Policy Notes March 2021
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WFP SYRIA External SITREP 16-30 November 2014
WFP SYRIA CRISIS RESPONSE Situation Update 12-25 NOVEMBER 2014 SYRIA LEBANON JORDAN TURKEY IRAQ EGYPT “All it takes is US$1 from 64 million people.” WFP launches 72-hour social media campaign to raise urgently needed funds DOLLAR wfp.org/forsyrianrefugees for Syrian for Refugees HIGHLIGHTS - Funding shortfalls force WFP to cut assistance to Syrian refugees in December - Inter-agency convoy delivers food for 5,000 people in Syria’s west Harasta for the first time in almost two years - WFP delivers food supplies across lines of conflict to 35,000 civilians in rural Aleppo, northern Syria - Inter-agency targeting tool finalized in Lebanon - Pilot areas for non-camp voucher assistance identified in Turkey - Voucher distributions to begin in Iraq's Darashakran and Arbat camps in December Eight year-old Bija and six year-old Ali from Damascus,Syria, Al Za’atri camp, Jordan. WFP/Joelle Eid For information on WFP’s Syria Crisis Response, please use the QR Code or access through the link: wfp.org/syriainfo FUNDING AND SHORTFALLS Funding shortages force WFP to halt food assistance in December Despite significant advocacy efforts and the generous support from our donors, insufficient funding is finally forcing WFP to cut its assistance to millions of Syrian refugees throughout the region in December, when winter hits the region. As a result, we are suspending our response in Lebanon - only new arrivals will receive food parcels; cutting our programme in Jordan by 85 percent by only assisting camp refugees and suspending our support to urban refugees; and cutting our programmes in Turkey and Egypt by providing vouchers of a much lower value than their regular entitlements. -
Down and Out: Founding Elections and Disillusionment with Democracy in Egypt and Tunisia
Down and Out: Founding Elections and Disillusionment with Democracy in Egypt and Tunisia Sharan Grewal and Steve L. Monroe Forthcoming, Comparative Politics Which electoral losers become the most disillusioned with democracy following the first free and fair elections? Exploiting surveys before and after founding elections in post-Arab Spring Egypt and Tunisia, we find that the most disillusioned losers were those residing in areas where the losing parties were strongest. We argue that expectations matter. Losers whose parties are strong locally tend to overestimate their popularity nationally and thus become more disillusioned after the first elections. Beyond these attitudinal results, we find that these areas witnessed a greater increase in support for candidates from former autocratic regimes in subsequent elections. These findings clarify subnational variation in electoral losers’ attitudes towards democracy. They suggest that decentralization may keep otherwise disillusioned losers invested in democracy. 1 “She was in a state of shock and confusion. [...] It was one thing for the [Muslim] Brotherhood to win close to 40 percent, but how could 28 percent of her countrymen vote for ultraconservative Salafi parties? [...] She mourned not only for what she feared Egypt might become, but for a country that she could no longer recognize, a country that was no longer really hers. It raised the question: was [democracy] worth it? For liberals like [her], it apparently wasn’t.”1 How citizens respond to electoral loss is critical to the success of democratic transitions.2 Supporters of losing parties in founding elections must opt to remain within the democratic system for a nascent democracy to take root. -
Basrah Governorate Profile
Basrah Governorate Profile Source map: JAPU Basrah at a Glance Fast Facts Area: 19,070 km2 Capital City: Basrah Average High Temperatures: 17,7°C Average Low Temperatures: 6,8°C (January) to 41,8°C (August) (January) to 27,4°C (July) Population: 2,403,301 Population Distribution Rural-Urban: 20,1%-79,9% Updated December 2015 Geography and Climate Basrah is the most southern governorate of Iraq and borders Iran, Kuwait and Saudi-Arabia. In the south, the governorate is made up of a vast desert plain, intersected by the Shatt Al-Arab waterway which is formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers at Al-Qurnah and empties into the Persian Gulf. Around Al-Qurnah and Al-Medina a number of lakes can be found, while marshland stretches from the north of the governorate into the neighboring governorates of Thi-Qar and Missan. The governorate is Iraq’s only access to the sea. Similar to the surrounding region, the governorate of Basrah has a hot and arid climate. The temperatures in summer are among the highest recorded in the world. Due to the vicinity of the Persian Gulf, humidity and rainfall are however relatively high. The governorate receives an average amount of 152mm of rainfall a year between the months of October and May. Population and Administrative Division The governorate of Basrah is subdivided into seven districts: Abu Al-Khaseeb, Al-Midaina, Al-Qurna, Al- Zubair, Basrah, Fao, and Shatt Al-Arab. The city of Basrah, the governorate’s capital, is Iraq’s third largest urban center. -
Iranian Strategy in Syria
