http://hdl.handle.net/10526/1925 This collection includes theses and dissertations authored by American University in Cairo graduate students. 2013-05-18T09:28:01Z http://hdl.handle.net/10526/3515 Sustainable development and environmental policy in Egypt McKenna, Meaghan This thesis discusses the international law concept of sustainable development. It then assesses the effectiveness of Egyptian policies, laws and regulations with regard to sustainable development and culminates with recommendations on how to move towards more sustainable water management, which is one of the most urgent aspects of sustainable development that needs to be improved. Egypt is confronting an increasing problem of water scarcity. It is a developing economy with high population growth. The effects of climate change are predicted to be particularly severe in North African states, with a decrease in rainfall and increasing desertification and drought. Additionally, in Egypt, every year viable agricultural land is lost to urban encroachment. Yet, Egypt's current policies do not adequately address these issues. Environmental laws are outdated and at times remain unenforced and unregulated. Furthermore, laws do not include sustainable development goals that target poverty reduction and other factors which undermine adherence to current policies. In light of the 25 January 2011 Revolution in Egypt, the creation of new environmental policies that incorporate sustainable development goals, as well as their subsequent enforcement, now seems attainable. As Egypt moves towards democratization, enforcement of law is more likely to translate to sustainable development practices. 2013-05-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10526/3514 Commercial arbitration and the right to a fair trial: the relation that never worked out Bassily, Ramy Commercial Arbitration continues to be the most preferable dispute resolution mechanism for business owners and companies. That does not mean, however, that the mechanism is free of defects, as while the legislatures and scholars were working on enhancing the mechanism, they disregarded the basic principles of the rule of law. This thesis points to emphasize the imbalance between the advantages of the arbitration mechanism and the respect of the principles of law. It typifies the effects of this imbalance on the mechanism as a whole. It also suggests some solutions that do not diminish the advantages of the mechanism, but enhance congruence between the mechanism and the legal principles. The thesis, by focusing on a new problem that began to appear, aims to encourage legislatures and scholars to reconsider their liberal approaches with regard to arbitration rules amendments. 2013-05-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10526/3503 The construction and assumptions made about Egyptian women by development organizations Gagnier, Christina Since the inception of international human rights, some activists have argued for a universal framework and this framework has encountered resistance. International feminism is a space where the concept of universal truth begins to unravel. Feminists from the First World, purporting to speak on behalf of all women, essentialized the international woman’s experience and set an agenda based on their First World experience. Third World women critiqued the systematic exclusion of their voices from the dominant feminist discourse. The international human rights agenda shares many goals with economic development. Economic development can be a vehicle through which universal human rights are created in the Third World. More importantly, economic development shapes and describes an economy. Women, viewed by economic development, are consumers and producers of future consumers and future economic sectors. They are both shaped by and define the economy. In order to properly understand the intersection of the Third and First World, it is helpful to look at how the powerful actors, such as economic development agencies, construct women. In order to explore the relationship between economic development and Third World women, this paper will analyze World Bank development reports from Egypt. The reports date from the moment Egypt became an object of development in the 1950s to the present. The analysis will demonstrate the World Bank’s construction of Egyptian women. While throughout history, the locus of women’s oppression has been complex and changing, the World Bank has failed to understand Egyptian women as having agency over their own lives. Egyptian women are seen as being helpless victims, needing international intervention to act on their behalf. 2013-05-12T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10526/3497 Cyberactivism in Egypt: a new social movement Azer, Sherif The emergence of cyberactivists in Egypt gave rise to a new form of activism. Experiencing and admiring these activists made me wonder how this group which was empowered with only a simple weapon – their keyboards – could cause such a stir in the public opinion and effectively put pressure on the Egyptian government. While moving away from their computers and into the streets of Cairo, Egyptian cyberactivists began to search and monitor “every corner” of the Egyptian society, and they began to call for fundamental changes to the society. Although coming from various backgrounds, their common goal united them, and Egyptian cyberactivists began to create a new social movement, unprecedented in the history of Egypt. This movement refused to accept unjust political and social conditions in the society. Their opinions challenged many taboos of the society, and they exposed many forms of corruption inherent in the current regime. In light of the power and potential of the movement, as well as its key characteristics, the movement of Egyptian cyberactivists arguably constitutes a new social movement as defined by various scholars of sociology. Understanding the movement of Egyptian cyberactivist as a new social movement will likely open the door to further studies of this movement. Such studies will hopefully address some of the questions which will remain unanswered by this paper. 2013-05-12T00:00:00Z