Political Stability Index

In the Middle East, each country has it’s own form of government. These forms of governments have been consistently changing throughout time. Throughout all the revolutions and overthrows, the national identity of the Middle East has slowly changed, some parts more than others. Over many years, overthrows in countries such as Egypt and Libya have led to a more democratic government. However, many other countries such as Iran and Iraq have remained more oppressive. The Middle East is still changing to this day. For example, Egypt recently overthrew their president Hosni Mubarak. There are also many protests currently going on in Libya.

It started back in 1980 when President Carter determined UAE to be a viable asset by stating this in the “Carter Doctrine”, “…an attempt by any outside force to gain control of the ...[Arabian] Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.” (uae-embassy.org, n.d.). In mid-1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, not only did UAE help fund the war for America, they also sent approximately 2,000 of their own troops to help fight the Iraqis in Operation Desert Storm. In Abu Dhabi, the first used United States Air Force base was opened to mainly provide refuel missions for US aircraft during the war, and is still utilized by US forces today. Also, a couple years later the US and UAE signs the defense pact, which allowed US forces to utilize UAE’s ports. One specifically in Dubai, Ali Port, is crucial to the US Navy due to the fact that it is the only port on the Gulf that is deep enough to be used for an aircraft carrier. Since 1992, UAE has been the largest manufacturer of US military equipment, investing over $360 million in defense gear for the American troops. As we move forward in time, lets take a look at the acts that hit closer to home. When we were attacked by arguably the most malicious terrorist attacks on American soil on September 11, 2001, UAE immediately froze all bank accounts to anyone suspected of funding terrorism, and instantaneously confronted Al Qaeda and the Taliban Regime. Only four short years later, the American people were hit by another catastrophic event, Hurricane Katrina. When the US was trying to regroup, UAE invested $215 million into the aid of people impacted by the event. The most important fact to date, is when UAE requested and the US approved to sell $15 billion in defense equipment to include the

United Arab Emirates occupies a total area of about 83,600 square kilometers (32,400 square miles), along the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula between 22°50 and 26°N and between 51° and 56°25 E. The UAE has 1 318 km of continental coastline along the Persian Gulf. The inflation rate, exchange rate and currency stability are important factors to consider in International trade, economically, the UAE has a 4% of GDP growth in 2012 with a lower inflation rate of 1.1%, In terms of days and cost of import procedure (United Arab Emirate). The Urbanization rate of the region is 84% (UAE) which would contribute to the product awareness in necessary part of the region since the urbanization rate is high. The common languages in

Political stability is best defined as the durability and integrity of a current government regime. Many countries in contemporary society make the transition towards democracy with the intention to become more politically stable in order to conduct their affairs. This trend of democratization often does result in lesser tension between government and those being governed. However, political unrest is still frequently experienced in some countries that have successfully established a democratic regime, while the same is virtually nonexistent in others. For that reason, political instability and its causes is often a controversial topic generally discussed by social scientists and scholars. While many factors have influence on the likelihood

“Various quantitative studies have drawn a statistical link between the level of natural resource wealth and political regime type” (Michael Ross, 2001, Paul Stevens, 2007). Looking at the bigger picture, the Middle East region has defied two global patterns: it has become wealthier without becoming democratic; and it has become wealthier without making much progress toward gender equality (Michael Ross, 2012). The Middle East is characterized by having less democracy and more oil for decades, than any otherworld region (Michael Ross, 2012). Yet, it is said that oil wealth usually indicates authoritarianism; associated with corruption, economic instability, and conflict and the United Arab Emirates may not be an exception to this. The United

The political is quite stable compared to the other Arab countries and neighbouring regime although there are some negative predictions on the future stability of the actual regime.

United Arab Emirates continues to develop its interest with missile defense while oil has been the focal point in UAE’s economy and continues to contribute tremendously to economic prosperity. A determined and far-seeing policy of economic diversification has fortified the result of non-oil sectors now account or 69 per cent of funds contributing to the economy with oil supplying the remaining third (“UAEinteract,” 2016). Trade has also played a significant role in the economic life for many centuries. Economic growth has steadily gone up due to a short-lived

Most countries affected by the civil wars have been cut off from any regional connections therefore they weren’t able to attract many of their regular customers. The UAE has taken that to their advantage by reeling in the customers who would normally shop in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen and give them the opportunity to shop in places in the UAE instead of in a dangerous country. This has led to a 10% rise in spending by shoppers affected by the Arab Spring. The United Arab Emirates is known as a modern country with a stable government system that the public seems to respect. Governments from different countries such as Syria have shut down Internet and power connections to avoid the world to see the troublesome county. Because of these barricades, countries such as the United States and England have been keeping a close eye, especially since they cannot export and import products between countries. Perhaps the Middle East would’ve been better off without the Arab Spring.

