With the Reform and Development brief next on our list, I am interested to hear about our countries' differences in current reforms. Since we have chosen from these countries because they have not had major revolutions in the Arab Spring, I am curious about perhaps what reforms these governments are putting into place now, or have in the past, that has kept relative peace. Of course, it is important to mention that by no means am I assuming that major revolutions will not occur elsewhere in the MENA region. It is an area of immense change, and it is hard to see the momentum of reform slowing. I suppose the question then is whether the regimes in control are willing to change with the rest. With reports that Syria's fighting is creeping ever closer to Lebanon and Turkey (both have been heavily represented in the BBC World coverage of the Syrian conflict, and Middle East region in general), the momentum is clearly surging forward.
The presidential debate on Monday, as well as the others, have unfortunately been less focused on foreign policy than one would like to see if attempting to predict how a change in the White House would affect our affairs abroad. This is understandable in the sense that undecided voters are probably more likely to vote based on differences in economic strategies or social issues. I understand that is a big assumption. But I think that foreign policy can certainly affect these issues domestically, with our economy being troubled by foreign wars a clear example. We should keep in mind the ideas of reform and development when considering the policies of our own nation as well.
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