Middle East Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Middle East Studies - Essay Example This is achieved through networks of charitable organizations that also form the bases for political mobilization of the Islamists. The support for the Islamists stems from the fact that they are active and unified with proper organization in the provision of services to the population. For example, Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and Egypt are actively involved in the management and development of resources in healthcare, education and infrastructure. Hamas rise and popularity in the Palestinian society can be attributed to the many social services that they provide to the society through its efficient network of social, sports and health facilities and libraries. Therefore, it is no wonder that in the elections held on January 2006, it won a massive 74 out of 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council; thus, becoming the ruling party. The Hezbollah in Lebanon started as a military organization but transformed into a political outf it aimed at preventing the continued settlement of Israelis in parts of Lebanon especially the south. In the early 1990s, it transformed into an outfit for the solution of socio-economic problems of the society through integration into the Lebanese political system specifically the legislature. Their social welfare programs have included the provision of food rations to impoverished neighborhoods. This has increased their popularity in areas that the government has failed to provide utilities (Nicholas 73). The Muslim Brotherhood has been actively involved in the Egyptian civil society by taking up professional organizations making them efficient in the provision of social services. The failure by the state to provide these services to the people has endeared the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood making it involved in electoral politics in professional associations, trade unions and political parties (Haynes 241). War, Political Violence, Terrorism, Counter-terrorism in the Middle East si nce 1967 Since the Cold War era and the end of the Soviet Union, the United States has developed a bipartisan foreign policy known as selective engagement. This requires it to be applied differently depending on certain factors such as the issue at hand, the time of the issue and the preferences of the leader at the time of the occurrence. America’s policy in the engagement of war must be determined by factors such as the protection of national interests, the costs on the American citizen and the time of the engagement. Moreover, there is need for the availability of allies to shoulder the human, physical and financial burdens in the engagement and find a viable exit strategy that leaves the prevailing political environment in the country being stable than before (Lacquement 11) The Arab-Israeli conflict has been widely followed by the US regime through what is known as preventive and constructive diplomacy. Constructive diplomacy has involved assistance in the form of financ ial aid to Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan and the Palestine Authority including Israel. This is achieved through information sharing on matters of terrorism and countering them by offering viable arrangements in addressing the security situation in the region. Russia has also proposed cooperation by the superpowers in the region to mitigate fear in the regions (Breslauer 286). The Iran-Iraq was about religious schisms such as the Sunni-Shia, the