Middle east and international relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Middle east and international relations - Essay Example On the other hand, Efraim and Karsh comment that the debate regarding Arab nationalism as a model of homogenous states bound by common language, religion and history has â€Å"dominated Middle Eastern political discourse for the most part of this century† (1996). However, they highlight that regardless of the concept of Arab nationalism in academic rhetoric; Arab nationalism has not succeeded in achieving the goal of unifying the â€Å"Arab† nation under a model of pan-Arabism. Moreover, Biersteker and Weber highlight that in terms of Arab nationalism the central issue in Arab states is â€Å"whether Arab nationalism was or was not consistent with state sovereignty and the territorial legacy† (1996, p149). Additionally, Biersteker and Weber refer to the argument that 1967’s turning point led to Arab recognition of state sovereignty, thereby dispelling pan-Arabism and replacing the state versus nation conflict (1996,p.149). In turn, the fragmentation of various ethno-cultural groups within these states has led to a dichotomy between political state identity and national identity. For example, Rinawi refers to the example of Operation Iraqi Freedom as crystallising the distinction between sovereignty and pan Arabism, whereby with â€Å"this event the divide between the pan-Arabic and specific localised Arab agendas became apparent† (2006, p.xxi). This is further evidenced by the growing role and influence of Iran in the area as a result of the destabilisation of Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom, which has been of increasing concern to the US and Europe (Potemski, 2007). Accordingly, it is submitted that the central issues relating to the Middle East in context of the contemporary framework of international relations is the complex relationship between nationalism and identity in the Arab states, the terrorism phenomenon and the growing influence of Iran in the area.

Complexity in Organizations - Economics and Adaptation Assignment - 1

Complexity in Organizations - Economics and Adaptation - Assignment Example The main challenge that is being faced by managers is to ensure that complexity of systems, rules and procedures do not get out of hand and hence the persistent efforts to simplify procedures and reduce the complexity of the system. It has to be mentioned that complexity is an inherent property of any system and the study of adaptive systems has shown that complexity is an emergent property as well. Hence, this central tension between complexity and the human tendency to simplify or derive meaning by simple expositions lies at the heart of the debate over complexity. Hence, the paradox of simplifying complex systems is the theme of this paper. The paper attempts to answer the question: How can we form simple theories if organizations are so complex? This question carries with the implication that simple theories of organizations are difficult to achieve in the face of increasing complexity. This paper takes the position that though complexity is ever present and increasing, there can be ways in which the system (the organization in this case) can be described or theories can be made about the organization by adopting a two-fold approach. These are treating the organization as an organic whole and forming theories about the whole. The second approach is by taking the constituent parts and then formulating theories about them. In no way does this author assert that simple theories about essentially complex systems can be made. On the other hand, the theme of this paper is that theories about the organization can be formed that can reflect some level of simplicity by following the approaches mentioned above. As Macintosh and Maclean point out in their paper, there is a three-stage process of organizations â€Å"conditioning† the outcome of the transformation process by articulating and reconfiguring the rules which underpin its deep structure; second, it takes steps to move from its current equilibrium and finally it moves into a period where positive and negative feedback loops become the focus of managerial attention.