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Maneesh Bakshi
In an interesting discussion on the topic ‘America and the Middle East under Trump’, Dr.
Nathan Brown, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at George Washington University, tried to paint a picture of the world after Donald Trump is sworn-in as the 45th president of USA.
During the lecture, Brown analysed the economic and political prospects of a Trump presidency based on US foreign policy as well as the promises that he made during his election campaign vis-à-vis the Middle East, and largely considered it to be impossible to predict.
During his opening lecture, he also mentioned that there is no clear-cut explanation for Trump’s victory in the elections, and that he thought that Trump’s administration would prioritise domestic issues.
Brown maintained in his address that there was not much to be expected in terms of a major shift in the US policy towards the Middle East, and that Israel would continue to benefit from increased US support.
His invitation as a guest lecturer at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies was part of the ‘Transcultural Identity Constructions in a Changing Arab World’ research project led by Dr. Eid Mohamed, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and funded by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
In an interesting round of interaction with the audience, Dr Brown expressed his opinions on various issues raised by individuals.
Asked if Trump would succeed in putting a ban on Muslim Brotherhood, he said, “Under American legislation, there is an elaborate legal system involving lengthy bureaucratic process in classifying a group as a terrorist organisation.” He continued, “I do not see any indication of Trump administration following this route. “At the same time, there is an extraordinary effort under way to do it through the legislative process to have Congress declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation.” Whether or not he would succeed in doing so is a something that needs to be watched. According to Brown, it is very hard to predict the future course that American diplomacy will take after January 20, when the president-elect will become the American president and take full control of power.
On a question of Trump’s involvement during abstention during United Nations Security Council on a resolution condemning illegal Israeli settlements, he said it was an extraordinary and unwarranted step for a president-elect to go all out and call the Egyptian leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to ask him to withdraw the draft resolution.
According to him, Trump’s involvement in the Security Council issue was certainly not looked upon in good taste by other countries and is something very extraordinary and unprecedented for Trump, especially as a president-elect, to get involved in diplomacy, especially when there is a President in power doing something else.
Brown, while summarising the discussion, raised some of his own concerns about the way Trump has carried and conducted himself during his tenure as presidentelect.
“He is so willing to express himself in ways that has never been seen by any of the presidents in the past. He is somebody who is unwilling to be bound by conventional ways that are generally expected from a president-elect,” he said.
According to Brown, Trump did many extraordinary things after winning the elections, which has surprised a lot of people.
Even the ugly scene created during the election was something new for the American public to witness during an election.
Brown also raised concerns about too many wild aspirations that he filled his followers with. Such as, he is going to defeat ISIS with his secret plan; he is going to stop illegal immigrations and deport Muslims, he is going to reverse the economical process and bring back factory manufacturing jobs, and so on. But what will happen when these promises will not be fulfilled, and how will he react then, are some of the questions that are unanswered.
Nathan Brown received his BA degree in political science from the University of Chicago and his MA degree and Ph.D in Politics and Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He teaches courses on Middle Eastern politics, as well as more general courses on comparative politics and international relations at George Washington University in the US.
For 2013-2015, Brown served as president of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), the academic association for scholars studying the region.
In addition to his academic work, Brown serves on the Middle East and North Africa advisory committee for Human Rights Watch and the board of trustees at the American University in Cairo.
He has previously served as an advisor for the committee drafting the Palestinian constitution, USAID, the United Nations Development Program, and several NGOs.
15 Thursday, January 19, 2017 Reports by Maneesh Bakshi For events and press releases email [email protected] or call (974) 44422077 Music is one of the many activities that come naturally to children and can help them in accelerating their learning process in schools. In order to cultivate the talent of music from the early age, Doha College (DC) has taken initiative to organise the ‘Qatar Primary School Choir of the Year’ (QPSCoY) competition across Qatar. DC has invited primary schools from a breadth of nationalities to enter the contest.
The Qatar Primary School Choir of the Year competition was officially launched at the Shangri- La Hotel Doha in December, 2016, and will host the heats (in March) and the final (in May).
Alison Keane, head of Primary Music at DC, said at the competition’s launch in December: “Many schools organise choirs as an afterschool activity. Singing in a group offers many benefits enhancing children’s confidence, listening skills, develops a team spirit, and above all is great fun.” Speaking about the competition, she said, “Participation is the key.
Schools need not worry about whether their choir is established or newly formed to compete in the event. It’s about the children having fun, singing, meeting children from other schools who also love to sing, and learning from the experience.” QPSCoY announced Qatari composer Dana al Fardan as its ambassador.
Dana al Fardan is also the founder and CEO of DNA Records, the first record label to be established in Qatar.
DNA Records is now one of the major sponsors of this competition.
According to QPSCoY, Dana has agreed to compose a short piece especially for this year’s competition, which will be sung by all choirs competing in the final.
The committee of Qatar’s inaugural primary school singing competition met with Dana al Fardan last week to discuss her new role as ambassador and were thrilled with her positivity and commitment to the cause.
Dana said: “I want children to grow up in an environment where they are taught about music. It means so much to me… We have so much talent in Qatar… Qatar should be a hub, a producer of talent which then radiates worldwide. I will do anything to help the competition.” Speaking about the opportunity that the competition presents to schoolchildren in Qatar, she also reflected on choral events she attended as a child in Doha: “They were the highlight of our year. We all loved performing in them and were so excited to go.” DC
In an interesting discussion on the topic ‘America and the Middle East under Trump’, Dr.
