Category: Protest

It is now over one year since the Syrian protests, which kicked off in Dara’a, a small agricultural town in the country, begun. The Syrian police met the small uprising, which brought together a handful of people, with ruthlessness and brutality beyond the expectations of many people, thereby inciting more people to join the course.

Today, barely all towns in the country have experienced violent protests against the long reigning president Bashar Assad and his family. According to the United Nation’s estimates, approximately 9000 people, most of them soldiers, have died in the violence that has continued to rock most parts of the country^[1].

However, human rights groups and journalist put the estimates much higher at 30, 000 people by October 2012. They claim that government’s efforts at hiding the real happenings in the country have led to a serious clamp down on any forms of journalistic access, thereby denying the international community any chance of getting up-to-date information on deaths, property destruction, and atrocities against women and the minority.

As a result, the international community has treated Syrian case slightly to the disadvantage of the country’s innocent citizens, especially women and children who are subjected to heinous acts such as rape, torture, and forced labor.

Therefore, Mr. President, if your government is to make any decisions based on the recommendations provided in this letter, I will be glad if you considered the possibility of worse things happening in Syrian beyond the grainy streaming media footages who may have watched, as they do not capture even half of what is happening on the ground.

As a nation founded on sound democratic principles and respect for human life and dignity, we have been drawn into this mess by our desire to give to the people of Syria, a democratic government, and an environment free from abuse, violence, and intimidations. So far, our attempts to institute a democratic government in Syrian and to end the suffering of the people have been futile.

Worst still, the rebels who have been fighting the government are ill-equipped to make any significant process towards toppling the government^[2]. Their activities have remained limited to Damascus. This calls for drastic measures. Our ultimate goals in Syria are driven by both morals and concerns for the suffering civilians. We need to defend the civilians against military abuse.

We need to assist in the creation of a democratically elected government that is representative of the people’s wishes. However, the process of instituting a democratic government can never be easy. In most cases, it involves war and sanctions against doctorial regimes. Nevertheless, the Syrian people have spoken boldly of their desire for change, which makes any options available, regardless of the costs involved, worth pursuing.

Additionally, we need to prevent Syria’s situation from dragging it into a failed and war-ridden state like Somalia. If this trend continues unchecked, then the nation could end up in a situation like that of Somalia. Finally yet importantly, we should strive to ensure that the country’s chemical weapons do not end up in the hands of extremist Islamic groups who are known for “terrorist activities” in the world today^[3].

The United States of America suffered severely in the hands of terrorists and should not spare any efforts in fighting them.^[4] The 9/11 attack has and will remain in the minds of many people who lost their loved ones for many years to come. In that single attack, the U.S lost millions of dollars and thousands of lives.^[5]

Given the circumstances surrounding the Syrian case, American intervention is in complete interest of the nation and its citizens. The U.S government’s principal interest is to protect its citizens. However, protecting Americans, does not only involve securing the country’s borders, but also toppling all governments that are sympathetic to terrorists and regimes that promote the use of chemicals and illegal atomic weapons.

Bashar Assad’s government trades in these unfriendly territories and the U.S government should not sit back and watch from the sidelines as it furthers its monstrous activities. The people of Syria have a right to determine their own future since the country is a sovereign state^[6].

However, its leadership has ignored the people’s plea for regime change, thereby necessitating external intervention. The U.S is perceived by many states as the international watchdog. Therefore, it should take a center stage in securing a solution for Syria’s problems.

However, our intervention in Syria should be wise and well calculated. Considering Bashar Assad’s close association with the Iran and Russian regimes, any form of military intervention could worsen the bad situation^[7]. The most viable option is the involvement of the UN Security Council to give a mandate on the issue. Our direct involvement should be through the provision of troops to secure civilian population from harm.

Even though most Arab Nations are reluctant to join the Syrian debate, the U.S should try to reach out to them to seek their support in rescuing innocent civilians. The rebels fighting Bashar Assad’s government share many common interests with the United States. As such, the U.S should provide them with logistics to enhance their chances of overthrowing the dictatorial regime. Currently, they are ill equipped and lack experience of fighting; hence, their chances of success are thin.

The decisions we make today define us as a nation. The freedom our citizens enjoy today was earned by both sweet and blood. Therefore, by assisting the people of Syria, we are showing them away to a better life.

By actively championing for a regime change in Syria, we will obviously be attracting more responsibilities to our great nation, but we cannot afford to sit back and watch innocent people die in the hands of merciless and selfish leaders. The minority and the weak always look up to us for help in such times, and we cannot afford to disappoint them.

Our failure to intervene will be viewed as a sign of weakness, which might encourage other regimes to cling onto power against public will. After the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world has not been good^[8]. Therefore, many of the Muslim states cannot welcome any form of intervention in Syria. Even though military intervention can absolutely spark wide opposition, many, especially civilians, could view humanitarian aid and provision of logistics as pure and sincere assistance.

Our involvement in Syria should only end when the country has attained democratic leadership. Military personnel deployed to help civilians should however, stay behind for some time to assist in the transition process. Up to now, the atrocities committed against civilians in Syrian are intolerable, but the U.S must trade carefully.

However, if death toll from the uprisings continue to rise and other nations, especially Muslim nations, keep their distance, then, the U.S may be left no other choice but to intervene with a fully-fledge military battalion. This could be more involving and costly, but worth the lives of innocent Syrians used as punching bags by government soldiers and rebels.

Disregard for human lives by the Syrian government will leave us no options, but to pull together our resources, monetary, logistics, and personnel, to rescue the civilians. When it comes to such a level, the Security Council’s decisions will be of little effect to the U.S intervention in Syria. The cost of the war in Iraq has been expensive and we must avoid adding further expenses to our already burdened public. However, when it comes to saving lives, our options are limited.

Works Cited

Bowen, Jeremy. “BBC News – Syria rebels gain foothold in Damascus.” BBC – Homepage. N.p., 28 Jan. 2012. Web.

Breakingnews.com. “Syrian Violence Kills 36; Arab Leaders Back Peace Plan.” VOA – Voice of America English News – VOA News. N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web.

Celmer, Marc A.. Terrorism, U.S. strategy, and Reagan policies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. Print.

Davies, Nicolas J.S.. Blood on our hands: the American invasion and destruction of Iraq. Version 1.0. ed. Ann Arbor: Nimble Books, LLC, 2010. Print.

Goodarzi, Jubin M.. Syria and Iran: diplomatic alliance and power politics in the Middle East. London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2006. Print.

Madu, Ifeanyi V.. Islamic Extremism and the West: Expounding the Negative Implications of the Clash Between Islamic Extremists and Some Western Nations. London: ProQuest, 2008. Print.

Quigley, John B.. The statehood of Palestine: international law in the Middle East conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.

Sidhu, Surinder Singh. 9/11: The Inside Story. Washington, DC: Strategic Book Publishing, 2012. Print.

Footnotes

1. Breakingnews.com. “Syrian Violence Kills 36; Arab Leaders Back Peace Plan.” VOA – Voice of America English News – VOA News. N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web.
2. Bowen, Jeremy. “BBC News – Syria rebels gain foothold in Damascus.”BBC – Homepage. N.p., 28 Jan. 2012. Web.
3. Ifeanyi Madu, Islamic Extremism and the West: Expounding the Negative Implications of the Clash Between Islamic Extremists and Some Western Nations (London: ProQuest, 2008) 105.
4. Celmer, Marc, Terrorism, U.S. strategy, and Reagan policies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. P. 47 Print.
5. Surinder Singh Sidhu, 9/11: The Inside Story (Washington, DC: Strategic Book Publishing, 2012) 29.
6. John B. Quigley, The statehood of Palestine: international law in the Middle East conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010) 45.
7. Jubin M. Goodarzi, Syria and Iran: diplomatic alliance and power politics in the Middle East, (London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2006) 11.
8. Nicolas J.S. Davies, Blood on our hands: the American invasion and destruction of Iraq (Version 1.0. ed. Ann Arbor: Nimble Books, LLC, 2010) 32.