The majority of Middle Eastern countries have suffered for decades under authoritarian regimes and have not succeeded at reforming their oppressive policies or at democratizing. There have been arguments made stating that it is nearly impossible for the Middle East to democratize and that as a region, democracy will not work. There was also another argument made stating that Islam does not allow for democracy to exist. Both these arguments ignore the history of the region, in which foreign powers have had a lot of influence, and have created the oppressive regimes that are present currently in the region. Foreign factors have played a great role in inhibiting any reforms from taking place in the region. Foreign powers entered the Middle East for its resources, took what they needed from the region then abandoned it. These countries were required to build and strengthen their economies suddenly after years of being controlled by foreign powers. The curse of oil in the Middle East has also played a role in inhibiting political and economic reforms from taking place. Oil rich countries have had significantly less political reforms over the past decades, as seen clearly in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, regional factors such as the Israeli occupation of Palestine, have also inhibited reform in that part of the region. Foreign and regional factors have inhibited political and economic reform in the Middle East, however, each country in the Middle East has had a different history

Political uprisings in the Middle East, especially in Muslim nation states have placed Arabian politics back on the focus point of international politics. Political events in certain Arab countries had an inordinate impact on the political development of other neighbor states. Anxieties and resistance within different Arab countries triggered unpredictable actions, sometimes sorely to observe and believe. Authoritarian governments of Arabian countries led from various dictators have created a precarious situation for their lifetime government, especially in providing national security and maintaining peace in the region. Jack Goldstone argues that the degree of a sultan’s weakness is often only visible in retrospect, due in part to the

In the debate for democracy in the middle east, many scholars suggest that Islamists are the main obstacle to overcome. By the last decade, Islamist parties and candidates have engaged in elections throughout in about eight Arab countries with almost modest results. Thus, Islamist may have a heavy degree of support among most of the consitunets who agree with anti-regime sentiments. At the same time, ruling elites also give overwhelming support to maintain security and other privileges. There are regimes in which elites claim Islam as a basis for the regime while excluding all other islamist groups from political participation. For Instance, The king in Saudi Arabi is the leader, the imam of the Saudi-Wahabi community, and subordinate only to the shari’a. This is an institutional challenge that these regions face, and need to comprehend in order to have a smooth democratic transition. Some islamist groups still persist, with making domestic conflict within society, like the Muslim Brotherhood.

In my article I’m going to talk about fixed and floating exchange rate. Then, I’ll talk about advantages and disadvantage of fixed exchange rate in the future of Iran. Hence, at the end I give my opinion if fixed exchange rate would help Iran economy.

The Oxford Dictionary describes evolution as “the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.” The Arab Spring has caused a multitude of uprisings throughout the Arab world. In the beginning, the Arab Spring was “uncomplicated and inspiring” as the uprisings “reaffirmed…[Western]…beliefs” but soon became “muddied” (citation). The uprisings did not avoid the country of Jordan. The first uprising in Jordan was in January 2011 when thousands of protestors “demand[ed] the country's prime minister step down, …the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment” (citation). This instance of uprising is the moment in which Jordan joined the Arab Spring. Due to this, Jordan is now on the track with multiple other states in the Arab world for reform to the local and regional regimes. According to Michael Wahid Hanna in “The Seven Pillars of the Arab Future”, the states of the Arab world, including Jordan, must make progress toward “development of seven core areas” of which include “economic growth and equality; education policy; security-sector reform; decentralization;…and more pluralistic policies” (citation). Jordan must adapt to these stakes and evolve into the Arab future.

The country’s growth since the federation was established in 1971. It is evident across the UAE that

To sum up, the UAE exports to KSA are increasing dramatically, while the UAE imports from KSA starts showing a decrease pattern. Thus, it is expected that the trade balance is heading toward a surplus in the near future. To reach this trade surplus, the UAE economics decision maker should consider the factors affecting the trade balance. The exchange rates are one of those factors. Therefore, the UAE should observe the dollar performance in the market. If the dollar keeps going down, they should reconsider pegging the dollar to the emirate dirham.  It is suggested that they change from fixed pegging to move pegging like China. Another factor is the trade agreement and trade barriers. It is suggested that both KSA and UAE agree on reducing the barriers of entry to the market. However, at immature industries such as the petrochemical and plastic industry, it is better to keep entering Saudi 's firms into UAE market restricted because UAE is new to the plastic industry "Borouge established in 1998" . This restriction will protect domestic producers. On the other hand, UAE should convince the Saudis to open their market for UAE firms that are well experienced like communication firms such as