The Fall of Both Mubarak’s Regime and the Legal Opposition Essay

Introduction : By the end of Mubarak’s rule, the legalised political opposition in Egypt was already a mirror to the regime it was presumed to challenge: discreditable, central, aging and undemocratic. Systematic state repression and internal divisions fragmented the opposition and deviated it from the role assumed by its counterparts in liberal democracies. Instead of competitive interaction with the regime, the legal opposition stationed itself as an integral part of the authoritarian polity. Years of regime-opposition dynamics ended with the latter’s alignment with the regime and becoming more of a domesticated opposition. This clientelist relationship was necessary for the survival of the semi-authoritarian regime. It enabled it to claim legitimacy by presenting cosmetic democracy/pluralism measures while at the same time keeping the dominance of its ruling party. It also lured the weak fragmented legalised opposition into competing to gain the regime’s support. Overview: Egypt moved from full-scale authoritarianism under Nasser to liberalized autocracy under Sadat and Mubarak. During its early rule in the 1980s, Mubarak’s regime showed relative political tolerance and moderation (stacher 2004), giving hope to legal opposition that the break up of the single-party system was the beginning of a transition phase that will lead to democratization and the possibility to compete on even terms with the ruling NDP. During this period it was the Neo-Wafd which had the most comprehensive organizational capacities and was designated to lead the legalized opposition camp from which Islamist movements were excluded (Shehata, 2009). However, those expectations proved to be naive as the regime soon made clear that it was not inte... ...e, E. (1998), More than a Response to Islamism: The Political Deliberalization of Egypt in the 1990s’ Middle East Journal, Vol. 52, No. 2, p. 219. 3- Stacher, J. (2004), Parties Over: The Demise of Egypt’s Opposition Parties , British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, pp 215–23. 4- Albrecht, H. (2005) How can opposition support authoritarianism? Lessons from Egypt, Democratization, pp 378-397. 5- Shehata, D. (2009), Islamists and Secularists in Egypt: Opposition, Conflict & Cooperation, London, Routledge. 6- Arafat, A. (2009), The Mubarak Leadership and Future of Democracy in Egypt, New York, Palgrave Macmillan. 7- Kassem, M. (2004), Egyptian Politics: The Dynamics of Authoritarian Rule, Colorado, Lynne Rienner publishers. 8- Kienle, E. (1998), More than a Response to Islamism: The Political Deliberalization of Egypt, Middle East Journal, Vol. 52, p. 219.

