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<p> In March 2016, the Syrian crisis entered its fifth year in war with no end in sight. While current strategies utilized by international aid agencies to address this humanitarian crisis have focused on short-term emergency relief, future considerations on its long-term management are lacking. Due in fact to people's pressing needs in war-torn areas, not enough development programs, plans and research on how to incorporate sustainable strategies has been placed into the management of the crisis. With particular focus on the role of developmental and relief aid workers in the management of the crisis in Syria, this paper aims to answer two questions: (1) how does one manage relief and recovery efforts looking towards the long term in a context of such short term pressing needs? (2) What role does management and lack thereof play in the subject of the effects of the Syrian war? In an effort to address these questions, interviews were conducted on 8 individuals from various professional backgrounds (i.e. medical, development, local councils etc...) who had significant field contributions/experiences in Syria. In addition, a literature review was carried out to examine existing research on the topics of sustainable development and development aid. Findings show that a shift is taking place in the frameworks of how aid workers are responding to the needs of people in the war. The aid system is starting to focus on instilling self-reliance, resilience and stability into communities, and assisting people with the tools to manage sustainable lives. However, it requires much needed management to achieve the desired sustainable outcomes. Moreover, this field still requires further research and considerations. A bitter reality of this context is that the war is political in nature and attempts for sustainable practices cannot serve as resolution to the situation but as means to restore dignity and livelihood back into the victims of a war.</p><p>

<p> <i>The Object of Zionism</i> investigates the fabrication of the State of Israel as a unique project in modern history&mdash;unprecedented in its relative scope and rates of growth; ideological and visionary roots; political and ethical circumstances; and concentration of architectural experiments. These experiments entailed the molding of a new artificial landscape and infrastructure, the destruction and expulsion of indigenous Palestinian communities, and the construction of dozens of New Towns and hundreds of new rural settlements for Jewish refugees and immigrants. Indeed, contrary to common belief and to visual impression, the State of Israel was not born of haphazard improvisation, emergency routine, or speculative ventures, and certainly not of gradual autochthonous build-up, but rather of the objective to construct a comprehensive, controlled, and efficient model-State and put into praxis modernist regional, urban, architectural, and sociological theories. </p><p> The Dissertation is conceived along the intricate dialectics of <i> Land and State.</i> These two foundational notions are positioned not as a diachronic sequence (referring until 1948 to the <i>Land of Israel </i> and thereafter to the <i>State of Israel</i>), but, quite the contrary, as an immanent bipolar condition informing all textual manifestos and spatial manifestations that may be referred to as Zionist. </p><p> Chapter 1 describes Zionism as an ideologically rural construct, as a strategically expansionist movement, and as an architecturally inventive culture, producing ever more new settlement typologies. </p><p> Chapter 2 studies the initial master-plan of the State of Israel, published in 1951. This plan, within less than a decade, transformed from a statement of 4 principles into a mega-project transcending its originators and becoming a self-generating planning machine. </p><p> Chapter 3 depicts the attempt to constitute a continuous political hegemony and a consensual cultural uniformity in Israel of the 1950s and to support such an official "Statist" attitude by a conscious and fairly elaborate architectural discourse. </p><p> Chapter 4 examines both the efficiency and benevolence of the welfare-state and its coercive policy of social engineering associated with the ambitious project of mass housing. </p><p> Chapter 5 narrates the all-too-decisive absorption of Brutalist architecture in Israel, and its instantaneous diffusion throughout all private and public sectors, programs, and typologies.</p>