Protests are one of the ways in which citizens in democratic societies express their views and their frustrations. The main reason why protests are necessary is that they provide a lawful and orderly outlet for pent-up emotions. Protesters meet to express their solidarity regarding specified issues. This paper addresses several issues arising from the protest organized by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). The protest took place on 22 March 2014 in Ontario.

The purpose of the rally organized by OCAP was to raise awareness regarding the poverty situation in Ontario and other parts of Canada. This rally was targeting the Liberal Party Convention in the city. The intention of the organizers was to get the attention of the politicians who were attending the Liberal Party Convention in Ontario. The thrust of the rally was to compel the politicians to make changes to the social justice system to give the poor a better chance of surviving in the harsh economic climate.

The four main demands made by the protesters were as follows. First, the protesters wanted the Liberal Party to raise the social assistance rates by 55%. Secondly, the protesters wanted the Liberal Party to raise the minimum wage to $14 per hour. The third demand made by the protesters was for the restoration of the Special Diets and the Community Start-up Benefits. Finally, the protesters opposed the plan to merge the Ontario Workers (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) by Liberal Party.

The rally organizers wanted to get the attention of the delegates attending the Liberal Party Convention. This would give them access to the political leaders whose influence was necessary to address their demands. The flyers advertising the event also mentioned Kathleen Wynne by name. Kathleen Wynne is Ontario’s Premier. This shows that the protesters wanted her attention in regards these issues. It means that she had the influence needed to effect the changes demanded by the protesters.

The main interests represented at the rally were as follows. First, people living with disabilities were interested in the protest because of the proposed merger between OW and ODSP. The merger may affect the financial assistance extended to the disabled. The second interest group in the protest was the minimum wage workers. OCAP felt that these people had lost their buying power due to inflation. Therefore, there was a need to restore the buying power of the poor. The third interest group was the people living on welfare funds. The welfare fund in Canada is under heavy pressure from immigrants.

The groups that sponsored the rally were as follows. First, the rally was organized by OCAP. In this sense, the first rally sponsor is OCAP. Other sponsors include Packdale Against Poverty, Jane-Finch Against Poverty, Kingston Coalition Against Poverty, and the Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty.

The people who participated in the protest were from diverse backgrounds. The participants included people from various races, as well as people from various economic backgrounds. In addition, the protest included people from various parts of the Canada. Some international protesters were also part of the rally.

The protest organizers used three main strategies to attract and retain the attention of their target group. First, the organizers encouraged the participants to carry pans. The noise made by hitting hundreds of pans made the protest very effective. Secondly, the protesters used the name of the Ontario premier in the campaign posters. This tactic was bound to get her attention. Thirdly, the protesters mentioned the specific areas that needed the intervention of the Liberal Party.

Flyers were very effective in raising awareness because it was easy to send the flyers to potential participants. In this regard, the flyers were easy to handle and to distribute. Secondly, the use of pans to make noise was a very effective attention-seeking strategy. These pans made it possible for the protesters to attract and retain the attention of the Liberal Party officials. The website was also very useful in raising awareness among the public. This included the use of social media to reach people in various parts of the country.

The main aspects of the protest that were of interest to the media included the attention targeting the premier and the noise made by the protesters. The website was also a reliable source of information for the press.

The conversations held with some of the protesters revealed several things about the perceived link between poverty and social policy. First, there was a clear feeling that poverty is the result of government policies that reward bulk purchasing. People who can afford to buy goods in bulk pay a lower price for the items. The price per unit of items sold in bulk is lower than the price of goods sold in small units. Secondly, it was clear that the protesters associated the living conditions of the urban poor with the failure of the government to provide adequate housing for the poor. This illustrates the connection between social action and social policy.

For several years, Syria and Egypt had positioned themselves as a sanctuary of tranquillity in a frequently tumultuous Middle East. Compared to several of their neighbours, even the habitual style had not been substituted by the uprisings and, until some few weeks, it had appeared as if Syrians had acknowledged life under the Baath regime.

The population appreciated some developments in livelihood values that had appeared initially under President Hafez alAsad and afterward his youngster Bashar, who seized power 11 years ago. The son of the former head of state soldiered on with the customs of despotism in Syria while coming up with indistinguishable pledges of change.

This paper aims at comparing the protests in Egypt and Syria. The paper places the protests in the two countries under a theoretical setting. It is established that liberalism and Marxist theories can be utilized in analyzing the protests in the two states.

The Middle East Turbulence

Each minute, the media gives information on the unfolding story in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In several instances, the political proceedings are comparatively nonviolent, for example in Tunisia and Egypt. For Libya, we witness inclined clashes being battled out between the followers of the government and its adversaries. Currently, the global society is also implicated.

We are engrossed by advances and often do not hold back to reflect on the causes at the back of the confusion, and of the penalties that may perhaps follow. In spite of the developments in machinery and communication, the data available pertaining to the Middle East is abhorrently insufficient. The media has been severely proscribed through suppression or “legislative counsel”, with infrequent ridiculous circumstances.

On January 26 for instance, following sadistic fight between the law enforcement and demonstrators in Tahrir Square, Al-Ahram’s lead front-page narrative was concerning flora being handed to the police force on their state day. In the majority of the MENA states, the governments have not respected the insinuations of the progress in communication and expertise.

They have not recognized that cross-border information streams through the medium and through express means, which expertise now presents. It has been an extremely vital font of constructing consciousness. No longer will citizens be contented merely with the data they access from inside their state. This increases doubts for the management of public affairs.

One of the major causes of the political turn down in the Middle East pertains to leadership. Normally, when a person in charge acquires governmental power in a MENA state, it is with extensive well-liked shore up. In the nonexistence of standard or tolerable means of relocating authority, the privileged go on for decades at the wheel. Several scholars have depicted such individuals as autocrats who shortly lose contacts with the ordinary citizens and associate with rich individuals.

When they desire to surrender power, they select their youngsters or preferred persons. In the precedent years, there have been some victories. Jordan’s King Abdullah II received governmental power from his father Hussein in 1999 (Hoffman 11). Morocco’s King Mohammed VI captured governmental authority from the former head of state Hassan in the same year. Syria was not any exceptional since Hafez al-Assad was clever enough to relocate power to Bashar, his son in 2000.

Since then, not even one despot has been victorious in handing over power to his favorite (Gholz 456). Accusations of fraud related to such long-serving presidents are not rare, and leads to anger among the disadvantaged in the country. This was one of the reasons why the Syrian and Egyptian underprivileged stormed the streets to demand for change and social restructuring.

Furthermore, economic reforms undertaken by the Syrian government is partly to blame for the uprisings unlike the uprisings in Egypt, which were triggered by the societal tribulations. To facilitate rapidity with the development of globalization, the Syrian and Egyptian governments had to accept the financial restructuring (Milner 834).

This upset the established societal and financial organization. Concurrently, it generated a middle-to-rich superior category, rising revenue and capital disparity, which positioned the basis for turbulence. It is fascinating to examine that conflict regularly does not happen until the state realizes middle-income category. In Iran for instance, the revolt took place in 1979, as the state was attaining the middle-income position. The monarch was not liberal enough to guarantee equity and justice.

The youth unemployment largely contributed to the materialization of the uprisings in Syria. In the majority of emerging economies, the citizens who are 25 years and above are always the major stakeholders in the political arena. Youthful males and females emerging from the higher groups, whether financially or politically privileged, are frequently the excellent, learned and are gifted to race for, or if not get the top posts present.

