A growing number of Lebanese inmates are incarcerated in congested and poorly maintained prisons. Poor imprisonment conditions and ill-treatment of inmates are key factors catalyzing further social delinquencies and mental health deterioration among prisoners and released detainees. Away from being a rehabilitation period, the prison sentence is a chance for reform and correction, a time where inmates are granted the education, mental and emotional support to come out as self-conscious and socially responsible individuals, ready to contribute to their surrounding communities. In this scope, the ...

The main focus of this thesis originates in the idealistic perspective of international affairs, emphasizing not just the states’ interactions but a diversity of domestic and transnational channels, organizations, and individuals. Idealism has held a unique conceptualization of international relations. Depending on the pillars of the global system, it’s interdependent and cooperative structure, and the integrative functionalism of international players. Hence, Idealism promoted the role of individualism, voluntarism and the leaders’ genuine role and impact throughout history, especially on the ...

The power to settle international disputes with binding authority distinguishes the World Trade Organization from most other intergovernmental institutions. The Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes gives the WTO unprecedented power to resolve trade-related conflicts between nations and assign penalties and compensation to the parties involved. A Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) that consists of the WTO's General Council administers dispute settlement. The DSB has the authority to "establish panels, adopt panel and Appellate Body reports, maintain ...

This thesis critically evaluates the impact of globalization on different issue areas in the world. It is intended to present a picture of the outcome of the globalization process from the perspectives of the developed and developing countries. It starts with a historical background on globalization, a definition of globalization, and a discussion of its main features and aspects. These aspects are: economic, financial, and environmental. One major focus of this study is on the latest financial turmoil that hit East Asia in the 1990s. The effects of volatile capital flows and the negative ...

Based on the concept of ‘affectedness’ (or ‘Betroffenheit’, Mies 1978), this article attempts to demonstrate how all participants in research, education, and social activism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are impacted by the lack of a stable social environment, which is seen as the bedrock of scholarship by mainstream Northern theories and scientific methodologies. Researchers, academics and activists – as part of civil society – must deal with this intentional lack of security, social justice and freedom. In it we can recognize a form of elite-produced, and potentially indefinite, ...

There has been a huge influx of displaced Syrians which is considered to be the biggest since WWII and this is due to the ongoing conflict in Syria since 2011. The majority of the displaced population is located in low-income countries with limited resources in mental health care. This qualitative research tackles the mental health and psychosocial support provided to displaced Syrians by different international organizations and NGOs operating in this field in Lebanon. The aim of this research is to study the correlation between these programs and the ability to cope with the new lifestyle the ...

Lebanon’s economic growth trajectory has been affected by domestic and regional political events, as consumer and investor confidence has withered. The 1975-1990 civil war weakened the government’s ability to provide public services and provided further space for the private sector participation. PPP’s are not new in Lebanon; the country has a long history of private sector participation in the delivery of public infrastructure services especially in the electricity sector which traces back to concessions. The energy sector in Lebanon is a key contributor to the country’s current fiscal constraints. ...

A current survey by UNHCR counted 65 million refugees worldwide. Many of them are seeking security and improved economical chances in industrial countries. The overwhelming numbers took most of the European countries and governments by surprise. Despite international moral and humanitarian obligation, refugee welcome culture and integration policies are nonetheless facing many challenges when confronted with the day to day reality. Refugees and asylum seekers from Syria make up the largest group of arrivals in Germany both in 2015 and 2016. Learning the language, one of the most important factors ...

This chapter analyzes the contributions of the Taufer led ‘Radical Reformation’ to Muslim-Christian dialogue in the past and assess whether this historical example of “loving your neighbor as yourself,” and more pointedly “loving your enemy” and “turning the other check,” can play a role in the current situation in the Middle East. Dealing specifically with the former Benedictine monk and German Reformation leader Michael Sattler, it juxtaposes the Schwertler (sword-bearing) and the Stäbler (staff-bearing) responses to the existential threats emanating from the imminent Ottoman conquest and ...