Contribution to the Discussion of Western Scholarship Essay

Contribution to the Discussion of Western Scholarship - Essay Example Husri was confident that the condition of the Arabs resembled that of Germans, when there is a state of national belonging but no statehood. 3. Rentier state – a type of state that relies primarily and only on the revenues derived from extracting and selling one or more natural resources (e.g., oil). More often than not, the rentier state relies on a limited number of people who dominate the natural resources business, whereas government uses these revenues as the main source of national income. Most Middle Eastern countries rely on natural gas, oil, and petroleum production. 4. The Dutch disease – after the Groningen gas field was discovered in 1959, the Dutch economy was faced with the challenge of inflation. The rapid appreciation of the Dutch guilder led to the subsequent rise in the price of Dutch goods. For this reason, the demand for Dutch goods declined and the manufacturing sector fell into a deep economic abyss during the 1960-70s. 5. The Eastern Question â₠¬â€œ the study of the relationships and interactions between unequal power systems; of these, one system (Europe) is on the rise and another (Middle East) is in the state of decline. In this relationship, the Middle East is believed to be closely intertwined with the political developments in Europe. Simultaneously, over the 19th century the Middle East developed its own rules of the international relations game, to deal with the challenge of the European dominance. 6. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – founder of the modern secular Turkish Republic. Ataturk is the foundational figure of modern Turkish history. He served as President of the Turkish Republic between 1923 and 1938. 7. Gamal Abd al-Nasser – one of the most important figures in the development of Arab politics and the second president of Egypt (since 1956 until death). Nasser’s leadership played a crucial role in the creation of Egyptian nationhood and is often viewed as a role model of Arab dignity. The figur e of Nasser is closely associated with the rise of Arab nationalism. 8. Baghdad Pact – was created and signed by Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, and Britain in 1955. The main goal of the Pact was to unite the Middle East against the risks of the Soviet penetration. Britain’s ideas faced huge political opposition from Egypt; Syria and Jordan refused to join the pact. 9. Saddam Hussein – a Middle Eastern dictator and the single ruler of the Iraqi nation between 1979 and 2003. Hussein’s political career began to flourish after Abdul-Karim Qassim was assassinated. His regime was overthrown in 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq. 10. Fundamentalism – a term commonly used in modern press and political philosophy and denoting the striving of political forces and people to revive and institutionalize the most important aspects of the past. Generic fundamentalism treats secularism as a political and religious enemy and relies on sacred texts to withstand the pre ssure of criticism. Section B Question 2: Edward Said and his contribution to the discussion of Western scholarship. Edward Said has become well-known for his work Orientalism. The latter was created to expose and criticize the main deficiencies of Western scholarship and its continued reliance on the principles of hegemony and power misbalances.