NIMEP INSIGHTS: Volume II, Spring 2006

Welcome back to NIMEP Insights. We continue to live in interesting times -- this journal is an effort to contribute to an innovative, constructive, and humane dialogue that hopes to lend a framework of possibility to a world besieged by dissonance and complexity. This issue incorporates research from our latest fact-finding missions to Turkey and Egypt as well as individual research trips to Belgium, Iran, Israel and the West Bank, and the United Arab Emirates. NIMEP is proud to present a journal that is representative of our diverse makeup. Contributors to this journal come from Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Israel, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States. We proudly welcome the contribution of Mouin Rabbani, Tufts University alumnus from 1986 and a friend of the Institute for Global Leadership for over twenty years. Mr. Rabbani is a model alumnus of this institution: a global citizen, a leading voice from the field, and a first-class scholar. In our on-going effort to reach out to scholars, students, practitioners and individuals throughout the world, we hope that this journal will inspire engagement and further research on the complex issues related to the Middle East. We welcome all feedback and responses to the contents of this year’s publication. Click on the links below to download pdfs

Introduction Welcome, Introduction, Dedication, Table of Contents.

Forward Sherman Teichman, Director, Tufts Institute for Global Leadership

The Palestinian Political System at a Crossroads: An Interview with Mouin Rabbani Interview by Matan Chorev, The Fletcher School, MALD ‘07 Mouin Rabbani is the Senior Middle East Analyst for the International Crisis Group and a Tufts alum, A86, with degrees in International Relations and History.

Turkey’s Delta Paradox Matan Chorev and Mehmet Tarzi, International Relations and Philosophy ‘06 An analysis of Turkey’s complex political and geostrategic reality reveals that, if mismanaged, Turkey’s reform process will paradoxically be to its own detriment.

The Inequalities of the Public Sphere in a Democratic Islamic Iran: A Critical Examination of the Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush Negar Razavi, History and Peace and Justice Studies ‘06 A critique of the shortcomings of Soroush’s conception of gender and religious rights in his model for a democratic public sphere in Iran.

Shaping the Church, Shaping the City: The Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem Dan McDermott, International Relations ‘07 Focusing on the lay-clergy divide in the Jerusalem Patriarchate, this paper highlights the Greek Orthodox Church’s involvement in the region’s volatile politics.

Photographs from the Field: Egypt, Iran, Israel and the West Bank, and Turkey (Photo Gallery) Meena Bolourchi, Biological Sciences and Psychology '08, Matthew Edmundson, Economics '05, Rachel Leven, International Relations '07, and Mehmet Tarzi

The Pharaoh’s Garbage: Growth and Change in Egypt’s Waste Management System Rachel Leven A study of culture, growth, and change in Egypt’s waste management system, and the lessons for global development.

Turkey’s “Zero Problem” Foreign Policy: An Unattainable Balancing Act Oleg Svet, International Relations ‘08 An assessment of the modern limitations to Turkey’s traditional strategic culture of “Peace at Home, Peace in the World.”

The “Kurdish Issue”: A Surmountable Challenge? Emily Kaiser, International Relations ‘06 Reporting back from NIMEP’s Fact-Finding Mission, this essay offers a sample of the differing perspectives in the debate on modern Turkish identity.

Beyond the Media Lens: Discourse on the Egyptian Street Nora E. Elmarzouky, International Relations ‘06 A set of interviews with diverse segments of Egyptian society reveal that commonly held perspectives fail to give clarity to an otherwise complex public opinion landscape.

An American in Brussels: Discovering Europe’s Muslims Rachel Brandenburg, International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies ‘05 Using Belgium as a case study, this paper chronicles a personal reflection on Europe’s struggles to integrate its Muslim citizenry.

The Role of Multinational Corporations in Dubai Thomas Singer, International Relations and Entrepreneurial Leadership ‘06, and Boryana Damyanova, International Relations and Economics, ‘06 A study dissecting the marketing strategies of multinational corporations in Dubai, and their efforts to balance tradition and modernization in global marketing.