This dissertation provides an examination of the recent phenomenon of entrepreneurship and innovation promotion in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Through the use of the structured, focused comparison method, this research examines two cases, Oman and Qatar, to provide a deep analysis of the policy and practice of entrepreneurship promotion in the region. Despite a claim of responding to regional challenges of economic diversification and the weak participation of nationals in the private sector, entrepreneurship as a key component of each country???s quest for a knowledge economy seems paradoxical in its ostensible inconsistency with the Gulf rentier state status quo. Path dependencies from oil-led development and the concomitant labour market bifurcation have perpetuated incentive structures which obstruct innovation and entrepreneurialism. Responding to this puzzle, this research answers two questions. The first is concerned with the character and motivation of these strategies in the Gulf, and what that reveals about the evolution of policy making practices. The second assesses the role of the millennial generation and regional transformation. Through interrogating the entrepreneurship policy experience in the case studies, this research extends beyond the often perfunctory assumptions of rentier state literature to investigate the unfolding of development policies in the current milieu. This research finds that entrepreneurship promotion risks only becoming a new way of recasting rentier tools: rentierism 2.0. The study argues that governance in the Gulf is best understood as a contestation between reforms and rentier patterns. Being cognizant of this tension provides a venue for understanding how some policies contravene classic rentier expectations while others appear hypocritical as the implementation of policy announcements become obstructed by structural contradictions. This dissertation makes an empirical contribution on a prominent policy shift in the Gulf that has been largely ignored in social sciences. As well, it provides a theoretical contribution by integrating literature on development and innovation which is generally disconnected from scholarly work on Gulf political economy to deepen understandings of development and transition in the region. Overall, this project provides a window into transition and transformation, demonstrating the way rentier patterns and a combination of novel pressures interact and affect the practices of development policy making and the Gulf ruling bargain.

My thesis analyzes the relationship between Russia and Syria since the Second World War.

This paper investigates by analyzing the Middle East, whether culture, with the significant influence of Islam, hinders the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Doctrines within the Islamic faith creates irreconcilable accounting practices that do not comply with IFRS. The two primary features of Islam that distinguishes Islamic accounting from conventional accounting, are the tenets of zakat and riba. Ultimately this paper discusses how these principles cause hindrance in the use of IFRS.

In classical times the military value of the Semitic peoples was often called into doubt. A superficial examination does not support the charges of the classical writers. This thesis sets out to examine the military contribution made by the native population of the province of Syria to the non-citizen regiments of the Roman army. Introduction: the current state of knowledge about the Syrian auxilia is briefly summarised. Chapter 1 defines the scope and objectives of the thesis: temporally, from the late Republic until the mid-third century; spatially, the area of the province of Syria on the eve of the annexation of Arabia; while, the units treated are those which are described as alae, cohortes and 'numeri'. Chapter 2 is devoted to a treatment of the literary, epigraphic, papyrological, archaeological and artistic sources. Attention is then given to fundamental criteria relevant to the examination of the individual units. Chapter 3 treats the background to the employment of Syrian soldiers from the Persian Wars onwards, but especially in the late Republic and very early Principate. Chapter 4 is the main part of the thesis, being a detailed discussion of all the evidence for some 57 regiments. Each group of units - characterised by its tribal name - is preceded by a brief discussion of the region and its contribution to the legions and equestrian militiae. Chapter 5 resumes the preceding work and offers some general conclusions concerning the (considerable) contribution of Syria to the auxilia, their recruitment pattern (probably little different to that of the auxilia as a whole), and tabulates the evidence for formation dates and subsequent distribution. Six appendices look at: 'Tables' presenting the evidence for Syrian legionaries and Syrian auxiliaries on the diplomas; 'Dynastic Titles'; 'The Career of C. Velius Rufus ...'; 'Mesopotam,ian Soldiers in the Roman Army'; the date Of the career of Valerius Lollianus; and, a study of Josephus BJ,III,66. Illustrations consist of maps and photographs.

No description available.

No description available.

The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the cooperation potential and institutional feasibility of a regional integration scheme in the Mediterranean region that would follow a similar pattern as the one proposed by the Schuman Declaration on May 9th 1950, establishing energy and environment (as the new “Coal and Steel”, the sectorial pillars of an ambitious Union for the Mediterranean. The argument defended in this dissertation is that both Europe and Mediterranean countries will face either environmental hazards or energy supply concerns in the coming years. First of all, the European Union is threatened today by a growing dependence on politically risky countries for its energy imports following the decrease of Norwegian reserves. Hence, Mediterranean countries and most of all oil-rich Libya and gas producer Algeria are among the priorities on the European Union foreign policy agenda. At the same time, Mediterranean countries suffer from growing environmental stresses that prevent their economies from reaching their potential while European Union could and should strongly invest in a Green new Deal together with its Mediterranean neighbors. As Mediterranean countries experience an historical and uncertain wave of democratization, political science theories have strongly underlined the importance of economic development to sustain democracy. A Union for the Mediterranean addressing the environmental concerns that hamper such a development would therefore be a key asset in ensuring stability and freedom in the region.