Bowles-Simpson Essay

Bowles-Simpson Proposal Essay By the year 2012, the American economy has crossed through large paths of downfall and unsustainability. Many aspects of such inconsistency surround this issue; foreign debt, public spending, and real state price drops are some facts that indicate an unstable economy. Furthermore, current president of the United States Barack Obama has approved a plan that will help stabilize the economy in the long run; this plan has targeted to reduce the federal deficit by cutting spending and raising taxes.Moreover, this plan was introduced in 2010 by co chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles of President Barack Obama’s deficit commission as stated above, to raise the economy in the long run. As of now, revenue isn’t much of a problem, but spending is. Since debt is rising due to spending (taking only this example), the private sector is put in risk of being put out of the market. This would affect small businesses, which are a strength in the American economy since they will not be able to grow and create more jobs, which simultaneously helps the economy.Indeed, the goal of this plan is to reduce deficit to 2. 2% of the gross domestic product by 2015, reduce deficit growth between now and 2020 by 3. 8 trillion dollars, and reduce debt as percentage of GDP to 40% by 2037. All this is being linked with the reduction of spending and tax rises. Accordingly, this plan induces a huge tax reform due to the fact that the current tax rates would be modified. In addition, the alternative minimum tax would be eliminated, as well as the child tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction.It is calculated that if this is taken in mind, there would be a deduction of $ 1. 1 of tax expenditures and in should increase tax revenues. Consequently, it seems that eliminating the mortgage interest deduction would mark a difference positively since it is one of the key elements funding an overemphasis on homeownership in the United States. On the othe r hand, eliminating the health insurance deduction would cause a healthcare reform. That deduction is actually a pillar of the current employer-based health insurance system. Thus, removing this deduction will orce families move on into the individual health insurance market, if no other adjustments are done. Meanwhile, the proposal expects to raise the cap on taxable wages through 2050 to cover 90 % of all national wages. This would simultaneously increase the program’s revenues and would also increase the total payments going out. Moreover, one thing that the Bowles-Simpson plan aims for revenues to be capped at 21 % of GDP and spending to be brought down to the same level. Such target is actually a redundant number. In order to achieve these cuts, some tactics have been put in the table.One item that increases the revenues in the plan is its provision to include newly hired state and local workers after 2020. This would in the near term tap more tax revenue for the system and in the long run would obligate additional benefit payments. Also, this provision does not contribute to long-term Social Security sustainability. If it were dropped, then the plan would tilt in the direction of cost containment over almost any time period measured. Medicare takes a big part in the proposal since the idea is to hold growth of federal health spending to growth of GDP by 1 %.Such cuts are proposed by paying less to doctors, as well as drug companies, and health care providers. Nevertheless, a reform on social security has put in place as well, and it is to add minimum benefits for minimum wage workers to ensure that they are above the poverty level. In other words, the plan aims to ensure that no one retires into poverty after a full working career. On the other hand, this does not reduce cost but it actually increases them. The plan to reduce costs is to make a balance under the benefits by offering fewer benefits for the more wealthy being.Such action will change the current social security; savings plans will no longer be at a long term for individuals, but a more or less direct welfare program. Hence, the Bowles-Simpson proposal is indeed a fairly tax increase and highly progressive, not to forget that the main goal of this proposal is to eliminate almost all tax expenditures. Putting the numbers on the table, in 2015, the lowest earners would face an average cut in their after-tax income of 3. 4 percent or about $ 400. For middle-income households, there would be a cut of 4 percent on their after-tax income.And on the top of the mountain, while will be cataloged as the highest earners, they would lose about 5. 3 % or about $ 70,000. It seems that the numbers do not lie; the low-income households and the top income households would be hit by a tax increase, while the upper middle class would have a small tax cut of 1 percent. In conclusion, this plan is a step forward with a few points, which I disagree. First, the measurements on tax rat es seem fairly reasonable but it does not seem to mark a tax reform. The tax code is still under its same complexity.It looks like it would bring revenue, but there are still politics to be discussed. Additionally, it does not seem to specify that tax cuts be used to eliminate national debt. On the other hand, it proposes to cut on health care spending since health care costs are pretty high, which simultaneously brings more national debt. As well, I think the proposal have some kind of gaps, but there is also a debate between republicans and democrats, to see if there is a balance in between both sides since republicans do not really like the idea of tax increases, and democrats are unhappy about the spending caps.