The youth from the inferior parts of the society do not have entrance to the excellent training and are incapable of vying for top positions in the society. This is according to the Marxist scholars. Consequently, the joblessness among the youths from inferior parts is very high, a developed pool from which to provoke an upheaval. Those who are 25 to 35 years are usually perturbed by awful domination, such as fraud, and perceive no opportunity of an improved life for themselves if the existing governments continue clinging on power.

Unlike in Egypt, clannish, cultural or pious dissection interfered with local politics in Syria before the uprisings. In Iraq for instance, Shias consisted of above 60% of the populace. Saddam was in fact ferociously material, and did not permit dissections to emerge. Following his death on the other hand, dissections were supported, and have currently turned out to be a hydra-headed ogre. Furthermore, in Bahrain, the Shias comprise approximately 70% of the populace.

However, the ruling regime is Sunni. The Bahraini Shias have always wished openly to cut links with the Iranian Shias. Saudi Arabia, as regards to media intelligence, is sanctuary to a restless Shia marginal. Information furthermore point out that, in Yemen, the populace is 52% Sunni and about 46% Shia.

Nevertheless, it is not apparent how this dissection may perhaps have chipped in to the current mayhem against Saleh. In Syria, the head of state Bashar is from a marginal Shia ethnic group, and the preponderance Sunnis seems to be demoralized. It can therefore be concluded from the analysis that the instability in Syria is partly influenced by the socio-cultural currents.

Conversely, in Jordan, the clannish devotion is still very sturdy, whereas Palestinians constitute around two-thirds of the populace. In Libya, factions that believed to have been exploited by Gaddafi’s marginal clan guide the present instability. This shows that formerly, political elites could have used the differences to rule but presently, they face the repercussion.

The influence of spiritual factions was most famous during the Iranian revolt of 1979, which was the same case in the Egyptian uprising (Barston 56). The Syrian government did not permit political hostility but did not agitate spiritual factions either.

This promotes antagonism factions or even material ones to amalgamate under the similar umbrella and utilize the mosques and madras for articulating their political outlooks. The Muslim Brotherhood is an exemplar of such faction. With limitations on political lexis being detached in Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood restructured its functions, which later on became significant in the adjustment of the Syrian politics.

Increasing foodstuff costs have occasionally been the most important contributor to the uprisings in both states. States that rely on importation of energy and foodstuff are mainly susceptible when escalating world products cost injures to the low-income citizens. Such states such as Syria, which relies on other countries for foodstuffs, have financial statement shortages, which do not permit an additional funding at times of economic crisis.

The oil/gas rich states, alternatively, can prevent such prospective bullying by subsidizing groceries costs or by transfer funding, such as Egypt. The Syrian citizens expected the government to behave in the same way but unfortunately, it did not, prompting to street riots.

Civil disobedience in the Syrian state is attributable to the role of expertise. Machinery, the internet, the satellite TV and handsets have permitted citizens to witness what is occurring past their boundaries. Liberalism and globalization can be utilized to explain this situation. This has produced gesticulate of intensifying hope, equally for political liberty, as well as financial prospects.

Handsets, SMS, electronic mail, Face book, blogs and even micro-blogs have been utilized successfully for domestic harmonization among the activists. Prior to such knowledge being accessible, radicals employed their own techniques of data distribution as we could glimpse in the 1986 Philippines uprising. Even though the governments of Syria enforced controls on the use of emails, the demonstrators would certainly congregate in familiar gathering places, for instance in open areas and participate in mass protests.

In the majority of oil-exporting MENA states Syria and Egypt included, the political class manages the country’s oil riches. In other states, the political class has cartels or oligopolistic influence to the economy. In oil-rich states such as Egypt, the expertise and ventures are usually wealth-concentrated, and neither spreads the financial base nor offers appropriate services to the domestic population. Overall, the lease-seeking actions of the privileged class estrange the citizens, as they do not have the chance to carve up in the remuneration.

Oil-rich states have from time to time responded to such positions by currency relocation to the inferior sections. For example, The Economist postulated that, upon coming back from Saudi Arabia during the Egyptian predicament, the Saudi King declared a $36 billion allotment for youthful citizens to get married, own houses and to establish companies.

It is intricate to anticipate a young man with such funding going to the road in support of a rebellion! The Syrian government failed to capitalize on this premise since it had insufficient funds.

The correlation of the MENA states with the Western authorities offers a charming lesson. Partly on the right side in the continuum are states for example Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which were viewed to be stern associates of the West, whilst on the left are states such as Iran and Syria.

When it was appropriate to them, the West even backed tyrannical regimes who steadily misplaced contacts with their own citizens (Kissinger 78). The West later on emerged to be the greatest supporter of the uprisings by recognizing the activities of the radicals and appreciating their efforts. The Western states went to a higher level of funding activists and giving them technical knowledge. Liberalist theory explains this since states cooperate to restore democracy and egalitarianism.

Effects of the Syrian Uprisings

The political turbulence that has flounced through the Middle East has had a depressing outcome to regional currency since the financial systems of the states that have gone through the disorders have begged off stridently. Syria and Egypt are some of the states that have witnessed a turn down in financial activities and consecutively a spiky decline in the worth of its foreign exchange.

‘The unending mayhem may perhaps diminish the coffers of the state’, Reuters accounted. For instance, the Syrian treasury has been declining at a speed of $69 million to $79 million after every five days as the states central reservoir has been introducing overseas exchange into the financial structure to end the turn down of the Syrian pound, according to the intelligence reports.

Political mayhem in the Middle East region have influenced the financial and monetary policies of the world, mainly as it enhances the possibility of stagflation, a deadly combination of sluggish development and sharply increasing prices of commodities worldwide. Certainly, if stagflation emerges, there is a deadly threat of a double-dip downturn for an international financial system that has just surfaced from its nastiest calamity in decades.

Brutal instability in Syria and Egypt has traditionally been a basis of oil-price increases, which consecutively have generated three of the preceding five worldwide downturns. Oil value also played a bigger part in the current finance-driven worldwide downturn.

By 2008, prior to the decline of Lehman Brothers, oil prices had two folded over the 12 months, getting to the climax of $148 a barrel and conveying the takeover de grace to a previously fragile and besieged global market battered by economic distress (Calvocoressi 90). The mayhem may yet be controlled and withdrawn hence reducing the worth of oil. However, there is a severe possibility that the unrests will broaden, weakening Bahrain, Algeria, Oman, Jordan, Yemen, and ultimately even Saudi Arabia.

Prior to the Syrian and Egyptian political distresses, oil values had increased over $79-$89 a barrel, an amplification motivated not only by fuel-dehydration in the emerging economies, but also by non-basic aspects, including a variety of liquidity follow up of resources and merchandise in emerging economies.

The current rise in oil prices and the interrelated rise in other product prices, particularly foodstuff, signify numerous adverse penalties even leading to the possibility of relentless social turbulence. Inflationary anxiety will grow up in the overheating third world states where fuel and foodstuff costs offer up to two-thirds of the expenditure basket.

Given the feeble supply in slow-growing sophisticated markets, increasing product prices could lead just to a minute first-round consequence on caption rise, with modest second-round effect on major price rises (Wolf 12). Nevertheless, developed states will not walk away unhurt.

Conclusion

In the two states, it is true that people were inspired by the Marxist ideas to storm the streets to demand for their political and economic rights. The governments of the two states had established administrations that were indifferent and unresponsive to the demands and wishes of the majority.

Furthermore, the citizens were inspired by what was taking place in other places. In other words, globalization played a major role. Finally, the west influenced citizens to demand for their rights. The conflicts had stern effects as regards to the world economy. The conflicts were expected to increase the prices of commodities globally.

