statement ... 10 Cronin, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Instability in the Levant
    Check against delivery Talking notess Instability in the Levant The Committee Report is an excellent account of developments in MENA, in the Levant in particular. I would like to supplement it, highlighting two basic features of international affairs in the region, and using those observations as starting points for a discussion of recent events. National interests and the role of religion First, religion plays a greater role in the Middle East than in most other parts of the world. Religious affiliations are necessary for political movements to gain legitimacy and grow strong. Typically, their sectarian orientations are reflected in their names. For instance, as the Committee Report notes, in Libya, a great many militias carry religious names – though the civil war is not primarily about religion. Major actors play on sectarian connections to promote their interests. Fellow Sunnis and Shias, and fellow members of their various branches, are mobilized in support of political causes. Nowhere is this clearer than in the foreign policies of Wahhabi Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran. Saudi Arabia, other Arab states and rich individuals on the Arab peninsula support their brothers in faith in Iraq and Syria – and that still includes some support for ISIL. Iran works closely with the Shia government in Bagdad, the Shia-related Alawite government in Damascus and the Shia Hezbollah. Regional conflicts tend to follow sectarian lines. However, this does not mean that religious affiliations are the main drivers of foreign policy. National interests trump sectarian preferences. Iran is the only country in the Middle East where religious leaders hold executive political positions, but whenever the two are in conflict, national interests prevail over sectarian ones whenever the two are in conflict.
    [Show full text]