Assignment: Current Political Crisis in a MENA country
Specific Instructions: 12-15 pages.
Pick a current political crisis in one state in the MENA. Using your resources and research, construct an essay that analyzes that political crisis. The essay should open with an introductory paragraph that presents a contestable thesis statement. The statement should be contestable because the purpose of the essay is to prove that the thesis is correct.
An example: "The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has not been successful in bring stability to Egypt thus far not so much because of Islamist ideology, but because of a lack of experience and expertise in the political process, let alone on the world stage."
This statement advances a claim that the essay's author will set out to prove with evidence in a well-cited paper. The claim can be supported by accessible evidence and information in peer-reviewed sources. The claim specifies a time frame and does not attempt to declare an ongoing situation finished.
A bad example: "Elections have created undemocratic results in Egypt because of Islam."
This claim is not helpful because it's giving a vague, single reason for a complex reasons, while declaring a political process or conflict complete even though the situation in Egypt is still in flux and still unfolding. There is no easy way to prove this claim to be correct or incorrect, for that matter - it might involve too much speculation or personal impression. What kind of evidence could support it?
Questions to help you get started:
What are the historical circumstances that led to the crisis?
Who are the key actors contributing to or working to resolve the crisis?
Next offer an analysis and synthesis of this information:
What do key scholars and/or analysts say about the crisis? Compare points of view.
What possible solutions could mitigate the circumstances or help resolve the political crisis? Remember to supply at least three possible solutions or outcomes to avoid "putting all the eggs in one basket" or trying to predict the future.