Works Cited

Barston, Ronald. Modern diplomacy. New York, NY: Pearson Education, 2006. Print

Calvocoressi, Ambrose. World Politics since 1945. 9th ed. New York: Longman, 2008. Print.

Gholz, Eugene. Protecting the ‘Prize’: Oil and the U.S. National Interest. Security Studies, 19.3, 2010, 453-485.

Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 1999. Print.

Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print.

Milner, Helen. Globalization, development, and international institutions: Normative and Positive Perspectives. Review Essay, 3.4, 2005, 833-854.

Wolf, Martin. Why Globalization Works. 1st ed. Sydney: Yale University Press, 2004. Print.

The literary work that will be focused on will be “the fire next time” which is a book written by James Baldwin in 1963.

The book contains two essays which include “My Dungeon Shook-Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary Emancipation” which discusses the central role of race in American history written in the form of a letter addressed to Baldwin’s 14-year old nephew and the second “Down at The Cross- Letter from a Region of My Mind” which deals with the relationship between race and religion based on Baldwin’s personal experiences with Christianity and Islam when he was young.

These two essays were used by Baldwin to provide a more extensive meaning of the Negro Problem or racial tensions that existed in America during the 1960s.

The purpose of this assessment will be to determine whether this book qualifies to be identified as a piece of protest literature and the various areas the author has chosen which represent protest literature.

American protest literature is referred to as a form of literary work that has been written to create some form of awareness within a society that has been subjected to various forms of injustice.

This type of literature is meant to highlight the struggle of these communities so that they can be able to overcome the atrocities and abuses they have been subjected to over certain durations of time. Baldwin’s book qualifies for protest literature because it addresses issues to do with American history and also Christianity and the Islamic faith.

The first few pages of the book focus on the first essay where Baldwin writes a dedicatory letter to his 14 year old nephew and namesake James. Baldwin basically advises his nephew on how to deal with the racist society of America in which he was born.

The letter basically offers some form of evaluation on the situation of blacks in America after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed to give the African American society freedom from the white oppressors. Baldwin basically addresses his nephew by pointing out that much of the difficulties the Negro community experienced in the white dominant country were known to the various members of the black society.

The letter represents some form of protest writing where he tells his nephew that he believes the Negros (as they were known then) had to take the high road when showing the white Americans how to live a good and proper life (Baldwin 4-6).

In his letter, Baldwin talks about the Negro community of America at times terming them as ignorant and also innocent to the actions of the white American society. He generally describes this community to be one that is strong to the various adversities and brutalities inflicted on them by the white Americans.

He also describes them as having an unassailable resilience since they were able to overcome the most terrifying odds to achieve freedom from slavery and racial discrimination which had been directed towards them for a considerable length of time by the white society.

This letter is basically meant to reaffirm the importance of the Negro community to Baldwin’s nephew despite the actions of the various members of the community (Baldwin 6-8).

Baldwin (9) tells his nephew not to lose faith in his community as a result of their actions against those who sought to defeat their existence in the white society.

In the last part of the essay, Baldwin (8-10) talks about how the African American community has been able to overcome the imposed values and belief systems of the white society where they have for example defeated the intention of spelling their names properly and also practising their religion.

This reflects protest writing as the writer speaks of how the Negro community was empowered to refuse any form of racial discrimination and slavery imposed on them by the white man. He addresses the aspect of integration by saying that the white society members should accept them as they are and stop fleeing from the reality of the social situation in America (10).

In the second part of the book titled “Down at the Cross” Baldwin focuses on religious and race matters by assessing his own background as a Christian minister during his teenage years. In the very first parts of this section, he recounts his religious experiences as a fourteen year old boy by offering an insight into the religion of the Negros (16).

He talks about how he joined the church to escape from the brutality and atrocities committed against his fellow brothers because the church offered him some apparent form of safety from the dangers that were in the street.

His escape to the church was also attributed to the moral decay that was being experienced in the Black community of that time. He describes how prostitution had become a problem especially in the place called the Avenue where all the socially immoral members of the black community headed to engage in immoral behaviour (Baldwin 17).

In the second part of the “Down at the Cross” essay, Baldwin dismisses religion especially that practiced by the African Americans to be one that is not taken seriously because they have failed to live up to the ideals that were taught by Jesus in the Bible.

He views it to be more of an escapist religion where the African Americans engage in worship to demonstrate their innocence to the racial discrimination they are being subjected to.

The Christian Negros failed to practice the principles of faith, hope, love and charity especially when they began to castigate the other members of society who did not observe Christian practices. Their religion was more dramatic and unreserved when compared to that of the white American society (Baldwin 15-22).

Baldwin also talks about the Muslim movement which was beginning to rise within the African American community where he tries to come to terms with the religion of Islam, Prophet Mohammed and other important religious leaders of the Islamic religion (46).

Baldwin in his assessment of the Islamic faith focused on Elijah Muhammad (47) who was an African American religious leader during the 1960s. Muhammad led the Nation of Islam from 1934 to 1975 where he taught his African American followers on the ways of Islam.

Elijah viewed Christianity as the white man’s rationale for oppressing the Negros because the basic foundation of the African American religion was founded on white Christianity (Baldwin 44-50).

Baldwin criticised Elijah’s teachings because they were mostly centred on racial hatred that was not any better from the racial hatred the white people directed towards the African American society.

Elijah saw the Christian religion as an extension of white rule and racial discrimination against black people. He believed that God was black and that he should have been addressed as Allah, the chosen one who has been selected to end the white devil’s domination in the African American society (Baldwin 49).

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. The fire next time. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.

The murder of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, caused a resonance in American society. Thousands of angry citizens took to the streets, demanding a fair trial, as the reason for the shooting was a bare administrative violation, and the policeman acted in breach of protocol. Civil protests quickly escalated into violent clashes with police patrols. This paper aims to determine the causes of the incident and subsequent protests, and list the further reforms that proved to be the most effective.

Professor Leonard Herman believes that the main reasons behind the incident, and the subsequent clashes, were serious crisis management problems in police offices throughout the country. Herman emphasized that the reaction to the protests was gravely erroneous; he also noted that the situation in Ferguson desperately needed a “weapon-down posture” (Pazzanese, 2014, para 13). Scholar believes that when police officers deal with civilians rather than armed terrorists, they should not follow the protocol order to keep weapons ready.

Herman also drew attention to the role of political leaders, as well as leaders of investigative and law enforcement agencies, in resolving the conflict. He also marked the need for an adequate information policy in the police and recognized isolated cases of police harassment of media representatives.

The investigation subsequently recognized that Darren Willson acted in violation of the code. That is why his actions had the character of organizational deviation. Workplace and organizational deviation is a complex problem that arises mainly as a sign of passive aggression toward the organization. Scientists identify incivility, violence, and aggression, discrimination, sexual harassment, abusive behavior as manifestations of interpersonal misbehavior at the workplace (Vardi, & Weitz, 2016, p. 65).

Other manifestations have intrapersonal character – stress, fatigue, and burnout, workaholism (Vardi, & Weitz, 2016, p. 65). The main reason for the incident was officially defined as “focus on generating revenue” of Ferguson law enforcement officers (US Department of Justice Civil Rights). However, the direct cause of the shooting was the violation by Darren Wilson of his job descriptions.

As a result of protests, the Missouri State Police has gone through many reforms. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that as a result of the reform, “highway shoulders are no longer lined with officers aiming radar guns,” municipal prisons are free, and the number of fines reduced significantly. Moreover, “municipal court collections in St. Louis and St. Louis County were down 60% in 2018 from their 2014 levels” (Kohler, 2019). Thus, it could be assumed that mass protests and the subsequent implementation of reforms allowed the police to shift the focus from filling the state budget to protecting citizens.

