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Historical Interpretations and their Legacies: Dialectical Materialism and the Umayyad Conquest of Morocco
Get PDFThe death of the Prophet in the 7th century paved the way for the Umayyad Caliphate, one of the largest empires by land to exist in human history. Most notably, the Umayyads controlled a territory that spanned from India across North Africa into Spain. Along this expansionary route, the Arab Umayyads interacted with, integrated, and fought local indigenous Amazigh people all along Northern Africa into Morocco. Historical records about the Umayyad influence in Morocco are widely varied, ranging from later Abbasaid records to 20th century European interpretations. At its core, the Umayyad conquest of Morocco has fallen victim to interpretations based on ideological biases of interpreters rather than a thorough examination of the material reality 7th century Arabs faced. This paper offers a new direction: a synthesis of existing historical records under an interpretative framework of dialectical materialism.
Combining what is left from the Umayyad and Amazigh histories alike with Karl Marx’s synthesis of Hegel’s dialectical idealism and materialist philosophy, this paper explains how Islam, Umayyad government structure, and Amazigh resistance are all linked to one another via the physical conditions of North Africa in the 7th century
The Headbangers of the Himalaya: An Investigation of Nepal’s Rock and Metal Scene
Get PDFThe goal of this research endeavor was to generate findings which unveil information about the culture, the bands, and the lives of the musicians and fans who make up the Nepali rock and metal scene. The community is rather esoteric and information regarding certain bands and their musicians’ background is limited to broad, outdated articles published online. Thus, most of the information regarding the scene can only be obtained if one truly immerses themselves within it. I was fortunate enough to make friends which granted me a firsthand look into the Nepali rock and metal scene. The general questions which guided my research revolved around what are the popular rock and metal bands within Nepal, and what is the lifestyle of the musicians within these bands? How do musicians’ life philosophies differ based on the different stages they are in within their respective careers? And how does the Nepali rock and metal scene differ to the one within the United States. Starting with these open-ended questions, I was able to learn about the various lifestyles of musicians along with their life stories. Via interviews and observations, I was, thus, able to gather the data presented in this paper. By starting with these simple questions, I was led on a journey which was utterly inspiring. I traveled all over Kathmandu attending concerts and interviewing various musicians, and as a result, I learned a whole lot about music and life in general
The Adaptive Capacity to implement Climate Migration Policy in response to Sea-Level Rise in the Maldives
Get PDFThis exploratory study is centered on the increasing harmful impacts of climate change and its connection to human life. The effects are exacerbating the current drivers of migration like livelihoods, security, and politics. People are losing their homes and livelihoods because of drought, rising seas, or increasing natural disasters. Millions of people are. Displaced by climate events every year, the number is expected to increase. Due to this, there is value in studying climate change and migration. Amongst the most vulnerable are those living in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This exploratory study examined the Maldives to understand their adaptive capacity to ensure safe and dignified migration as sea levels threaten the country’s existence. I used a qualitative methodology with a document analysis method and applied the adaptation policy framework (APF) to understand and measure if the government of the Maldives has the adaptive capacity to implement to proactive migration policy. The results suggest that the government has the adaptive capacity to do so. However, I argue that there is a shortage of discourse and proactive planning for safe and dignified migration due to climate change and natural disasters. The paper concludes by amplifying the need for advocacy for migration as a long-term strategy to address the impacts of climate change. The advocacy is necessary to activate international, regional, and bilateral agreements and funding with other SIDS
Críticas contrahegemónicas de la Estrategia Nacional del Litio: hacia el postextractivismo
No full textEn abril de 2023, el presidente chileno Gabriel Boric anunció su esperada Estrategia Nacional del Litio, diseñada para expandir la extracción de litio y desarrollar una cadena de valor productiva nacional a través de una estructura de asociación público-privada con mayor participación estatal. El plan ha sido objeto de diversas críticas y niveles de oposición por parte de la izquierda, comunidades indígenas y organizaciones ambientales. Basándose en la creciente literatura de ecología política y decolonial sobre la extracción de litio, junto con marcos teóricos de decrecimiento decolonial y postextractivismo, este documento sintetiza y analiza críticas de estos tres grupos (no mutuamente excluyentes). Se identifican siete conceptos centrales, algunos superpuestos y otros contradictorios: una crítica ecológica, una crítica desde la cosmovisión y modo de vida indígena, una crítica desde la adaptación, una crítica ecofeminista, una crítica democrática, una crítica decolonial y una crítica productivista socialista. Estos conceptos operan en diversas esferas, desde lo ontológico y epistemológico hasta lo político y económico concretamente, y en diferentes escalas, desde proyectos hiperlocales hasta transformaciones civilizacionales totales. Pensarlos juntos comienza a definir los contornos generales de una visión contrahegemónica de la Estrategia Nacional del Litio a medida que se implementa, se disputa y se modifica en los próximos años. Además, este documento contribuye a los debates sobre el papel del litio en visiones basadas en decrecimiento, postextractivismo y buen vivir del cambio social, económica, política y ecológica – en resumen, de cambio civilizatorio –mientras el mundo enfrenta lo que Alberto Acosta (2017) denomina crisis generalizada, multifacética, interrelacionada y sistémica .
