Academic Statement of Purpose
“Islam is the solution!” The masses chanted outside the courthouse window as I asked the Egyptian lawyer about the legal system. Chills ran down my spine. “They want something... impossible,” he said cooly. “What?” I asked. “The Brotherhood on the ballot.” My eyes caught those of a teenager yelling, as if at me, through the window as the police wrested him away. Though his fate unknown to me, I still feel his anger and desperation vibrating through the pane, his words forever reverberating in my head.
I am applying to Yale University’s Ph.D program in Political Science to continue studying pseudo-democratic regimes in the Middle East and their interaction with the democratic process. I am committed to refining my understanding of democratic theory and authoritarianism, exploring the use of democratic institutions as a tool for autocratic legitimization, and researching the durability of regime power structures. I also want to study the effects of these regimes on the Arab citizen and how he views, interacts with, and shapes his political process. I will explore what other democratization models can contribute to the study of democracy, stability, and future political change in the region. At Yale, I will orient myself in the comparative field of democracy studies, strengthen my background in comparative political science literature, and further develop my previous research method experience to undertake my own work.
My dedication to studying democratization in the Middle East began while writing my undergraduate thesis in which I explored theories of the ruling elites’ tenacity and their resistance to genuine democratic change. I analyzed political strategies like moderation through parliamentary participation, reform models in Egypt and Morocco, and the use of democratic tools to legitimize authoritarian rule and reinforce the political status quo. I discovered intricate webs of economic, social, and political manipulations that have shaped systems of political allegiance, patronage, and oppression that vary in structure and degree between states. I was excited to find that the study of the durability of these pseudo-democracies in the Arab World was a relatively new concern and not as exceptional as many claimed. I began to contemplate democracy in more unqualified terms than classic liberal democratic theories of Locke and Mill. The influence of Jean-Paul Sartre’s political engagement also raised questions about political how citizens participated in their democracy and civil societies. I wondered what conditions are necessary for democratic change in these states and why the process seemed stagnate or non-existent. These questions led me to pursuing a graduate education in the field.
My background in Political Science is primarily in the comparative and international fields. My courses included basic game theory and political models, liberal political theory and law, basic statistics, and general world politics and strategy. I applied this background to my classes in my Middle East studies concentration and in my special topics courses on Islamic Law, Middle Eastern Wars, history, and anthropology. Through my research of Yale University, I have become impressed by the intense focus on democracy, power, and philosophy found in the political science department. I am also interested in taking advantage of the focus on research methods to undertake my own future research.
I feel Yale is a good fit for me because of the alignment of my interests with those of many of the faculty. I hope to work with Professor Ellen Lust and her work with political engagement, the role of the opposition in these Middle Eastern governments, and how that participation is manipulated institutionally by these regimes. Her research gave me valuable insight when writing my thesis and I believe her direction would best develop my potential and interest in this particular field of pseudo-democratic regimes. I am also interested in the research of Professor Susan Hyde on election fraud and manipulation, as well as her analysis of the “pseudo-autocrat” and their effect on the election process. Working with them will help solidify my background in democracy and the challenges it faces under these hybrid regimes.
Currently, I am cultivating necessary linguistic and cultural knowledge to facilitate future research, communication, and fieldwork by studying abroad in Alexandria, Egypt. The Arabic Flagship Program is designed to produce Arabic-speaking professionals fluent in both language and culture through attendance at the University of Alexandria. Outside, I facilitate cross-cultural dialogues between students at the American Center and will teach an ESL class at Amideast to underprivileged Egyptian students in February. Additionally, I am monitoring the Egyptian parliamentary elections, its violence, and a new democratic legitimacy crisis through my colleagues, friends, and the media. I have also traveled to Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon. In Beirut, I stayed in the politically volatile neighborhood of al-Dahiyya, and at the southern border with Israel, I observed the antagonistic relationship between Hezbollah, the Lebanese police, the citizens, and the government. My experiences in Egypt and in the region have given me invaluable personal insight into the cultures, peoples, and politics I want to study and solidified my commitment to the study of democracy in the Middle East.
After I obtain my Ph.D. in political science, I will continue my research as a university professor, pursuing my exploration of Middle Eastern pseudo-democracies through field research of primary resources. I hope to help redraw the conceptualization of democracy across a wider spectrum than simply liberal democratic values and institutions. As a professor, my goal is to share my enthusiasm for politics and the cultures they represent. I want to show students how politics interacts with their daily lives and what political organization can teach them about their interaction with a complicated world through strategic thinking. I hope to train future leaders and researchers how to be analytical thinkers with the capacity to solve political and life issues that they must overcome. For this reason, I am interested in the teaching opportunities for undergraduate courses that the university offers for graduate students, through which I will further develop critical teaching skills in conjunction with my graduate academic development.
At Yale, I will refine my understanding of the theories and models democracy and power, as well as democratization in the Middle East. With its social science facilities, strong departmental focus on modeling and democratic studies, and authoritative professors, I am confident that Yale will provide me with the tools I need to achieve my academic and career goals.
I believe that success is only defined in the amount of effort you are willing to invest in the diversity of your experiences and the degree of fluency you attain. It is a certain savoir-faire that only a devotion to something greater than you can achieve. I'm trying to cut the "me" out of this experience, because it's really not about "me". It's about that screaming teenager at the courthouse, his eyes red hot with anger and desperation as he locked eyes with mine. My naive, idealistic, yet passionate pursuit is about Humanity. I'm not naive enough to believe I can change the world or even make a dent in all its problems, but I'm just crazy enough to jump back into that environment to find out why it's so hard. Understanding is at least a starting point, and right now, it's what I need.
No comments:
Post a Comment