However, statistics on civilian killings have not changed much since 2014. In 2015, 994 citizens were killed by police throughout the country; in 2018, this figure was 992 people, and it remained at the same level in 2019 (McDermott, 2019). The journalist concludes that the introduction of body cameras, new police training methods, demilitarization of weapons and tactics, and court reforms did not add respect for human life to the police.

The author acknowledges that the reforms led to a reduction in “monetized abuse of poor minorities” by local systems of justice, including the courts and the police (McDermott, 2019, para. 10). The level of conscious citizens making video records of violent cases also increased. Besides, the federal government turned its attention to the local police officers, and the problem of unmotivated aggression by police arise in scientific discussions more and more often.

Thus, the causes of the incident and subsequent protests in Ferguson were identified, and the most effective reforms were named. To summarize it, the main causes of the incident and subsequent protests were problems with crisis management, focus on generating revenue, and organizational deviations. The most effective reform was court reform, which led to reducing monetized abuse by local systems of justice. Nonetheless, the police demilitarization reform was unsuccessful, as the civilian killings statistics remained the same.

References

Kohler, J. (2019). Punitive. Predatory. Dehumanizing. Criminal justice in the St. Louis area has changed, but is it enough? St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Web.

McDermott, K. (2019). Ferguson diagnosed a national illness. But five years later, it hasn’t been cured. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.Web.

Pazzanese, C. (2014). The fumbles in Ferguson. The Harvard Gazette. Web.

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (2015). Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department. Web.

Vardi, Y., & Weitz, E. (2016). Misbehavior in Organizations: A Dynamic Approach. London, England: Routledge.

Introduction

Nowadays, it became a commonplace practice among Westerners to refer to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, which were violently suppressed by the Chinese government, as such that have been fueled by the ordinary Chinese citizens’ longing for democracy (Wright, 1999; Beja, 2009). In its turn, this prompts many people to discuss these protests in necessarily positive terms; whereas, the manner in which the government has dealt with supposedly freedom-seeking Chinese citizens is being usually deemed thoroughly inappropriate.

At the same time, however, there is a certain rationale in believing that the reason why today’s China is considered nothing short of a world’s major superpower, is that in 1989, the Chinese government had proven itself resourceful enough not to allow the country to begin descending into the chaos of a ‘street democracy’. In my paper, I will aim to explore the validity of this suggestion at length.

Main Body

As of today, it represents a universally shared assumption, among political analysts in the West, that it was specifically the ineptness of Deng Xiaoping’s market-oriented reforms, which resulted in the fact that by 1989, many ordinary Chinese citizens have grown to dislike the country’s formally Communist leaders. However, if anything, the presumed ineffectiveness of these reforms contributed to the outbreak of the 1989 student ‘uprising’ the least. The reason for this is quite apparent – due to the implementation of Xiaoping’s reforms, through the years 1978-1988, the extent of Chinese citizens’ economic well-being was improving rather rapidly, even though that a bulk of these citizens continued to experience difficulties, while trying to take an immediate advantage of the situation.

This is because, just as it has always been the case in countries, set on the path of free-market reforms, the implementation of these reforms initially benefit the representatives of social elites. Hence, a certain dichotomy between people’s reform-related hopes, on the one hand, and the reforms’ immediately felt outcomes, on the other. As Xiaobo (2006) noted, “Stability at the macro level under strongmen does not mean that there is stability at the micro level… the rapid growth under reform do not mean that the entire population is prosperous” (p. 125).

As it has always been the case, throughout the course of history, the process of people’s living standards being steadily improved necessarily falls back on the concerned individuals’ irrational expectations, in this respect. In its turn, this explains why people in industrialized countries tend to complain about their current living standards being ‘unbearable’, even though that economically speaking, they fare so much better than it used to be the case with them, even as recent as 10 years ago.

Therefore, it would be wrong to refer to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, as such have been dialectically predetermined. Instead, these protests should be looked upon as such that have been orchestrated by the agents of foreign influence – just as it was the case with the orchestration of earlier mentioned ‘orange’/’Jasmin’ revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. In fact, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests should be referred to in terms of an unsuccessful attempt to undermine a large sovereign country’s socioeconomic and geopolitical integrity from within (Chou, 2005).

In its turn, this explains the counterproductive essence of protesting students’ political agenda – while believing that China was lagging behind USSR on the way of ‘democratization’, their long-term agenda was concerned the banning of the Communist party, a complete privatization of the economy, an abandonment of a socialist form of governing, and the country’s federalization. If protesting students succeeded, China would have been set on the path of self-destruction.

The example of happened to USSR in 1991, leave very little doubt, as to the full legitimacy of this suggestion. After all, the earlier mentioned demands were well consistent with how the Soviet first and last President Gorbachev proceeded with ‘modernizing’ the USSR, which resulted in the reduction of country’s population by 20 million (due to ethnic separatism and ‘natural causes’), in the destruction of economy’s technologically advanced sectors, and ultimately – in the wiping of USSR from the world’s map.

Therefore, in order for us to define the actual significance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, we need to understand that the qualitative dynamics in the arena of a particular country’s domestic politics extrapolate the dynamics in the arena of international politics. In their turn, international politics cannot be discussed outside of what account for three major purposes of just about every country’s existence – economic/geopolitical expansion, protection of internal stability, impairment of the internal stability of competing countries. Given the fact that America is being objectively interested in China’s socioeconomic destabilization, the suggestion that the Tiananmen Square protests were well premeditated and that the agents of foreign influence did contribute to the situation getting out of control, does deserve to be considered.

After all, this suggestion would well explain why, as it can be seen in ‘The gate of heavenly peace’ video, the leaders of protesting students did not even try to conceal the fact that the Tiananmen Square ‘uprising’ was financed by ‘human rights’ emissaries from Hong Kong and Taiwan – the puppet-states of Western major powers. Apparently, the participants of what would be the China’s ‘orange’ revolution were ill acquainted with the history of the Opium Wars, fought by Western countries in China under the pretext of ‘defending the democracy’; whereas, the actual purpose of these wars having been the maintenance of China’s quasi-colonial status.

Therefore, it is quite impossible to disagree with how Chinese official newspapers of the time used to reflect upon the actual significance of the 1989 protests, “If we are tolerant or conniving with this turmoil and let it go unchecked… Then the improvement of the economic environment and the rectification of the economic order, construction, and development; the control over prices; the improvement of our living standards… will all become empty hopes” (Ogden, 1992, p. 117). Nevertheless, it would not be fully appropriate to discuss the counterproductive nature of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests from only the conspirological perspective, because there is a plenty of evidence in ‘The gate of heavenly peace’ as to the fact that, had the protesting students their way – even without being helped from abroad, it would still hardly benefit the society.

For example, according to Feng Congde (one of the leaders), people gathered at the Square were constantly finding themselves indulged in violent clashes with each other. The reason for this is apparent – the majority of those who were ‘defending the democracy’ at Tiananmen Square, believed that it was specifically their vision of democracy, which could be considered ‘ideologically sustainable’ and consequently – as such that needed to be forcibly imposed upon others. We can only guess what would have happened if protesting students prevailed.

However, judging from what were some of these students’ existential attitudes (as seen in the documentary), it would only be logical to suggest that if proven victorious, the Tiananmen Square ‘uprising’ would result in China being subjected to yet another dictatorship – the dictatorship of Chinese-styled ‘democracy’. As a long-term consequence, China would have been plunged in the bloody bacchanalia of chaos – just as it has traditionally been the case with South-Asian countries, under the rule of young and ideologically committed ‘revolutionaries’, regardless of whether they happened to be ‘commies’ or ‘democrats’.

