do you think middle eastern countries expirience more political violence than other regions?

[miketheidiot]

yesterday we read part of a paper on islam and democracy, and one of its conclusions was that middle eastern countries are no more politically violent than other regions, despite what we see to the contrary. Do you blieve this to be true, despite all the suicides and only terrorist acts that we see in the media?

(the same article concluded that economic underdevelopment and islam itself were the two biggest deteminers on whether a country would be democratic or not)


edit:
Political violence as in within a state, citizen against the governemnt.

a political action could be a march, a party caucus, a riot, a coup, etc. A riot and a coup would clearly be violent, as would bombing a governemnt office, etc.



i would not consider an invasion to be a political act, or civil war, or guerilla war.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: miketheidiot
yesterday we read part of a paper on islam and democracy, and one of its conclusions was that middle eastern countries are no more politically violent than other regions, despite what we see to the contrary. Do you blieve this to be true, despite all the suicides and only terrorist acts that we see in the media?

(the same article concluded that economic underdevelopment and islam itself were the two biggest deteminers on whether a country would be democratic or not)

The media is a powerful tool.

 

[techs]

Depends on what you mean by "politically violent" In the last hundred years nothing compares to the political violence perpetrated by Nazis and Communists.
Is the U.S. invasion of Iraq political violence? If so it would outweigh all acts of political violence in the Mid East in the last 5 years.

 

[Cruise51]

^ The Japanese in 1930's comes to mind. In recent years I'd say Africa has been the most violent.

 

[miketheidiot]

i think its interesting that so far 2 people have voted the arab political culture is more violent, but none have voted that it is not less violent.

 

[imported_Condor]

Africa is the only other region that can compare. Mostly, we ignore violance there because they didn't bring it to us.

 

[magomago]

I think part of it stems from repeated interventionalist policy of other countries. When the Turks took control, they literally left much of the area for dead~ focusing on improving many other places. Just before Ottoman rule you have ~30 million people living in the Iraq region, after WW1 when they were defeated it dropped to roughly 10 million. Furthermore, right after WW1, you had the British and French colonizing the entire region...more interventionalism..
Even after all received their indepenence, that didn't stop the British, or rather Super Powers in general, from meddling in Mid East back yard. You had the Suez Canal situation, you had CIA with their little fun in Iran, you had CIA train and arm Saddam...the list goes on.
And when we did support a reigeme, 99% of the time we support it because its a ruler that "allies" with us~ not because its a real democracy that takes care of its people. We sit and talk about how great countries like Jordan are, when my Jordanian friends tell me that over there you are part of the 5% extremely rich (they are) or the 95% filthy poor. When we support politicial leaders like that, but at the same time walk around speaking of "Freedom"...It no doubt sends mixed messages (and rejection of American ideas) and helps to foster politicial violence
So politicially I'm not suprised its such a violent situation in the Mid East...it has all been in the making for over a hundred years now (and even longer if we consider how "nice" Ottomon rulers were)

 

[jpeyton]

I don't hear about much political violence coming out of Iran, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Qatar, Yemen, Oman, etc. Maybe the guys voting yes could link to some news proving otherwise?

Iraq would be the notable exception for obvious reasons.

 

[Kibbo86]

Africa is more violent by far.

Some parts of southeast asia could qualify as well (Myanmar comes to mind).

The Caucases in central asia could explode any day now.

Up until about ten years ago, South America would have been up there, some countries there still simmer.