Ict Systems Strategy And Management - 1056 Words

KIT708 ICT SYSTEMS STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP 6 LEADERS REPORT by Srinivas GROUP 5 Srinivas - 189750 Rajesh - 183176 Venkat - 179334 Jawahar - 218429 Task 3 Key Issues Discussed In the Paper According to me (Srinivas), the key issues discussed in the paper are: The chapter started as the challenges of IS/IT investments. The generic benefits of IT were explained with case studies. Net Benefits of the IT were shown. The paper also showed the developing economy and the need for a new appraisal method. This method was explained in depth in this paper. According to Rajesh, the key issues discussed in the paper basically are the challenges of IS/IT investments. How the economy is changing over time and there is also a need†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ No sufficient training to the staffs to use the newly deployed IT and IS. †¢ No post implementation reviews of IT project in an organization. Audience of the Paper According to me (Srinivas), the audience of this paper would be organizations who are and want to implement IS/IT investments and the management and IS/IT students. Rajesh says that the audience of the paper would be Managers, Business staff and IT Managers within the organizations and the researchers who want to add value to the topic or research on the existing approaches. Venkat says that the Journal article is based on the Information Technology Domain, and thus the audiences for the article are the management teams of any organization related to information technology. Jawahar says that senior managers and IT managers of an organization are the main targeted audience of the paper. HR and finance managers are also targeted in this paper. Critical Analysis of the Paper I (Srinivas), say that the paper basically started with the development going on within organizations and in the economy. The benefits of IT within the organizations were explained clearly and the disadvantages were also explained. Next, the need for the fresh approach was also shown. The author has clearly shown his view by referring to many authors and explained the new approach clearly. Overall, the paper is informative andShow MoreRelatedThe Best Suitable Corporate ICT Governance Model for the Gobà ¡r Saor Corporation Group1443 Words   |  6 PagesCorporate ICT Governance model (if any) for the Gobà ¡n Saor Construction Group (GSC). This report describes different ICT Governance characteristics and solutions from the concepts to the recommendation for the specific case of GSC described in the following sections: †¢ ICT Governance: describes what ICT Governance is, including its expected benefits, its possible problems and the main ICT Governance alternatives. †¢ Gobà ¡n Saor Construction: specifies the actual status of GSC in terms of ICT GovernanceRead MoreInformation On Information And Communication Technology998 Words   |  4 Pagesfield of education, health etc. But we also cannot deny the fact that it is some issues also. This report will describe six of these issues and one area where further research is necessary. These problems are security, privacy, financial problems, management, time taking, extra staff. Government have to make their computers up to date for protection. Cyber Security: The main issue with applying information and communication technology is that the data is being interrupted by the damage ofRead MoreAnalysis Of Tony Robbins, An American Motivational Speaker And Performance Coach1290 Words   |  6 PagesRobbins, an American motivational speaker and performance coach, shows that effective communication is based on the understanding of the differences between cultures and people. The implementation strategy for the named project focus on a detailed communication plan, which allows the project management team to ensure the support of all stakeholders for the necessary changes related to this project. Economic changes over the last decade in the telecommunication market and the global networking ofRead MoreHealth Information System In Ghana805 Words   |  4 Pagespaperless health records system in Ghana began in late 1980s. The Maternal and Child Health Information System collected data in three of the ten Ghanaian regions (Abdulai, 2009). However, information on its implementation in the other seven areas were not documented. Abdulai also does not specify which regions had this system, which did not, what it exactly documented and what led to its defeat. The documentation gaps and little research done on health information management shows the little educationRead MoreIct And The Appropriate Instructional Design Of Tools For Ict1562 Words   |  7 Pagessupported by ICT process in developing countries like Tanzania is inevitable (Sanga et al., 2013). Although PSS in Tanzania have poor environments for teaching and learning, limited number of teaching staff, limited number of t ext and reference books as well as large number of students in classrooms but ICT can solve some of these prevailing problems (Table 7).By using different ICT tools for teaching and learning will enable teachers and students to know the subject matter easier because ICT can enableRead MoreThe Strategies Of Organizing And Relational Strategies For Organizing832 Words   |  4 Pagesalign with their management style and company objectives. There are two strategies that are still implemented in today’s society. These strategies are the Traditional Strategies of Organizing and Relational Strategies for Organizing. The two topics are as different as they are similar. Approximately a century ago, a sociologist by the name of Max Weber contributed to the study of bureaucracies, which would later be a popular use in the science of management. Traditional strategies such as bureaucraciesRead MoreHydro-Quebec Efforts to Restructure and Reorganize IT Support Management Function Line Demands Business Models1437 Words   |  6 PagesHydro-Quebec Efforts to Restructure and Reorganize IT Support Management Function Line Demands Business Models Objective The objective of this work is to discuss Hydro-Quebec Efforts to restructure and Reorganize IT support management function line demands business models and specifically to describe external factors and internal factors affecting change IT management for Hydro-Quebec through use of the socio-technical design document. This work will also answer the question of what changes wouldRead MoreWhat Is Information Communication Technology ( Ict ) Versus Employee Driven Innovation ( Edi )911 Words   |  4 Pagesis a broad term with a variation of definitions depending on the source. For this assignment. I will first analyze and compare the various types of cognizance, and cognizance management. Second, I will compare and contrast germane ways of managing knowledge. Conclusively, I will define information communication technology (ICT) versus employee-driven innovation (EDI) and illustrate whether they are benign for the company in the case study. Notably, a master list of definitions for knowledge do notRead MoreEssay on Computer Science: Key for Modern Day Innovation985 Words   |  4 Pagessimilar to the Dark Ages, that is, zero. However, there is a large border between innovation in the past and innovation today. This is because major branches of technology have already been discovered. One example of a major branch of technology is ICT. Consequently, Computer Science and the Internet could revolutionize the modern world and make tasks, known as difficult beforehand, simpler and could potentially increase innovation rate tenfold. Innovation growth may be plummeting down, althoughRead MoreThe s Vision, Mission And Strategy Plan1588 Words   |  7 Pagesvaluable brand in the Middle East, according to UK-based consultancy Brand Finance (TeleGeography, 2014). Hard work and good performance management is the reason why they are at this place right now. In this paper I will provide a review of STC’s vision, mission and strategy plan. Then I’ll present the alignment degree between the strategy and performance management of human resources. At the end, I’ll show my insight and thoughts to enhance those alignments. STC’s Vision and Mission The Vision is what