After all, there can be few doubts that the provoking of bloodshed was indeed the actual aim of the Tiananmen Square’s self-appointed ’field-commanders’. The validity of this suggestion can be illustrated in regards to the interview with Chai Ling, in which she admitted that she and her cronies did strive to ensure a violent confrontation between the protesting students, on the one hand, and the Army, on the other, so that it would help to ‘awaken’ China. Just as it is being usually the case with particularly notorious sadists/serial killers, Ling revealed herself to be simultaneously both – an utterly sentimental (she never hesitated to cry, while talking about impending casualties) and yet bloodthirsty individual, who was willing to sacrifice as many lives as possible, in order to advance the cause of ‘revolution’. As Ling herself stated, “Our generation has the courage to die” (Yu, 1990, p. 173).

People can admire Ling’s bravery and the strength of her determination to overthrow the Chinese government all they want, the fact remains – it was partially due to her ill-concealed agenda to provoke the government into attacking students that the tragedy of Tiananmen Square became possible, in the first place. As of today, even many of those who continue praising the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, as such that showed to the whole world that the values of a democratic living do in fact appeal to the Chinese people, have no option but to admit that Ling should be held partly responsible for the massacre.

According to Tsou (1991), “Chai Ling and her advisors and supporters, made no attempt to restrain the most radical students and residents of Beijing. Instead, their highly emotional speeches and flamboyant actions tended to inflame popular feelings” (p. 315). As we now know, later in her life, Ling became a strongly devout Christian believer. This, of course, only confirms the legitimacy of a suspicion that even, as early as in 1989, she must have been already not altogether psychologically adequate. Essentially the same can be said about the rest of self-appointed ‘leaders’, seen in the documentary.

Therefore, the Chinese government’s decision to use a military force, in order to disperse protesters, appears fully appropriate. Of course, this decision resulted in a number of casualties among protesters. At the same time, however, it allowed China to remain on the path of a continual progress, and consequently resulted in the creation of preconditions for the 21^st century’s China to acquire the status of the world’s second most powerful and economically advanced country.

Conclusion

I believe that the earlier deployed line of argumentation, as to the fact that the events of 1989 in Tiananmen Square should be assessed in terms of a failed ‘orange’ coup, which was to be carried out by socially-irresponsible and often mentally inadequate individuals, such as Chai Ling, is being thoroughly consistent with the paper’s initial thesis.

References:

Beja, J. (2009). China since Tiananmen: The massacre’s long shadow. Journal of Democracy, 20 (3), 5-16.

Yu, M. (1990). Voices from Tiananmen Square, Montreal: Black Rose Books.

Tsou, T. (1991). Contemporary Chinese politics in historical perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wright, T. (1999). State repression and student protest in contemporary China. mThe China Quarterly, 157, 142-172.

Xiaobo, L. (2006). Reform in China: The role of civil society. Social Research, 73 (1), 121-138.

Ogden, S. (1992). China’s search for democracy: The student and mass movement of 1989. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Spartacus 2400 (2012). The gate of heavenly peace – Tiananmen Square protests. Web.

Chou, H. (2005). Zhao Ziyang: A CIA agent? Chinascope, 5, 36-38.

Introduction

Bahrain is a small island nation in the Persian Gulf, officially known as the Kingdom of Bahrain. Like many countries in the Middle East, this island nation is known for its oil resources, pearls and dominant financial and heritage structures. The country has also been on of the faces of the Arab spring that has toppled various tyrannical governments across the Middle East. Precisely, the government of Bahrain has faced serious demonstrations since 2011 from protesters demanding removal of the country’s long serving prime minister and various other reforms from the ruling monarch. The latest face of the Bahrain uprising was the demonstration against the staging of Formula One, a premier sporting event that the country uses to showcase itself as a united nation with sustained social, civil and political harmony.

Protesters in Bahrain are mainly minority Shiias agitating for civil freedoms and equality in all levels of the Bahraini society. The Bahraini protests are inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt that succeeded in overthrowing the countries’ autocratic regimes (Manhire 56). Though the Bahraini monarch is not explicitly threatened, analysts agree that the protests outcomes will have far-reaching effects beyond the country’s borders. Additionally, some scholars argue that the protests in Bahrain can be seen through the various schools of though especially Marxism and liberalism. In this paper, the focus will be on the likely effects of the protests on the larger Gulf and Middle East countries. As mentioned, there will be emphasis on the aspects of one of the schools of thought regarding the protests and their effects in the Gulf and the larger Middle East.

Bahrain uprising 2011-2012

The protests in Bahrain were initially about political freedom and respect for human rights. However, a raid by police on the otherwise peaceful demonstrators on 17^th February 2011 led to the call by Shiia clerics leading the demonstrations for the overthrow of the monarch. It is important to note that the monarch that is leading Bahrain is from the Sunni minority, a similar ethnicity that also rules neighboring Saudi Arabia (Dabashi 78). Perhaps fearing a spread of the Shiia-led Protests to its kingdom, Saudi Arabia began taking an active role in the Bahraini protests. Saudi troops with the authority of the country’s crown prince entered the kingdom and forcefully suppressed the demonstrations.. Besides, Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are mulling a proposal to form a loose political union that may later be transformed to a federation. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain however seem to be more committed in realizing the political union compared to other GCC countries, perhaps due to the perceived threat of shiia majority rebellion to their establishments.

Bahrain Protests in Marxism perspective

Both capitalist/liberal schools of thought can be used to explain the protests in Bahrain. A careful study of either of them can draw similarities between the situation on the ground and the envisaged situation according to the two schools of thought.

The collapse of the Soviet Union left liberalism/capitalism as the dominant economic system in the world. With it developed two classes of people; those with resources and those without. More often than not, the people with resources and wealth are associated with power and authorities. Technically therefore, the wealth forms the ruling class while the masses with no wealth are ordinary people. Apart from United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait whose leadership spend a significant portion of the oil wealth on their people, the rest of the countries including Bahrain have a big chunk of their citizens living on abject poverty, according to Middle East standards. This is compounded by the fact that this class division and induced economic marginalization takes place along ethnic lines.

Additionally, the ruling class, perceived to be the minority ethnically has deliberately kept the majority in an economically helpless situation effectively fueling resentment. It is the above situation that has convinced scholars that the protests in Bahrain have everything to do with class struggle and desire to change the ruling and economic system. There is an overwhelming feeling among the Shiia majority that the ruling Sunni minority has suppressed them for generations and that the time is ripe for change. This therefore introduces the Marxist perspective that captures the situation in Bahrain and its likely effects in the Middle East especially in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran.

According to Aloysius, Marxism advances the view that society is controlled by the few people who have resources and power who in turn pay very little to acquire services of the majority in order to make extra wealth they refer to as profit (123). According to Karl Marx’s theory, continuous domination and marginalization breeds resentment and anger among the neglected. Cumulatively, this anger builds and leads to protests which may give birth to political and social revolutions. The effects of such revolutions according to Karl Marx are far-reaching. Normally, the entire political and social systems are completely changed and a new order comes into place. Normally, the leaders of the new order may follow the ideals of the revolution before power and wealth corrupts them setting the stage for the formation of a new revolution cycle. It is important to note that this process takes a long time and protests like the ones experienced in Bahrain are the beginning of the end of the cycle.

Effects of protests through Marxist Perspective

The situation Bahrain is representative of many situations in the gulf countries where discontent about the ruling political class is growing. The Marxist-related consequences in Bahrain tackled here therefore should act as a mirror of the effects of the wider gulf countries in case the protests continue or achieve their objectives.