*SBOJBO4USBUFHZJO4ZSJB #:8JMM'VMUPO KPTFQIIPMMJEBZ 4BN8ZFS BKPJOUSFQPSUCZ"&*ŦT$SJUJDBM5ISFBUT1SPKFDUJ/45*565&'035)&456%:0'8"3 .BZ All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ©2013 by Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project Cover Image: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and Hezbollah’s Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah appear together on a poster in Damascus, Syria. Credit: Inter Press Service News Agency Iranian strategy in syria Will Fulton, Joseph Holliday, & Sam wyer May 2013 A joint Report by AEI’s critical threats project & Institute for the Study of War ABOUT US About the Authors Will Fulton is an Analyst and the IRGC Project Team Lead at the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. Joseph Holliday is a Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War. Sam Wyer served as an Iraq Analyst at ISW from September 2012 until February 2013. The authors would like to thank Kim and Fred Kagan, Jessica Lewis, and Aaron Reese for their useful insights throughout the writing and editorial process, and Maggie Rackl for her expert work on formatting and producing this report. We would also like to thank our technology partners Praescient Analytics and Palantir Technologies for providing us with the means and support to do much of the research and analysis used in our work. About the Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization. ISW advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. -
Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis
prelims.046 17/12/2004 4:58 PM Page i MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Fazlallah Astarabadi and The Hurufis “Shahzad Bashir is to be commended for producing a remarkably accessible work on a complex subject; his explanations are models of lucidity and brevity.” PROFESSOR DEVIN DEWEESE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY prelims.046 14/12/2004 1:37 PM Page ii SELECTION OF TITLES IN THE MAKERS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD SERIES Series editor: Patricia Crone, Institute for Advanced Study,Princeton ‘Abd al-Malik, Chase F.Robinson Abd al-Rahman III, Maribel Fierro Abu Nuwas, Philip Kennedy Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Christopher Melchert Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi, Usha Sanyal Al-Ma’mun, Michael Cooperson Al-Mutanabbi, Margaret Larkin Amir Khusraw, Sunil Sharma El Hajj Beshir Agha, Jane Hathaway Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis, Shazad Bashir Ibn ‘Arabi,William C. Chittick Ibn Fudi,Ahmad Dallal Ikhwan al-Safa, Godefroid de Callatay Shaykh Mufid,Tamima Bayhom-Daou For current information and details of other books in the series, please visit www.oneworld-publications.com/ subjects/makers-of-muslim-world.htm prelims.046 14/12/2004 1:37 PM Page iii MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Fazlallah Astarabadi and The Hurufis SHAHZAD BASHIR prelims.046 14/12/2004 1:37 PM Page iv FAZLALLAH ASTARABADI AND THE HURUFIS Oneworld Publications (Sales and editorial) 185 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7AR England www.oneworld-publications.com © Shahzad Bashir 2005 All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN 1–85168–385–2 Typeset by Jayvee, -
Export Agreement Coding (PDF)
Peace Agreement Access Tool PA-X www.peaceagreements.org Country/entity Syria Region Middle East and North Africa Agreement name Damascus Truce I between Bayt Sahem and Babila Date 17/02/2014 Agreement status Multiparty signed/agreed Interim arrangement No Agreement/conflict level Intrastate/local conflict ( Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - ) ) Stage Ceasefire/related (Ceasefire) Conflict nature Government Peace process 133: Intra-Syrian Process (state/non-state) Parties Leaders of Bayt Sahem and Babila (Syrian Opposition); Syrian Government; Third parties Description Short ceasefire negotiated between the Syrian Government and the leaders of Bayt Sahem and Babila in the Damascus Countryside. Provides guarantees of Syrian Army to not enter the towns, re-supply water and electricity, open roads, and allow fighters that wish to surrender to do so, in addition to surrendering heavy weaponry. Agreement document SY_140115_Truce Agreement in Bayt Sahem and Babila_EN.pdf [] Agreement document SY_140115_Truce Agreement in Bayt Sahem and Babila_AR.pdf [] (original language) Local agreement properties Process type Informal but persistent process Explain rationale -> no support mechanism, link to the national peace process, culture of signing No formal mechanism supported the signing of the agreement, which was negotiated by public figures. It is part of a choreography of local agreements signed at that time in the countryside of Aleppo. Indeed, in addition to Babbila and Beit Sahem, similar deals have been struck for Qudsaya, Moadamiyet al-Sham, Barzeh, Yalda and Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp Is there a documented link Yes to a national peace process? Link to national process: The agreement seems to be linked to the national peace process. -
