by Bryan Jones
On November 20, Dr. El-Kehir Omer Suliman, associate professor of political science at Korodofan University in Sudan, advisor at the Center of Strategic Studies in Qatar, and UWG visiting scholar, delivered a lecture on Middle East and North African security to a packed crowd in the Nook at Ingram Library.
The lecture, entitled Political Threats to National Security in Light of the Arab Spring, touched on a vast array of geopolitical issues stemming from the aftermath of the Arab Spring. The conflict began in late 2010, extended into much of 2011 and 2012, and has small fragments continuing into the present day – the most prominent of which is the ongoing civil war in Syria.
The impacts of these conflicts may be directly felt on the other side of the globe, but such impacts are far from absent from the purview of United States national security.
“There is a correlation and mutual reliability between the political threats to national security in the country and at the regional level,” said Dr. Suliman. “Therefore, it cannot be considered that the political threats to national security are in a separate context for regional considerations.
In addition, Dr. Suliman argues that the context of these revolutions cannot be contained to a localized area but have broad implications.
“We cannot look at the wave of change and the Arab revolutions as an internal protest only,” he said. “Because of these revolutions, they have geo-strategic importance in the impact of geopolitical security in the region.”
For more information on the UWG political science and planning department, visit www.westga.edu/polisci.
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