According to Dabashi, the protesters in Bahrain have been issuing demands like those experienced in Egypt and other Arab countries during the Arab Spring (28). However, the real motivation behind the protests is the deep sectarian division among the ethic groups forming the population of the country. Before an analysis on the protests is carried out, it is important to acknowledge that the protests in Bahrain are as a result of the domino effect originating from the Arab spring elsewhere, outside Bahrain. Certainly, the protesters were inspired by other successful revolts in Egypt and Tunisia as well as hidden support by other regimes in the Middle East such as Iran and Iraq.

In analyzing the effects of the uprising in Bahrain, a few points worth noting come to the fore. First, there is the theory that unlimited access to the oil wealth in the Middle East by authorities gives the ruling class the capacity to easily suppress dissent. Though Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia don’t belong to the oil rich club of the Middle East, the modest oil access to such oil resources by authorities accords them the necessary muscle to clamp down anti regime rebellions. Smith says that there has been a school of thought in the Middle East that holds the view that monarchies have slightly more popular legitimacy that elected governments and straight out dictatorships (111). However, this theory has been discounted by the Bahrain protesters who have called for the overthrow of the ruling monarch.

Oil wealth and monarch leadership doesn’t seem to have helped Bahrain. Besides the above factors, there is the issue of Islamic fundamentalism that has played a hugely unacknowledged role in the protests in the Middle East. Bradley assets that different states have a hand in the Bahraini protests and influence peddling is sure to determine the outcome of the situation in Bahrain and its spilling effects especially in countries with a Sunni-Shiia political axis (83).

There is the role of the United States and the countries allied to it (Manhire 56). Somehow, US allies including Bahrain and Egypt have adopted a restrained approach in suppressing the demonstrations compared to anti-US nations such as Iran, Syria and Libya. It is important to note that the ties between the US and Bahrain go beyond economics to include military as the country hosts the US Navy’s fifth fleet.

It is important to note that all the above factors play a significant role in the effects and aftermath of the protests in Bahrain. Though the Bahrain protests are as a result of the domino effect of the Arab spring, gulf countries and other Middle East nations are nervously watching the outcome in Bahrain. Given its Sunni-Shiia political axis, an overt US and Arab nations role, the outcome in Bahrain will reflect the eventuality that befalls many of the nations in the region with similar political and social dynamics.

More importantly however is the assertion by some scholars that the protests in the Middle East especially Bahrain is a reaction to the class and societal positions of the masses in that community (Dabashi 10). Thus a larger perspective provides the base and platform for the events in Bahrain and the likely effects on the region with similar dynamics. The larger perspective also represents a school of thought that takes into account all the factors mentioned above.

In Bahrain, the root causes of the protests mirror those that are cited by Marxist theorists (Aloysius 23). First, there is a monopoly of power by the al-Khalifa family that traces its origins from Saudi Arabia. The Shiia majority especially have issues with the unelected Prime Minister Sheikh Khalfa who is also an uncle to the current King Hamad. The prime minister has been in power since 1971 and is thought to be the wealthiest member of the royal family. In the government, the cabinet is composed of four fifths of the royal family members with King Hamad wielding immense powers and can dismiss members of the cabinet besides proroguing parliament at will. Additionally, the King appoints most of the civil servants in the kingdom in a manner that many people agree is very dubious. In line with true capitalist greed, the royal family acquired $65 billion worth of prime real estate land that previously was state property (Miller 26).

Beside leadership failures the human rights situation of the kingdom has deteriorated considerably. King Hamad who took over power in 1999 dramatically improved the human rights situation though 2010 marked the decline of the gains that had been realized. Arbitrary arrests of non-violent government critics, torture, gagging of the internet and killing of protesters had angered the public who feel the excesses of the monarch are getting out of control.

Perhaps the most important of the factors in the Bahraini protests is the subjection to the Shiia majority to marginalization, discrimination and poverty. Bahrain is a relatively wealthy kingdom whose population is approximately 70% Shiia (Smith 42). However, the majority of government official are from the Sunni minority with majority of Shiia people living in poverty in rural areas. Additionally, there is discontent among Shiia community due to the government’s speedy grants of citizenships to Sunnis from outside the Kingdom. There have also been electoral malpractices with the most notable happening in 2008 when the government prevented Shiia party supporters from voting effectively denying them a much-needed majority in parliament.

In essence therefore, the protests are a culmination of perceived injustices among the majority Shiia and some Sunni people propagated by the ruling and wealth Sunni minority. It is the perfect recipe for protests and/or revolutions as advanced in Marx’s theory.

There is no doubt that there will be changes in the Bahraini community in the aftermath of the protests (Bradley 12). The effects of such changes as emphasized through this paper will echo beyond the borders of the small gulf kingdom. Precisely, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran will most likely feel the affects of the protests in Bahrain. Whether the ruling class in Bahrain will be overthrown or not, there is likely to be a high charged activism in the countries mentioned. It is important to note that the countries mentioned represent some of the hot spots of the region where US involvement is very pronounced.

There is a likelihood of increased Sunni-Shiia confrontation in various countries in the region especially those that are mentioned above. In case of a Sunni triumph in Bahrain, the most likely first causality of the aftermath will be Saudi Arabia. There is considerable resentment of the Saudi monarch by the Saudi Shiia population (Hiscock 77). Though relatively stable, an uprising by the Shiia section of the population in Saudi Arabia is a very likely scenario currently. Occurrence of Bahrain-style resistance in Saudi Arabia is almost a foregone conclusion in case the protests in Bahrain persist. Most analysts agree that this is the reason why Saudi Arabia is eager to help Bahrain suppress the protests militarily. Also, it is the reason why both Kingdoms are willing to enter to a hastily arranged political union with each other in order to preserve the Sunni dominance of the politics in the region.

The Sunni- Shiia duel will not only be limited to Saudi Arabia. Though Iraq has in place a fledgling democracy, it is not lost to observers that former ruler Saddam was a Sunni who had numerous run-ins with the Shiia population of the country. The political landscape in Iraq is now changed but continued protests in Bahrain with or without any meaningful success are sure to fuel confrontational politics in Iraq that may make the country’s already volatile situation spiral out of control.

Additionally, there is Iran which many analysts believe sympathizes with Shiia populations in the Middle East countries (Miller 90). Iran has influence ambitions in the region and fueling dissent against Sunni rulers provides it with the surest way to assert control to counter the US and Israel whom it perceives as enemies.

The Middle East is a diverse region with enormous resources and offers a unique market place and influence peddling platform. As such, various world powers have sought to assert their influence in the region. The US mainly, has military relationships with various countries in the region. What’s more, US military presence happens to be in countries where the Sunni-Shiia duel is playing out. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the two countries that stand to be most affected by the protests have very close military ties with the US ranging from arms buying to hosting of US military personnel (Gelyin 148). Additionally, Iraq is recovering from a grueling military campaign waged by the US military that sought to overthrow a Sunni ruler. Furthermore, experts believe eventually, a military confrontation between the US and Iran, a major influence peddler in the Middle East is inevitable.

Considering the above, a major effect therefore of the Bahrain protests will be far-reaching military implications in the gulf and the larger Middle East (Gelyin 67). There is likelihood that the US will evaluate its military strategy in the region especially considering such protests put its allies on the verge of political and social instability. A very likely scenario is the possibility of Shiia-dominated parliaments and governments that will seek limitation of the US military role or closure of US military facilities in Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Such a situation will impede cooperation of the gulf countries with the US in its operations in Afghanistan while frustrating US efforts to secure assured flow of energy resources from the Middle East.