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/99q9f2k0 Author Bailony, Reem Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Reem Bailony 2015 © Copyright by Reem Bailony 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927 by Reem Bailony Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor James L. Gelvin, Chair This dissertation explores the transnational dimensions of the Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927. By including the activities of Syrian migrants in Egypt, Europe and the Americas, this study moves away from state-centric histories of the anti-French rebellion. Though they lived far away from the battlefields of Syria and Lebanon, migrants championed, contested, debated, and imagined the rebellion from all corners of the mahjar (or diaspora). Skeptics and supporters organized petition campaigns, solicited financial aid for rebels and civilians alike, and partook in various meetings and conferences abroad. Syrians abroad also clandestinely coordinated with rebel leaders for the transfer of weapons and funds, as well as offered strategic advice based on the political climates in Paris and Geneva. Moreover, key émigré figures played a significant role in defining the revolt, determining its goals, and formulating its program. By situating the revolt in the broader internationalism of the 1920s, this study brings to life the hitherto neglected role migrants played in bridging the local and global, the national and international. -
Bab Al-Nasr • Is the Massive Fortified Gate with Rectangular Stone Towers Flanking the Semicircular Arch of the Eastern Portal
كلية السياحة والفنادق)قسم اﻻرشاد السياحي( مادة اثار مصر اﻻسﻻمية 1كود المقرر ر.س 326 الفصل الدراسي الثاني الفرقة الثالثة إرشاد سياحي أ.د سماح عبد الرحمن اﻻستاذ بالقسم القائمه علي تدريس المقرر [email protected] 01010119940 Bab Zuwayla (Bab al-Mitwalli) المحاضرة اﻻولي .(1092A.D/485A.H) • One of the three Fatimid gates that remain standing, this one at the south end of al- Qahira is perhaps the least interesting structurally. An attack from Syria was expected from the north, not the south. Visually, however, with its crowning fifteenth-century minarets, it is the most dramatic and it gives into abazaar quarter that is as full of life today as it was in the middle Ages المحاضرة اﻻولي • Bab Zuwayla, also called Bab al-Mitwalli, dates from 1092. It was part of the city fortifications put up by the Armenian wazir Badr al-Gamali and his Anatolian or Mesopotamian Christian architects. The gate was named after Fatimid soldiers from the Berber tribe al-Zawila who were quartered in the vicinity after the building of the original gate in 969, when alQahira was founded. The name Bab al-Mitwalli dates from Ottoman times, when the wali, or Ottoman officer, charged with maintaining public order, had his residence and headquarters near here. المحاضرة اﻻولي • The gate's projecting, rounded towers connected by a covered passageway over the large, arched opening are northern Syrian or Byzantine, not Arab, in inspiration and spirit. The two minarets that spring from the towers belong to the Mosque of al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, just inside the gate, which forms the wall to the west. -
Human Rights Council Fact-Finding in S
Marauhn: Sailing Close to the Wind: Human Rights Council Fact-Finding in S SAILING CLOSE TO THE WIND: HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL FACT-FINDING IN SITUATIONS OF ARMED CONFLICT-THE CASE OF SYRIA THILO MARAUHN* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. FROM GRAFFITI IN DARA'A TO CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA ............ 402 II. SECURITY COUNCIL INACTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ...... ..... 408 COUNCIL ACTIVISM ........................................... 408 A. Governments' Responses to the Situation in Syria ............. 409 B. Inaction of the U.N. Security Council .............. 415 C. Actions Taken by the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Human Rights Council ................. ....... 421 III. THE RISK OF BEING ALL-INCLUSIVE: BLURRING THE LINES.........426 A. Does the Situation in Syria Amount to a Non-International Armed Conflict? ...................... ..... 426 B. The Application ofHuman Rights Law in a Non-International Armed Conflict........................434 C. Fact-finding in Human Rights Law vs Fact-Finding with Respect to the Law ofArmed Conflict....... ............ 444 D. Does Blurringthe Lines Weaken Compliance with the Applicable Law? ................................448 IV. THE BENEFITS OF SAILING CLOSE TO THE WIND .................. 452 V. IMPROVING COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT .............................................. 455 CONCLUSION ....................................... ....... 458 * M.Phil. (Wales), Dr. jur.utr. (Heidelberg), Professor of Public Law, International and European Law, Faculty of Law, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. The author is grateful to Charles H. B. Garraway, Colonel (ret.), United Kingdom; Nicolas Lang, Ambassador-at-Large for the Application of International Humanitarian Law, Switzerland; and Dr. Ignaz Stegmiller, Justus Liebig University, Germany for comments on earlier drafts. 401 Published by CWSL Scholarly Commons, 2013 1 California Western International Law Journal, Vol. -
PRISM Syrian Supplemental