Nathan Brown, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at George Washington University, tried to paint a picture of the world after Donald Trump is sworn-in as the 45th president of USA.
During the lecture, Brown analysed the economic and political prospects of a Trump presidency based on US foreign policy as well as the promises that he made during his election campaign vis-à-vis the Middle East, and largely considered it to be impossible to predict.
During his opening lecture, he also mentioned that there is no clear-cut explanation for Trump’s victory in the elections, and that he thought that Trump’s administration would prioritise domestic issues.
Brown maintained in his address that there was not much to be expected in terms of a major shift in the US policy towards the Middle East, and that Israel would continue to benefit from increased US support.
His invitation as a guest lecturer at the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies was part of the ‘Transcultural Identity Constructions in a Changing Arab World’ research project led by Dr. Eid Mohamed, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and funded by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
In an interesting round of interaction with the audience, Dr Brown expressed his opinions on various issues raised by individuals.
Asked if Trump would succeed in putting a ban on Muslim Brotherhood, he said, “Under American legislation, there is an elaborate legal system involving lengthy bureaucratic process in classifying a group as a terrorist organisation.” He continued, “I do not see any indication of Trump administration following this route. “At the same time, there is an extraordinary effort under way to do it through the legislative process to have Congress declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation.” Whether or not he would succeed in doing so is a something that needs to be watched. According to Brown, it is very hard to predict the future course that American diplomacy will take after January 20, when the president-elect will become the American president and take full control of power.
On a question of Trump’s involvement during abstention during United Nations Security Council on a resolution condemning illegal Israeli settlements, he said it was an extraordinary and unwarranted step for a president-elect to go all out and call the Egyptian leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to ask him to withdraw the draft resolution.
According to him, Trump’s involvement in the Security Council issue was certainly not looked upon in good taste by other countries and is something very extraordinary and unprecedented for Trump, especially as a president-elect, to get involved in diplomacy, especially when there is a President in power doing something else.
Brown, while summarising the discussion, raised some of his own concerns about the way Trump has carried and conducted himself during his tenure as presidentelect.
“He is so willing to express himself in ways that has never been seen by any of the presidents in the past. He is somebody who is unwilling to be bound by conventional ways that are generally expected from a president-elect,” he said.
According to Brown, Trump did many extraordinary things after winning the elections, which has surprised a lot of people.
Even the ugly scene created during the election was something new for the American public to witness during an election.
Brown also raised concerns about too many wild aspirations that he filled his followers with. Such as, he is going to defeat ISIS with his secret plan; he is going to stop illegal immigrations and deport Muslims, he is going to reverse the economical process and bring back factory manufacturing jobs, and so on. But what will happen when these promises will not be fulfilled, and how will he react then, are some of the questions that are unanswered.
Nathan Brown received his BA degree in political science from the University of Chicago and his MA degree and Ph.D in Politics and Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He teaches courses on Middle Eastern politics, as well as more general courses on comparative politics and international relations at George Washington University in the US.
For 2013-2015, Brown served as president of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), the academic association for scholars studying the region.
In addition to his academic work, Brown serves on the Middle East and North Africa advisory committee for Human Rights Watch and the board of trustees at the American University in Cairo.
He has previously served as an advisor for the committee drafting the Palestinian constitution, USAID, the United Nations Development Program, and several NGOs.
15 Thursday, January 19, 2017 Reports by Maneesh Bakshi For events and press releases email [email protected] or call (974) 44422077 Music is one of the many activities that come naturally to children and can help them in accelerating their learning process in schools. In order to cultivate the talent of music from the early age, Doha College (DC) has taken initiative to organise the ‘Qatar Primary School Choir of the Year’ (QPSCoY) competition across Qatar. DC has invited primary schools from a breadth of nationalities to enter the contest.
The Qatar Primary School Choir of the Year competition was officially launched at the Shangri- La Hotel Doha in December, 2016, and will host the heats (in March) and the final (in May).
Alison Keane, head of Primary Music at DC, said at the competition’s launch in December: “Many schools organise choirs as an afterschool activity. Singing in a group offers many benefits enhancing children’s confidence, listening skills, develops a team spirit, and above all is great fun.” Speaking about the competition, she said, “Participation is the key.
Schools need not worry about whether their choir is established or newly formed to compete in the event. It’s about the children having fun, singing, meeting children from other schools who also love to sing, and learning from the experience.” QPSCoY announced Qatari composer Dana al Fardan as its ambassador.
Dana al Fardan is also the founder and CEO of DNA Records, the first record label to be established in Qatar.
DNA Records is now one of the major sponsors of this competition.
According to QPSCoY, Dana has agreed to compose a short piece especially for this year’s competition, which will be sung by all choirs competing in the final.
The committee of Qatar’s inaugural primary school singing competition met with Dana al Fardan last week to discuss her new role as ambassador and were thrilled with her positivity and commitment to the cause.
Dana said: “I want children to grow up in an environment where they are taught about music. It means so much to me… We have so much talent in Qatar… Qatar should be a hub, a producer of talent which then radiates worldwide. I will do anything to help the competition.” Speaking about the opportunity that the competition presents to schoolchildren in Qatar, she also reflected on choral events she attended as a child in Doha: “They were the highlight of our year. We all loved performing in them and were so excited to go.” DC
