As most things in life, the age of information comes with its positives and negatives. The negative aspect is an information overload, constantly combined with a sophisticated spin which creates a great deal of confusion about the world around us. If you are a person who wants to de-fog the confusion created by the corporate media, Confessions of a ... Read More »
Tag Archives: Arab Spring
Demystifying American “Soft Power” Strategy
“Soft Power” refers to strategies by Western countries to affect change in other countries prioritizing non-violence, but not excluding violent means. The term has come to prominence in 2003 when Joseph Nye discussed it in a paper aiming at presenting alternatives to US Government to affect change in other countries without having to primarily rely upon hard or military power. While ... Read More »
The PR Weakness of the Resistance Axis in Syria
The purpose of this column is not to study the functionality and the legitimacy of the Syrian government, but the weakness in the public relations sphere on the Syrian front of a far more potent and globally relevant force, namely the Resistance Axis, led by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since the start of the crisis in Syria, Corporate media ... Read More »
Human Rights Advocacy, Sectarianism, and Other Biases
By Ruba Ali Al-Hassani I started this blog a few days ago, and have been debating on the subject of my first blog post. With so many ideas floating in my restless mind, it took me a while to think this through. My mind strays to other topics, but ends up circling around the subject of media and academic bias ... Read More »
Turkey, sectarianism, and the “Arab Spring”
Article originally published in print and online by Crescent International. Link can be found here. Turkish President Recept Tayip Erdogan is resorting to increasing sectarian rhetoric to keep challengers at bay. The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 brought about a radical change in Middle East politics. Previously, the political landscape was constructed primarily around the Arab/Israeli conflict. As many ... Read More »
Why Anti-Orientalist?
Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility. Sigmund Freud The world has never been as interconnected as much as it is today. Although nationalism is still strong, the concept of the global citizen is emerging. This is also establishing a new reality: The internet has empowered each one of ... Read More »