PRISM syria A JOURNAL OF THE CENTER FOR COMPLEX OPERATIONS About PRISM PRISM is published by the Center for Complex Operations. PRISM is a security studies journal chartered to inform members of U.S. Federal agencies, allies, and other partners Vol. 4, Syria Supplement on complex and integrated national security operations; reconstruction and state-building; 2014 relevant policy and strategy; lessons learned; and developments in training and education to transform America’s security and development Editor Michael Miklaucic Communications Contributing Editors Constructive comments and contributions are important to us. Direct Alexa Courtney communications to: David Kilcullen Nate Rosenblatt Editor, PRISM 260 Fifth Avenue (Building 64, Room 3605) Copy Editors Fort Lesley J. McNair Dale Erikson Washington, DC 20319 Rebecca Harper Sara Thannhauser Lesley Warner Telephone: Nathan White (202) 685-3442 FAX: (202) 685-3581 Editorial Assistant Email: [email protected] Ava Cacciolfi Production Supervisor Carib Mendez Contributions PRISM welcomes submission of scholarly, independent research from security policymakers Advisory Board and shapers, security analysts, academic specialists, and civilians from the United States Dr. Gordon Adams and abroad. Submit articles for consideration to the address above or by email to prism@ Dr. Pauline H. Baker ndu.edu with “Attention Submissions Editor” in the subject line. Ambassador Rick Barton Professor Alain Bauer This is the authoritative, official U.S. Department of Defense edition of PRISM. Dr. Joseph J. Collins (ex officio) Any copyrighted portions of this journal may not be reproduced or extracted Ambassador James F. Dobbins without permission of the copyright proprietors. PRISM should be acknowledged whenever material is quoted from or based on its content. -
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Gestalt Computing and the Study of Content-oriented User Behavior on the Web Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41b1c1n9 Author Bandari, Roja Publication Date 2013 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41b1c1n9#supplemental Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California University of California Los Angeles Gestalt Computing and the Study of Content-oriented User Behavior on the Web A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering by Roja Bandari 2013 c Copyright by Roja Bandari 2013 Abstract of the Dissertation Gestalt Computing and the Study of Content-oriented User Behavior on the Web by Roja Bandari Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering University of California, Los Angeles, 2013 Professor Vwani P. Roychowdhury, Chair Elementary actions online establish an individual's existence on the web and her/his orientation toward different issues. In this sense, actions truly define a user in spaces like online forums and communities and the aggregate of elementary actions shape the atmosphere of these online spaces. This observation, coupled with the unprecedented scale and detail of data on user actions on the web, com- pels us to utilize them in understanding collective human behavior. Despite large investments by industry to capture this data and the expanding body of research on big data in academia, gaining insight into collective user behavior online has been elusive. If one is indeed able to overcome the considerable computational challenges posed by both the scale and the inevitable noisiness of the associated data sets, one could provide new automated frameworks to extract insights into evolving behavior at different scales, and to form an altogether different perspec- tive of aggregated elementary user actions. -
The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and Their Impact on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts
Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Honors Theses Lee Honors College 4-25-2018 The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and their Impact on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Daniel Bucksbaum Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, International Relations Commons, and the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Bucksbaum, Daniel, "The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and their Impact on Israeli- Palestinian Peace Efforts" (2018). Honors Theses. 3009. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/3009 This Honors Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Lee Honors College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and their Impact on Israeli- Palestinian Peace Efforts By Daniel Bucksbaum A thesis submitted to the Lee Honors College Western Michigan University April 2018 Thesis Committee: Jim Butterfield, Ph.D., Chair Yuan-Kang Wang, Ph.D. Mustafa Mughazy, Ph.D. Bucksbaum 1 Table of Contents I. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 II. Source Material……………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 III. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 IV. Historical Context for the Two-State Solution………………………………………………………...6 a. Deeply Rooted and Ideological Claims to the Land……………………………………………….…..7 b. Legacy of the Oslo Accords……………………………………………………………………………………….9 c. Israeli Narrative: Why the Two-State Solution is Unfeasible……………………………………19 d. Palestinian Narrative: Why the Two-State Solution has become unattainable………..22 e. Drop in Support for the Two-State Solution; Negotiations entirely…………………………27 f.