The Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party was established in Syria during the mid-twentieth century, originally championing Arab unity and freedom from foreign influence. The party eventually managed to rise to power in Syria and Iraq, thereby concluding the widespread political instability that had previously plagued both countries. In each of these contexts, autocratic leaders emerged at the forefront of the ruling regimes and manipulated the party to bolster their rule for over three decades. This paper examines the Ba’ath party’s history and ideology to understand the party’s source of strength. It also discusses the party’s role in achieving power as well as the different functions it undertook in Syria and Iraq once autocratic rule was established. Finally, it studies the fall of both regimes and the status of the Ba’ath party today.

Despite their natural resources, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman) have failed to live up to their economic potential, primarily due to their dependence on a revenue source with volatile prices and political significance in an unstable region. This thesis argues that the best way to convert oil wealth into consistent long term growth is through diversification, both by investing in foreign assets and by growing domestic sectors that are independent from oil and gas prices. The research further investigates the primary tool these countries have used to do so – sovereign wealth funds – and how their implementation and structures have impacted their effectiveness in achieving economic diversification and growth.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction / Rosemary Talab / The purpose of this study was to investigate concerns regarding the adoption of online teaching as expressed by faculty and instructors in six departments in the College of Arts and Humanities at King Abdulaziz University. Additionally, it investigated faculty professional development needs in adopting online teaching. The data in this study were obtained from 147 faculty members (response rate 63.9%). A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used, incorporating the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using quantitative measures (descriptive data analysis and inferential analysis). This study utilized the Concerns Based Adoption Model as its theoretical framework. King Abdulaziz University faculty Stages of Concerns findings showed a mean score percentile of 87% of them as Unconcerned. The Informational stage showed a mean score percentile of 72%, and the Personal stage was the third highest with a mean score percentile of 70%. Refocusing, Collaboration, and Management were the fourth, fifth, and sixth highest stages of concern. The Consequence stage was the lowest stage of concern. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire had concerns that were generally aligned to nonusers or users who sometimes implement parts of online teaching. The data analysis regarding the participants’ personal characteristics indicated that their concerns in adopting online teaching were not influenced by their age, country of graduation, or years of teaching experience. A statistically significant difference was found in the participant concerns in adopting online teaching by gender, p<.05. The significance differences were found in stage one (Informational) (p<.05), stage two (Personal) (p<.01), and stage six (Refocusing) (p<.001). Likewise, the data analysis regarding the participants’ contextual characteristics indicated that their concerns in adopting online teaching were not influenced by their department or academic rank. A statistically significant difference was found in the participants’ concerns in adopting online teaching based on administrative support, p<.05. The significances were found in stages zero (Unconcerned) (p<.05) and three (Management) (p<.01). The data analysis regarding the technographic characteristics also indicated a statistically significant influence of participants' prior instructional technology use and technology-related professional development on their use of technology in teaching. The significance values were .000, .006, .009, and .030. The study concludes with recommendations for King Abdulaziz University regarding faculty adoption of online teaching and recommendations for future studies focused on professional development programs and the adoption of online teaching in King Abdulaziz University as well as in other Saudi universities.

This dissertation chronicles the development of a series of plays, collectively referred to as The Arab Shakespeare Trilogy, from the perspective of their playwright Sulayman Al-Bassam. Together, The Al-Hamlet Summit (2002-2005), Richard III, An Arab Tragedy (2007-2009), and The Speaker's Progress (2011-2012) register the eruptive social, political, and cultural contexts of the Arab world during the first decade of the twenty-first century while negotiating the adaptation of Shakespeare's plays to a form thought-provoking and entertaining to audiences both within and outside the Middle East. The document outlines the inception of the project, which includes both personal and historical context, and provides more specific commentary on the production of each play individually. In addition to its focus on the specific impact of 9/11, and its global consequences, on the development of these dramatic works, it attends to topics including the technical and ideological challenges of linguistic and cultural translation, the adaptation of Shakespeare in Arabic theatre, the politics of art and drama in the Arab world, and the involvement of art in the shaping of the ethics of cross-cultural representation. Of particular interest are the linguistic conditions bearing upon the adaptation of English language texts into multi-lingual and cross- cultural works, the effects of the globalisation of politics and media, and the international touring life of the plays between the Arab region and wider world. The play texts of the Trilogy make up the second part of the document. The methodology of this dissertation deploys historical contextualisation, autobiographical memoir, literary analysis and creative improvisation. The play-texts are dramatic adaptations of specific Shakespeare texts to the Arab world.