The purpose of this thesis is to understand why the Arab-Israeli conflict has remained irreconcilable for sixty-one years. While the details and forms of the conflict have changed over time, the central factors dividing Zionists and Arabs in the Middle East have altered little. In this thesis I examine what these factors are and why they have been so effective in frustrating every peace effort. To understand the fundamental factors which keep the dispute alive I have conducted a comparative study of the two major peace initiatives which frame it diplomatically. The first formal peace conference between Israel and her Arab adversaries took place in Lausanne in 1949. The issues of borders, Jerusalem and refugees would not be seriously engaged with again until the last peace effort to date, the Camp David talks of 2000. Through a detailed comparative analysis of both conferences I seek to understand the positions taken by the warring parties towards these issues and the broader motivating factors separating them and preventing them from achieving peace. As the most important third party and supposed ??honest broker?? in both talks, I also closely examine the behaviour and policy of the US at each case. I find that the positions taken towards each issue by Israel, on the one hand, and the Arab party, on the other, were remarkably consistent in 1949 and 2000. Israel was not fully committed to peace in either instance, while the Arabs twice refused to sign what amounted to documents of surrender. These consistent positions starkly contrasted with that of the US, which completely changed its positions in ways which, by 2000, had almost wholly aligned it with Zionist demands. I conclude that future peace will rest on the ability of each party to re-examine its past in order to produce a spirit of reconciliation. For Israel, this will mean honestly revisiting Zionism in order to confront what its triumph meant for the Palestinian inhabitants of the land. The Arabs must also seek a broader understanding of their role in the dispute and demonstrate forcefully to Israelis that they seek peace rather than retribution. Above all, if the US is to retain its role as mediator it must abandon its ??special relationship?? with Israel and return to a more genuinely?? even handed alignment with the broader international consensus on the dispute. As it stands, the US??s more or less unconditional support of Israel has the effect of leading Israelis and Palestinians ever further from peace even as an ever more empty ??peace process?? is rhetorically trumpeted abroad.

The purpose of this thesis is to understand why the Arab-Israeli conflict has remained irreconcilable for sixty-one years. While the details and forms of the conflict have changed over time, the central factors dividing Zionists and Arabs in the Middle East have altered little. In this thesis I examine what these factors are and why they have been so effective in frustrating every peace effort. To understand the fundamental factors which keep the dispute alive I have conducted a comparative study of the two major peace initiatives which frame it diplomatically. The first formal peace conference between Israel and her Arab adversaries took place in Lausanne in 1949. The issues of borders, Jerusalem and refugees would not be seriously engaged with again until the last peace effort to date, the Camp David talks of 2000. Through a detailed comparative analysis of both conferences I seek to understand the positions taken by the warring parties towards these issues and the broader motivating factors separating them and preventing them from achieving peace. As the most important third party and supposed ??honest broker?? in both talks, I also closely examine the behaviour and policy of the US at each case. I find that the positions taken towards each issue by Israel, on the one hand, and the Arab party, on the other, were remarkably consistent in 1949 and 2000. Israel was not fully committed to peace in either instance, while the Arabs twice refused to sign what amounted to documents of surrender. These consistent positions starkly contrasted with that of the US, which completely changed its positions in ways which, by 2000, had almost wholly aligned it with Zionist demands. I conclude that future peace will rest on the ability of each party to re-examine its past in order to produce a spirit of reconciliation. For Israel, this will mean honestly revisiting Zionism in order to confront what its triumph meant for the Palestinian inhabitants of the land. The Arabs must also seek a broader understanding of their role in the dispute and demonstrate forcefully to Israelis that they seek peace rather than retribution. Above all, if the US is to retain its role as mediator it must abandon its ??special relationship?? with Israel and return to a more genuinely?? even handed alignment with the broader international consensus on the dispute. As it stands, the US??s more or less unconditional support of Israel has the effect of leading Israelis and Palestinians ever further from peace even as an ever more empty ??peace process?? is rhetorically trumpeted abroad.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, December 1975. / Available in PDF. Includes bibliographical references.