The Arabs Within the U.S. Republican Kasbah

Arab Governments and the Republican party of the United States, aka GOP or Grand Old Party, have more in common than they might wish to admit. With the exception of some civil and social rights, and differences in perspective among those within the parties, Republican political ideas both in the Middle East and the United States are more similar than some might realize or care to admit.

One need not look hard to find these similarities and evidence of them, the most obvious of which is a perception of the U.S. version of social liberalism. For those who don't know what social liberalism is there are a few obvious political examples representative of the type of liberalism advocated by non-Republicans.

Granted not all liberals may subscribe to all definitions of the word liberal, but one might be hard pressed to find Republicans in both the United States and the Arab Republic of Egypt that subscribe to gay parade magazine and out of wedlock abortion for minors, yet alone large and expensive socialist programs.

Arab Republican States don't necessarily have the greatest social programs on the planet. Instead, they prefer individual, family and community responsibility for social resolution of problems. Commerce is less restricted by equality, egalitarianism and corporate social responsibility and prefers to focus on the principles of capitalism, distribution of wealth through the productivity that pursuit of wealth creates.

Among the Arab speaking Nation-States are several Republics including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. Arab Republicans don't only hold Republican ideals similar in several ways to those in the U.S., but also share some socio-cultural similarities that influence politics. Arab culture and politics generally supports family values, and support charity and business over welfare and taxation, so do U.S. Republicans.

Critics and skeptics may be among the first to point out Women have more social rights and equality with men in the U.S. and this is why the U.S. and Arab Republics are not identical. But it is not cloned governments that are being discussed, but rather an illustration of similarities among Republican government in the U.S. and Middle East. Having said that, it is likely American women have advanced far further than Middle Eastern women in terms of employment, however female professional advances are perhaps not as large as perceived.

A March 4, 2009 statement by the Egyptian Ambassador to the Untied Nations specifically addressed the issues of female education and employment. In the address, marked increases in elementary, and high school education are noted in addition to significant increases in non-agricultural female employment. While this does not address female rights in other Arab countries, it does serve to illustrate that at least some Arab Republics have formally taken steps to face the issue.

This is also evident in a study entitled 'Women's Rights in the Middle East and North America: Progress Amid Resistance' by Sanja Kelly and Julia Breslin. In this study published by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. , Women's access to justice, freedom, economic rights, political rights and social rights are graded on a country by country basis. The study reveals exactly what the title suggests in the majority of Arab states.

Turning attention back to U.S. Republicans, the similarities re-emerge in U.S. Republican party affiliations. According to a May 6, 2009 Gallup Poll entitled 'Republicans Face Steep Uphill Climb Among Women', 41% of women identify with the Democratic party, often associated with liberal thinking, whereas only 30% of men identify themselves with the same. While this does not explicitly imply Democratic values afford women greater rights, it does suggest the Democratic party appeals to more women than does the Republican party.

The likeness between Arab Republican states and Republican U.S. states continues on with a tendency for cultural conservatism or traditionalism. Granted those traditional values aren't exactly the same, but the political platform amounts to what some might claim to be sluggish social progress. This issue is specifically analyzed in a document called 'Politicization of Southern Women' by Mary L. Syrett and Joan E. Aitken of the University of Southwestern Louisiana and University of Missouri-Kansas City. In it they specifically state "Southern women are even les apt to become involved in politics than the national averages because they live in an area with more traditional values,lower education and less employment outside the home". (Syrett and Aitken).

The findings of Mary L. Syrett and Joan E. Aitken haven't necessarily subsided since 1988 when the document was released. This is partially evident in a recent high school banning of lesbian values through an open act of intolerance. More specifically, a Jackson Mississippi couple were not only unable to attend their high school prom, but the prom was cancelled because the lesbian couple planned to attend. Let's not forget the incorporation of monotheistic religion into the mix. Both Republicans and Arab Republicans generally are less likely to scoff at religion as a real aspect of culture.

Perhaps the only thing stopping U.S. Republicans from having their way is Democracy; they might even envy the Arab Republics for having such a strong grip on power, and their women i.e. Republican values tend to prefer conventional roles for women and women on both side of that fence seem to agree with it in at least some cases. Representational, rather than collaborative decision making is to a greater extent, the way of Republican leadership, and those in the know are best suited to serve constituents through more authoritative and less democratic means. Arab and U.S. Republican leaders are more likely to agree on this than not if Republican values hold any weight at all.

Sources:

(1) M. Syrett and J. Aitken, "Politicization of Southern Women." eric.ed.gov. Available from http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1c/91/dc.pdf. Internet; accessed 15 March 2010.

(2) Abdel Aziz, Ambassador Magued. "'The Equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care giving in the context of HIV/AIDS'."UN.org. Available from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw53/statements_missions/Egypt.pdf. Internet; accessed 15 March 2010.

(3) S. Kelly and J. Bresnin (Edtrs), . "'Women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa' ."freedomhouse.org. Available from http://freedomhouse.org/uploads/specialreports/womensrights/2010/womensrights2010.pdf. Internet; accessed 15 March 2010.
http://www.helium.com/items/1178259-what-do-republicans-stand-for

(4) Jones, Jeffrey M.. "'Republicans face steep uphill climb among women'." gullup.com. Available from http://www.gallup.com/poll/118207/republicans-face-steep-uphill-climb-among-women.aspx. Internet; accessed 15 March 2010

(5) Byrd, Sheila. "'Lesbian sues to force school to hold prom'." yahoo.com. Available from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date. Internet; accessed 15 March 2010.

(6) Schmidt, Bob. "'What do Republicans stand for?'." helium.com. Available from http://www.helium.com/items/1178259-what-do-republicans-stand-for. Internet; accessed 15 March 2010.