<p> As the sole stable democracy in the Middle East and the only Jewish democratic country in the world, Israel faces unique challenges. The intersection of religion and civic responsibility has been a central internal conflict since Israel's founding in 1948, and today has reached a critical breaking point. The Haredim are a rapidly growing insular Ultra-Orthodox segment of Israel's Jewish population that have wielded disproportionate political influence since the birth of the nation. Refusing to seek jobs in a secular economy or participate in the military, these Jews perceive themselves as an independent religious community and actively seek to preserve that distinction. As Ultra-Orthodox, this community embraces only the most stringent interpretations of the Jewish bible, called the Torah, and insists that Israel's democracy incorporate central tenets of biblical law within its governing bodies. The Haredim's fervent rejection of the economic, educational, social, and military pillars that constitute the backbone of modern-day Israel comes at a high cost to the state. High unemployment rates and a refusal to participate in Israel's conscription military place the Haredim at odds with the vast majority of Jewish Israelis who do not share their values and pay large sums of money to support them. The Haredim currently comprise 11 percent of the total population and are expected to reach 18 percent by 2030. The social, economic, and military implications of this growth are dire and the need for remediation is urgent. A critical and thorough examination of evidence and primary sources supports this urgency. In 2014, a dramatic political shift in Israel enabled the current governing coalition to take a litigious approach towards addressing its shared future with the Haredim. Haredi compliance with new laws is unlikely given that the Haredim feel duty-bound only to the Torah, yet an emerging middle-class of Haredim who embrace secular values while retaining their religious roots may be the key to preserving Haredi values while encouraging more responsible civic participation. It is difficult to envision a future in which Israel is militarily strong, financially solvent, and able to preserve itself for future generations if Israel cannot thoughtfully address its complicated relationship with the Haredim.</p>

<p> The Medina of Tripoli, Libya, is a very ancient walled city that has a history of change, development, deterioration, conservation, and preservation to its fabric. Influenced by various foreign groups (Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Spanish, Ottomans, Karamanlis), its architectural styles include ancient and traditional structures, as well as modern Western style or acculturation architecture. The purpose of the Medina as a place of habitation has changed over the years because of many factors including residents moving out of the Medina, fluctuating preservation, the changes in government policy when each new ruling entity had its particular laws and regulations, and some distortion of the economy due to the oil revenues. The place has no long-term plan or vision applied to it&mdash;either from within or from without. This study, the first of its kind in North Africa to collect information by using surveys and mental maps, convert the information into geographic information system (GIS) data, and come to definite conclusions about the Medina's situation. The entire research focused on four areas (the Islamic buildings, common routes of transportation, areas of deterioration, and population densities within Tripoli's Medina), but this document focused on the deterioration in the city while analyzing its urban informality, the residents' rights to live in the city, and property categories. This study helped to clarify the current situation and provide input to planners in post-uprising Libya. </p><p> Key words: Medina, geographic information system (GIS), urban informality, conservation, urban planning.</p>

<p> The dissertation examines Saudi oil policy, focusing mainly on the first half of the 1980s. In this period, Saudi Arabia played a "swing producer" role to control oil prices in the world oil market. This behavior of Saudi decision-makers can be understood within the economic framework of the "dominant producer" model. After interdisciplinary research on previous political and economic studies of Saudi oil policy, the dissertation concludes that the basic notion of Saudi oil policy as a "swing producer" was intended to meet Saudi Arabia's long-term political and economic interests. It was therefore logical for Saudi officials to implement the oil policy of "swing producer" to maximize the long-term economic value of Saudi oil, since this would also contribute to the political consolidation of the Saudi regime. However, there are several questions still remaining in the details of this oil policy. In contrast to the argument of the "dominant producer" model, why did Saudi Arabia try to achieve relatively high oil prices at the expense of its already reduced market share during this period? If Saudi oil policy as a "swing producer" was derived primarily from the state's long-term economic interests, why did it suddenly give up this role in the summer of 1985? To answer these questions, it was necessary to examine Saudi oil policy since December 1976, because it was at this point that the state began to implement an oil policy based on its national interests. After a comprehensive study on Saudi oil policy during boom and slump periods, I have identified the main priorities of Saudi oil policy in these two different periods, and have tried to draw a conclusion that provides the readers with plausible answers to the main questions in my dissertation.</p>