Besides the political effects stemming from the Bahraini protests, there are other economic implications that are very likely should the situation continue (Hiscock 31). The descent to violence of Lebanon in the 1970’s enabled Bahrain to emerge as the leading financial center in the Middle East. By virtue of being Middle East’s financial hub, every country in the region is in one way or another connected to Bahrain. Prolonged protests or the fall of the Bahrain authority will likely send the entire region into a crisis that will further expose the region’s economies already feeling the pressure of a stubborn world economy.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Bahrain protests significantly hold the key in determining the political, economic and military directions of the gulf countries and the larger Middle East. As mentioned earlier, the catalyst for these protests is the resentment of the majority Shiia people who feel marginalized by the ruling class. Unfortunately, the protests are heavily dotted with ethnic undertones that starkly differ from the protests in the rest of the region. Despite the ethnicity however, the common factor remains poverty and class struggles against perceived economic and social injustices. Considering the magnitude and determination of the protesters in Bahrain, Marxists consequences are very likely. Though drastic changes in the small kingdom is unlikely in the short-term, political, social and military changes in Bahrain occasioned by the protests will no doubt have a ripple effect throughout the region, especially in places where the Sunni-Shiia politics dominate.

Works Cited

Aloysius, Stefanu. Arab Spring, Chicago: Springer, 2011. Print.

Bradley, John. After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked The Middle East Revolts, New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Dabashi, Hamid. The Arab Spring: The End of Post-colonialism, London: Sage Publications, 2012. Print.

Gelyin, James. The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know, New York: Thomson Learning, 2012. Print.

Hiscock, Geoff. Earth Wars: The Battle for Global Resources, New York: Taylor & Francis, 2012. Print.

Manhire, Toby. Arab Spring: Rebellion, Revolution, and a New World Order, New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Miller, Frederic et al. 2011 Bahraini Protests. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print.

Smith, Lydia. The Arab Spring: Revolutions and Unrest in the Arab World, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

During the regime of President Chester A. Arthur, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was back in 1882. At first, the act was meant to last for ten years. However, it was later extended for ten more years after the Geary Act was passed in 1892. The Geary Act mandated that Chinese people carry their legal documents with them, always the failure to which they could be subjected to deportation (Ahmad 84). In 1904, the Act was extended for an indefinite period.

During this time, only tourists, teachers, diplomats, and students were allowed to enter the United States. This write-up will analyze how the Chinese Americans reacted to these changes and restrictions (U.S Department of State).

The exclusions facilitated the development and establishment of the paper son system. Prior to the Second World War, most Chinese seeking to enter the United States claimed that the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed them their citizenship. It is because the Amendment in question protected the nationality of those born within the United States jurisdiction. Moreover, such citizens were given the right to confer citizenship to other off-springs born in a foreign land.

It was commonly referred to as “the generational transfer of citizenship” (Hsu 46), and it eventually yielded the paper son system. This system was so efficient and sophisticated that it limited the implementation of the Exclusion laws.

The Chinese Americans were not ready to accept unfair treatment while sitting down. In fact, they used all tools they could get their hands on to oppose and circumvent the laws. At various points, they used the American Judicial System. It was surprising given that the Chinese Americans had migrated from a nation which has a litigious tradition. However, it was evident that they were quickly learning the American way. They went to courts and fought to have their rights recognized.

Fortunately for them, they managed to win various cases, most of which the courts declared the ordinances placed against them as being unconstitutional (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration).

The Chinese Americans also took advantage of petitions and the media to protest against racial discrimination. For instance, the case of the people v Hall involved a convicted white man. The testimony, in this case, was given by a Chinese witness. At that time, “Section 14 of the Criminal Act” (People V. Hall 139), dictated that a black man, Indian, or a mullet was not allowed in any way to give testimony either against or for a white man. It implied that even the Chinese were not allowed to bear witness for or against white men, as was the case here. During this case, the judges ruled that the testimony given was inadmissible (People V. Hall 144).

Just to conclude, implementing the exclusion laws only forced the Chinese to devise illegal ways of entering the country. According to a Hong Kong-based United States Consul General, there was a very well developed system which operated in Hong Kong enabling Chinese to enter the United States illegally. According to the Report of Fraud at Hong Kong, having the right resources was vital for one to acquire entrance irrespective of their eligibility to do so. Besides, alien Chinese could pay $3,000 to buy American citizenship. The terms for this was a $500 down payment. The balance was paid upon arrival into the nation (Lai 27).

Works Cited

U.S Department of State. “Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts – 1866–1898 – Milestones.” Office of the Historian. N.p., 2016. Web.

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. “Chinese Immigration and the Chinese in the United States.” National Archives and Records Administration. N.p., 2016. Web.

Ahmad, Diana L. The Opium Debate and Chinese Exclusion Laws in the Nineteenth-Century American West. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2007. Print.

Hsu, Madeline. “Gold Mountain Dreams And Paper Son Schemes: Chinese Immigration Under Exclusion.” Chinese America: History & Perspectives (1997): 46. Academic Search Complete. Web.

People V. Hall. n.p.: 2014. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.

Lai, H M. On Becoming Chinese American: A History of Communities and Institutions. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira, 2004. Print.

Despite the fact of age, those demonstrations have no common features. Therefore, it is impossible to make a comparison with other youth movements. History knows many student organizations that stood up for one cause or another. One of them is the Red Guard, a military movement composed mainly of volunteers who supported the October Revolution of 1917. It is safe to say that they were one of the rebels who overthrew the Tsar and helped establish the Bolshevik regime in Tsarist Russia and then joined the regular army. Perhaps this movement can be considered a bit of a departure from the ones everyone is used to, representing student rallies. If one compares the Red Guards and, conventionally, demonstrations in America or France, the differences are enormous, from the size and methods of countering authority.

It can be said that the spirit of American freedom is a model to be emulated around the world to this day. Mostly Paris and Senegal protests were peaceful and did not bring too much harm. Looking at the student movements in the US in more detail, a kind of pacifism can be seen and not so much hatred (Carey). In America, freedom and democracy have always reigned, and the majority’s views have reflected all views. This spirit has been passed on to students, inspired by their civil rights to change and stand up for their thoughts, not by brute force, but by numbers and freedoms. As with many other things, other European countries have also been inspired by the ideas of young people in the USA when they come out to rally and show their disagreement with the policies of their representatives. That is exactly why those movements are similar to America and not like the Russians of 1917.

Work Cited

Carey, Elaine. Protests in the Streets: 1968 across the Globe. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, 2016.

Religious leaders were vital participants in organized social protests like marches and large-scale demonstrations. I believe the prominent role of religion in protests, particularly during the early 20^th Century, was due to many social problems associated with moral sanctions, such as during the American Revolution, gender politics, sexual morality, and prohibition rules. Moreover, religion was a crucial determinant of politics during the Century. For instance, protestant voices raised concern over the fitness of John F. Kennedy that challenged his 1960 campaign. Therefore, religion during the 20^th Century played an active role in social moral policing and political contribution characterized by Church-state tension, making it the primary participant in organized social protests.

Religion was not only the source of zeal and criticism for protests in the early 20^th Century but also provided the meeting place for movements in the US while delivering resources to support protests, serving as the movement’s symbol. Acting as part of the elites in the society, religious leaders identified social-morality issues on separate social identity, unequal freedom, or unjustified order of social relationships. The Roman Catholic Church pressed for and represented the freedom of movement participants sought. Additionally, the transformation of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries substantially upset the politics and economies globally, setting the ground for religious leaders’ intervention in the 20^th Century.

During the 20^th Century, religion was used to feed the passionate flame in protests to serve revolutionary social change, defiant morals, and civilization. Dynamic religious actors acted as elites in the 20^th Century to reorganize communities according to acceptable moralities and politics. Economic and political factors in preceding centuries disrupted the traditional social order giving a stage to new religious and political revolts to re-introduce morality and civilization in the society.