Go Urban

  Topic- Instability and external involvement in Syria ·          Hafez al-Assad, father of the current President of Syria Bashar al-Assad was from, the Alawi minority, a heterodox Shia sect, that had long been persecuted in Syria and came to power under the post–World War I French mandate. He took control over Syria from the Baathist military junta in 1970 and put majority of the powers in the presidency. ·          In February 1982, Hafez al-Assad ordered the military to put down a Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city of Hama with brute force. Syrian forces killed more than twenty-five thousand there. Hama b ecame a rallying point during the Protest since 2011. The Assad presided over a system that was not just autocratic but kleptocratic, doling out patronage to bind Syrians to the regime. ·          Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father in 2000 pledgi...

  Topic- Political and economic challenges of nation building in Africa Nation-building is a long and challenging political process which requires constant and serious efforts both at leadership level and at the level of Citizens. Most nations have their unique circumstances and each one, throughout history, has built and developed itself around certain distinguishing core features. The process of nation-building can only be internally generated and led. It cannot be achieved from the outside though initiatives and lessons can be learnt from outside world too. The first of these processes has always been the conscious cultivation of a national identity, the sense of belonging, based on shared values, tradition, history and aspirations. The second is the establishment of institutions and laws of governance which formalise the relationship between the leaders and citizens, and their expectation of service delivery. The third feature is the participation of citizens in the gove...