<p> In this dissertation, I explore agricultural practices as a window into ecocultural communication. Using agricultural practices of villagers in Village G, Oman, as a case study, I explore the ways in which villagers and government officials conceptualize humanature relations and the forces that enhance and/or impede these relations. My specific goals for this study were: (1) to build an interpretive understanding of ecocultural orientations of villagers and officials in Oman and how they conceptualize their humanature relations; (2) to critically examine ideologies and uncover structural forces that enable/constrain humanature relations; and (3) to co-create community engagement work that honors the ecocultural wisdom of farmers, promotes economic viability, and enhances ecocultural sustainability. Accordingly, I ask a set of three questions: RQ 1: What grassroots core ecocultural premises do Omani villagers communicate?, RQ 2: What core ecocultural premises do official government documents and officials discourse communicate in Oman?, and RQ 3: How does analysis of core components of critical community engagement inform researcher-villager-governmental collaborations to design sustainable practices? To answer these questions, I collected data through focus groups, individual interviews, participant observation and official government documents. Using Cultural Discourse Analysis (Carbaugh, 2007) and Community Engagement Framework (Collier, 2014) I identify three ecocultural premises in grassroots discourse: (1) <i>Relations-in-place </i>, (2) <i>kinship-in-place</i> and (3) <i>nurturance-in-place </i>, and four ecocultural premises in governmental discourse: (1) Modern agriculture is more effective than traditional agriculture, (2) Imported food and modern technology feed a growing population, (3) Technologized farming attracts youth, (4) Modern agriculture and profit-motivated practices achieve sustainability but traditional farming is not sustainable. I offer a date palm metaphor as an organizing principle that depicts humanature relations and the contextual factors that enhance and/or hinder these relations. Because date palms have shown resilience over harsh ecological conditions when water was scarce in Oman and heat was high, in this project, I use the date palm as a metaphor that exhibits an alternative discourse to globalized neoliberal ideological discourses.</p><p>

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The aim of this thesis is to study the concept of Kurdism and its emergence in the first half of the nineteenth century. The study explores the foundations, origins and evolution of Kurdish nationalism, which has grown out of Kurdism. It focuses on the three Kurdish emirates of Soran, Botan and Baban and their relationship with the Ottomans during the first half of the nineteenth century. Warm Ottoman-Kurdish relations continued until the beginning of the New Order (Nizami Cedit) under Sultan Selim III 1789-1807 and Sultan Mahmud II 1808-1839, and the modernisation and administrative reform (known in Turkish as Tanzimat) of the empire, which took place between 1839-1876. At this time, central power was in the hands of the Sultan who abolished all local authorities in the capital and in the Ottoman provinces, including Kurdish semi-autonomous emirates. This direct rule was met by strong Kurdish resistance. From this point, the Kurds conceived of the Ottomans as the “other” whose direct rule over them was unwelcome. They resisted the Ottoman policy of centralisation and the notion of Kurdism flourished. This can be regarded as a key turning point for the development of Kurdish nationalism, reinvigorating a Kurdish consciousness in respect of politics, language and literature. Kurdish Melas (Islamic scholars), popular poets and Kurdish folkloric poets played a major role in the creation of Kurdism in the first half of the nineteenth century in Soran, Botan and Baban emirates. Kurdish writers and scholars turned to literary forms for the expressions of Kurdish cultural politics. This thesis examines a range of literary sources to consider the rule of Kurdish mirs (princes), in politics, and the position of Kurdish intellectuals in the politics of language and culture in Kurdish emirate in the first half of the nineteenth century. This study shows how identification with Kurdism had enabled the Kurds to articulate their claim to their community and their emirates. Kurdism went on to engender Kurdish nationalism, whose growth was reflected in the late nineteenth century through the Kurdish revolt of 1880 by Sheikh Ubeydullah Nehri, the establishment of the first Kurdish newspaper in 1897 and the literature of the period, and which matured further in the twentieth century.