In April 2023, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced his long-awaited National Lithium Strategy, designed to expand lithium extraction and develop a domestic productive value chain through a public-private partnership structure with increased state involvement. The plan has been met with various criticisms and levels of opposition from the left, indigenous communities, and environmental organizations. Drawing on the growing political ecology and decolonial literature on lithium extraction along with theoretical frameworks of decolonial degrowth and post-extractivism, this paper synthesizes and analyzes critiques from these three (non-mutually exclusive) groups. I find that seven core concepts emerge, some overlapping and some contradictory: an ecological critique, an indigenous worldview and way of life critique, an adaptation critique, an ecofeminist critique, a democratic critique, a decolonial critique, and a socialist productivist critique. These concepts operate in various spheres, from the ontological and epistemological to the concretely political and economic, and on different scales, from hyper-local projects to total civilizational transformation. Thinking them together begins to define the broad strokes of a counter-hegemonic view of the National Lithium Strategy as it is implemented, contested, and modified in the coming years. Furthermore, this paper contributes to debates at large about the role of lithium in degrowth and post extractivist visions of social, economic, political, and ecological – in short, civilizational – change as the world confronts what Alberto Acosta (2017) terms “generalized, multifaceted, interrelated, [and] systemic” crises
Patrimonio cultural, arqueología, medio ambiente y economía: ¿Cómo ha afectado la construcción del Aeropuerto Internacional de Chinchero-Cusco a las comunidades y la tierra de Chinchero?
No full textLa urbanización gubernamental ha sido un problema para las poblaciones indígenas, el medio ambiente y la protección del patrimonio cultural durante numerosos años en todo el Perú. Más recientemente, en la pequeña ciudad de Chinchero, ubicada a unos 30 kilómetros al noroeste de Cusco, se está construyendo un nuevo aeropuerto internacional, Aeropuerto Internacional de Chinchero-Cusco (AICC), para reemplazar el actual aeropuerto nacional de Cusco. Chinchero es un importante centro urbano que está conformado por 13 comunidades campesinas que participan en la industria agrícola de la región, además consta con una importante comunidad artesanal, ruinas arqueológicas precolombinas y una gran biodiversidad. La ciudad está formada por humedales, chacras, fincas y dos lagos muy importantes. Los estudios de impacto alertan que la construcción afectará directamente el ecosistema, el patrimonio cultural, las comunidades indígenas y la economía. En este trabajo, pretendo investigar cómo la construcción del aeropuerto de Chinchero está impactando el patrimonio cultural, los sitios arqueológicos, el medio ambiente y economía de esta región. Estos cuatro factores son partes importantes que ayudan a la ciudad a funcionar y crear una comunidad cultural, por lo que me interesa indagar cómo estos impactos están afectando directamente a las personas y a la ciudad. A través de una serie de entrevistas y observaciones, crearé un estudio detallado de estos efectos de la construcción.
Governmental urbanization has been an issue for indigenous populations, the environment, and cultural heritage protection for numerous years throughout Peru. More recently in the small city of Chinchero, located about 30 kilometers northwest of Cusco, a new international airport, the Chinchero-Cusco International Airport (AICC), is being constructed to replace the current national airport in Cusco. Chinchero is an important urban center that is made up of 13 peasant communities that participate in the agricultural industry of the region, and consists of an important artisanal community, pre-Columbian archaeological ruins, and great biodiversity. The city consists of wetlands, chakras, farms, and two very important lakes. Impact studies have reported that the construction will directly affect the ecosystem, cultural heritage, indigenous communities, and the economy. In this paper, I intend to investigate how the construction of the Chinchero airport is impacting the cultural heritage, archaeological sites, environment, and economy in this region. These four factors are important parts that help the city function and create a cultural community, which is why I am interested in investigating how these impacts are directly affecting the people and the city. Through a series of interviews and observations, I will create a detailed study of these construction effects
A not-so-stable environment: An assessment of stable isotopic niches of the non-native European flounder and native salmonids in the Westfjords, Iceland
No full textInvestigating the detriment of development assistance: A geopolitical analysis of Sino-Djibouti relations through the lens of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Get PDFThis research paper will evaluate Africa’s past with debt accumulation, focusing on the role of the Washington Consensus spearheaded by the Bretton Woods Institutions in its failed attempts to relieve the continent’s debt distresses and further aggravate Africa’s already fractured relationship with the West. It will highlight the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative, assessing China’s South-South cooperation approach to its relations with Djibouti and the Horn of Africa. Specifically, it will investigate claims of China engaging in debt-trap diplomacy and the extent to which this term infringes upon the agency of African leaders. The general research question investigates the extent to which China’s encroachment into Africa threatens the sovereignty of these countries, focusing specifically on Djibouti as a case study for the examination of African agency in the face of Chinese project finance. To appreciate the dynamic nature of the BRI, I integrated primary research acquired through three interviews with experts in the field to shape the direction of my paper in conjunction with selected secondary research sources. Ultimately, this paper will serve as a commentary on the shift towards a bi-multipolar world in which the dominant hegemons are deviating from West to East
Paved with Good Intentions? A Geopolitical Analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative in Central and Eastern Europe
Get PDFThe objective of this analysis is to reveal the geopolitical and geoeconomic significance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Launched in 2013 as a proposal for increased economic interconnectivity between China and Kazakhstan, the BRI has since grown to encompass hundreds of countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The region of CEE is of note as it is coterminous with important regional groupings like the 14 + 1 Cooperative Framework between China & CEE and a point of overlapping interests from actors like the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Russia, particularly in the wake of the war in Ukraine. This analysis considers a multitude of factors – Chinese geoeconomic interests, the geopolitical heterogeneity of countries within the 14 + 1 framework, and the prevalence of EU regulations – to formulate a comprehensive response to the following question: “How effective has the Belt and Road Initiative been in achieving Chinese geoeconomic interests in Central and Eastern Europe, and how has that changed with the war in Ukraine?