The al-Qaeda Organization (AQO) and the Islamic State Organization (ISO) are transnational adversaries that conduct terrorism in the name of Sunni Islam. It is declared U.S. Government (USG) policy to degrade, defeat, and destroy them. The present book has been written to assist policymakers, military planners, strategists, and professional military educators whose mission demands a deep understanding of strategically-relevant differences between these two transnational terrorist entities. In it, one shall find a careful comparative analysis across three key strategically relevant dimensions: essential doctrine, beliefs, and worldview; strategic concept, including terrorist modus operandi; and specific implications and recommendations for current USG policy and strategy. Key questions that are addressed include: How is each terrorist entity related historically and doctrinally to the broader phenomenon of transnational Sunni “jihadism”? What is the exact nature of the ISO? How, if at all, does ISO differ in strategically relevant ways from AQO? What doctrinal differences essentially define these entities? How does each understand and operationalize strategy? What critical requirements and vulnerabilities characterize each entity? Finally, what implications, recommendations, and proposals are advanced that are of particular interest to USG strategists and professional military educators? / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1127/thumbnail.jpg

Excerpt: For a mere Muslim mortal, Allah’s granting of martyrdom (Shahada) is the pinnacle of spiritual achievement. The martyr (Shahid) is granted unique privileges among which are the right to bypass the moral interrogation meted out to determine after death whether one is spiritually fit; the complete freedom from all anguish, pain, and suffering caused by one’s wounds as one immediately traverses into the highest of seven heavens; the right to intercede and request divine favors on behalf of seventy of one’s loved one’s; the enjoyment of exclusive sexual privileges with seventy-two virgins; and finally, the right to exist within the proximity of the All Mighty Allah and an eternity spent in enjoyment of the sumptuous delights of a blessed paradise.

Excerpt: The Islamic State Organization (ISO) will be defeated. That defeat will occur sooner rather than later. The nature of this terrorist organization suggests that preparations should now be made to minimize the carnage, loss of irreplaceable life, and cultural treasures that may without sufficient preparation accompany the final days and aftermath of ISO.

Review Essay of Y. Aboul-Enein, Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2013; J. Deol and Z. Kazmi, eds. Contextualising Jihadi Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012; M. H. Hassan, The Father of Jihad:’Abd Allāh ‘Azzām’s Jihad ideas and Implications to National Security. London: Imperial College Press, 2014; J. Wagemakers, A Quietist Jihadi: The Ideology and Influence of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. Cambridge, England and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012; A. Moghadam and B. Fishman, eds., Fault lines in global jihad: Organizational, Strategic, and Ideological Fissures, New York and London: Routledge, 2013.

Despite his importance as a senior Al-Qaeda spokesman, no detailed examination exists of Adam Yahiye Gadahn’s employment of fiqh al-jihad—that branch of Islamic jurisprudence regulating the lawful waging of jihad—to condemn or condone violence committed in the name of Al-Qaeda. This article first provides a detailed exposition of Gadahn’s sharia-based critique of affiliates’ conduct deemed by him in violation of Islamic law and involving the commission of major sins. Second, Gadahn’s conception of fiqh al-jihad is contextualized and contrasted with the comprehensive fiqh al-jihad-based critiques produced by respected militant Islamist scholars. A key finding here is that Gadahn (unlike these scholars) illicitly truncates the application of fiqh al-jihad with the result that he demands sharia-compliance when criticizing intra-Islamist violence yet ignores sharia-compliance when targeting America and Americans. Third, reasons are considered for this incoherent application of fiqh al-jihad and attempted Islamic legalization of anti-American mass casualty terrorist attacks. Finally, the discussion concludes with implications for counter-Al-Qaeda strategy.

A specific branch of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh al-jihad) regulates the waging of the jihad of the sword (jihad bis saif). In this article, a detailed exposition is presented of the Egyptian Islamic Group’s (IG; Al-Gama’a Al-Islamiyya) use of fiqh al jihad against Al-Qaeda. The present author’s ‘jihad-realist’ approach is first briefly described; the IG’s critique of AQ systematically outlined; and in conclusion, implications are derived for counter-radicalisation strategies.