Counter-PIracy HAS been effective in the Horn of Africa

BONUS LINK:  My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here. 

Counter-Piracy HAS been effective in the Horn of Africa

This post contains my speaking notes and bibliography for a recent debate in which I had to argue that counter-piracy HAS been effective in the Horn of Africa.  We won.  



Below is a spreadsheet I built using data from the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).

At the Service of Islam: The Islamists' Role in Morocco's Democratic Islamic Monarchy

BONUS LINK:  My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here. 

Below is a paper I wrote that takes a slightly different tack on Islamism in Morocco (a shorter take).  

Excerpt:

"The monarchy’s survival strategy has always hinged on their assumption as the final arbiter and authority for all Islam in Morocco. King Muhammad VI continues to view his role as “commander of the faithful” as giving him all necessary legitimacy to interact with, guide and disenfranchise the Islamic parties when needed. In Morocco especially one sees a certain distinction between Islam and Islamism. Because the monarchy pulls Islam under its purview and ownership on one hand and pulls its main religious opponent, the Islamists, into the secular political arena—Islam never has had a chance to become Islamism in the traditional sense."

At the Service of Islam: The Islamists' Role in Morocco's Democratic Islamic Monarchy

50 Shades of Islam: the Rise of Morocco's Democratic "Islamarchy"

BONUS LINK:  My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here. 

Below is a paper I wrote recently on Islam in Morocco.  Here's a snippet.  As are most things, it's a work in progress.

"Failing to acknowledge the critical role of Islamism in Morocco ignores the role Islam plays as the connective tissue between all of its institutions. A democratic Islamarchy is a version of Islamism that is more palatable to Western democracies than Islamism itself in any other country. For as long as there is a pro-western authoritarian king in place, the public at large can extol the Islamists’ parliamentary rise, confident that King Muhammad will never allow the “one vote, once” phenomenon to occur, and confident that legislature will remaining an echo chamber—loud at times but void of power and prone to royal manipulation and division."

50 Shades of Islam: the Rise of Morocco's Democratic Islamarchy

Notes Islamism in Morocco by Zeghal Malika

Below are my notes on Malika's book.  I used these for a few papers (links here in a little bit) and I pretty much already paraphrased all the notes.

Islamism in Morocco, Zeghal Malika, 2008, Markus Wiener Publishers
Malika Zeghal, Islamism in Morocco, Markus Wiener Publishers (2008)

Notes of Islamist Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes by Wagner

Islamist Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes: the Party of Justice and Development in Morocco by Eva Wagner


Below are my notes on Wagner's book.  I used these for a few papers (links here in a little bit) and I pretty much already paraphrased all the notes.

Eva Wagner, Islamist Opposition in Authoritarian Regimes: the Party of Justice and
Development in Morocco, (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2011).

Somaliland Constitution, Sudan and Samuel Wanjiru

I meant to post this weeks ago.  The insight is still valid.

BBC News - Somali leaders set transition deadline 
This article calls this event historic but doesn't explain why it is historic.  It's historic because they are going to use the Somaliland model.  250 elders will be sitting down to choose the next president.  The

elders will be chosen by July (God willing),  and the President chosen by August (breath held).  An important distinction, however, is that in Somaliland they enacted the policy over numerous conferences (lasting from months and years)—the question will be whether they are too rushed in the case of Somali..

Two other worthy articles to read:
The Sudans at loggerheads: Africa’s next big war? 
Runner Samuel Wanjiru’s Tragic Death : The New Yorker 

LINKS:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/21/120521fa_fact_rice
http://bbc.in/JpIuiC
http://econ.st/Le6YqV

FUUO Kickstarter of the Month: The Last Safari

FUUO Kickstarter of the Month: The Last Safari

Every month or so I feature a new Africa-ish Kickstarter project on FUUO.  This month I am supporting a really cool project called The Last Safari.  The money supports the making of a documentary about a photojournalist's return to the remote villages she documented a decade earlier.  You can watch a teaser on the site--it looks like a gripping story.  $25 gets you a digital download of the film when it is completed!

If you aren't familiar with Kickstarter you should get familiar--it's a crowd-based charity/fundraising website.  If a project doesn't meet its stated financial goal in the allotted time you aren't charged anything.  Depending on the amount you donate you receive different incentives (like a digital download of the film in this case)!  

But beware, it's addictive.  

Past FUUO Supported Kickstarter projects (so far they've all been funding successes):

Dream Traveler: Africa

Smallsmall Thing: A Documentary Project Lessons of Basketball and War Save Blue Like Jazz The Movie Project Finally, please check out the charity below.  They aren't a kickstarter project but are an excellent organization. The Butterfly Tree  http://www.thebutterflytree.org.uk/ http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/website-of-week-butterfly-tree-charity.html