Variation in the growth parameters and biomass of Rhizophora mangle seedlings with distances from Playa Estrella, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Get PDFMangrove is a salt-tolerant, intertidal, tropical tree or shrub and make up a rich community of various organism. On the Caribbean coast of Panama, in Bocas del Toro, mangrove forests cover 28 km2 and are dominated by R. mangle, followed by L. racemosa and A. germinans. Simultaneously, Isla Colón, the most populated and developed among all islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, is a tourist center. Unfortunately, tourism comes at the price of environmental degradation via alteration of natural habitats, solid and wastewater pollution. Therefore, this study aims to gain a preliminary understanding on how the growth parameters of R. mangle seedlings and dry biomass vary with distances from a tourism site, Playa Estrella, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Three sites with different linear distances from Playa Estrella were studied. Results showed that stem diameter and number of nodes were larger in Site 3, the furthest from Playa Estrella. Larger diameter and node count in Site 3 may indicate less impact by pollution created by human on the beach. However, no significant differences were found between total and stem heights across study sites. Thus, the lack of differences in total and stem height in this study may be accounted for the similarity in environmental condition between the sites, and the heights were not as sensitive as the stem diameter and node count. The first two to four internodal heights were larger in Site 1 and Site 2. It’s unclear why this was the case, but these differences may be accounted by variation in the availability of nutrients in the hypocotyl reserve, or the ability to of the seedlings to absorb nutrients to allocate to the stem. Furthermore, dry biomass analysis showed high allocation towards the hypocotyls and low leaf mass ratio (LMR). The result found is potentially a preliminary insight on the impact of human activities on Playa Estrella on the growth parameters of R. mangle seedlings. However, it is not sufficient to draw a holistic conclusion about human impact from Playa Estrella definitively. Future studies should consider not just environmental factors that may impact R. mangle seedlings growth, but also factors that are clearer proxy of human impact such as presence of trash, and nutrient enrichment from waste
Rocky intertidal community structure along an upwelling gradient between Playa Venao and Nueva Gorgona on Panama’s Pacific coast
Get PDFEcological research on rocky intertidal ecosystems has increasingly focused on the regional oceanographic processes that shape community structure over functional group interactions. Intertidal communities’ dependence on onshore and offshore transport of intertidal species larvae, dissolved inorganic nutrients, and phytoplankton signal that upwelling and nearshore currents can have an influential role in determining the growth and composition of intertidal systems. The community structure of rocky intertidal areas was compared between two locations along an upwelling gradient in the Gulf of Panama: Nueva Gorgona, with intermittent seasonal upwelling, and Playa Venao, with fringe seasonal upwelling. The surface cover of algae, barnacles, and mussels, along with species richness, abundance, diversity, and evenness were determined using threaded quadrats along transect lines set parallel to the shoreline in low, medium, and high tide zones. Sites in Nueva Gorgona, the central upwelling location, were dominated by mat-forming barnacles and mussels as well as aggregating anemones. Barnacles were also the largest surface occupiers in Playa Venao, the location on the edge of upwelling, whose sites had a comparatively high abundance of gastropods. Statistically significant differences were detected in species richness and abundance as well as algae and mussel cover between the two locations, potentially indicating an influence of nutrient and planktonic transport on Nueva Gorgona’s community structure from upwelling and shelf currents. Across most variables, tidal zones were distinct from each other in both locations. Additional significant differences were detected between sites in each location, most notably in barnacle coverage and species abundance, which indicates that neighboring sites had a high potential for variation. Tidal elevation and hyperlocal differences—including sedimentation, rocky surface complexity, and surf activity—likely played a greater role in sculpting the two rocky intertidal systems than regional dynamics