Together with Dr. Eric Shiraev, I am studying how neoliberal
reforms in Egypt and Tunisia may have been key factors leading into the Arab
Spring. I am looking to draw a connection between increasing capital
mobility among individuals in these states, and the revolutions that took place
by contrasting both economies with Saudi Arabia. I became interested in
this project while studying at Trinity College in Oxford, during a tutorial in
comparative politics. I studied both revolution and regime failure, and noticed
that studies in revolution were either psychological and agent-driven or
neo-Marxist, while studies in regime failure were strictly structural.
There was little overlap in the literature, in spite of an obvious
relationship. I felt I could use my background and interest in political
economy to start bridging the gap.
I hope to return to graduate school at Oxford, and view this
research as an opportunity to audition my work, and hopefully get
published. Successful research would create the opportunity to present at
symposiums or conferences, or be published in journals. Any of these
would strengthen my resume leading into grad school. After grad school, I
hope to work in a think-tank or as a policy advisor. Both career paths
would also be aided by having published works.
I spend 2-3 hours a day poring over databases and reading
existing academic literature to put together my argument. I hold weekly
meetings with my mentor, where we cover what I have learned or want to focus on
for the next week. We bounce ideas and arguments off one another, and
often have to be careful to keep the scope of the work as narrow as possible,
which is easier said than done with the countless causes of the Arab Spring.
This week, I found that along with the mandatory economic
reforms taken in Egypt and Tunisia, both states did not build up capital
reserves during the economic boom from 2003-7 that was driven by growth in oil
prices. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia exponentially increased its holdings of
foreign capital, which may have strengthened the regimes powers of repression
when the aftershocks of the Arab Spring reached the Arabic Peninsula. While
this is obviously only a minor factor, it may be key fact in understanding the
policies in Saudi Arabia that are key to the regime's durability.
