The Middle East Partnership Initiative :leading the way to consent one compliant citizen at a time -

Abstract

In the post-9-11 global order, the Middle East region or the Muslim world has been singled out as threatening international peace and security due to the “youth bulge” that the region is experiencing, and the threat that young violence-prone men pose to the development of the region and integration into the global market. In this thesis submitted for a MA Degree in Middle Eastern Studies, I will be looking at the Middle East Partnership Initiative-Tomorrow’s Leaders scholarship program. The abundance of programs, scholarships, exchanges, and funding now singling out Arab youth is alarming and should be entered into debates of American foreign influence now more than ever. It is my intention that this research opens space for debate on the role of these development programs in protecting and extending U.S. influence and interests in the region. It is my hope that we begin to take a critical look at such scholarship programs and question their necessity or perhaps propose alternatives without the same strings attached. But most importantly I hope that the recipients themselves will become aware of the implications of the leadership they are in training for and the program’s relationship to previous regimes of colonization that the region has witnessed.