International Business - 1097 Words

The American College Chapter 5 Question No 1: Describe the four basic levels of international business activity.Do you think any organization will achieve the fourth level?Why or why not. Question No 2: For each of the four globalization strategies, describe the risks associated with that strategy and the potential returns from that strategy. __________________________________ Answer for question No 1: The four general levels of international business activity are: 1. Domestic business 2. International business 3. Multinational business 4. Global business. Domestic Business: Is the one that acquires all of its resources and sells all of its products ot services within a single country.(8/143) Interational†¦show more content†¦Nationalized: Taken over by the government. Tariff: A tax collected on goods shipped across national boundaries. Quota: A limit on the number or value of goods that can be traded. Export restraint agreements: Accords reached by governments in which countries voluntarily limit the volume or value of goods they export to or import from one another. Economic community: A set of countries that agree to markedly reduce or eliminate trade barriers among member nations ( a formalized market system). Social orientation: A persons beliefs about the relative importance of the individual versus groups to which that person belongs. Power orientation: The beliefs that people in a culture hold about the appropriateness of power and authority differences in hierarchical such as business organizations. Uncertainty orientation: The feeling individuals have regarding uncertain and ambiguous situations Goal orientation: The manner in which people are motivated to work toward different kinds of goals. Time orientation: The extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term versus a short-term outlook on work, life, and other elements of society. Bibliography Griffin 8th edition Management Ricky W. Griffin Texas AM University Houghton Mifflin Company Boston NewShow MoreRelatedInternational Business Ventures2671 Words   |  11 PagesInternational Business Ventures Measuring a potential business venture has many aspects which the international manager must be aware of in order to convey the correct information back to the decision makers. Being ignorant to any of the aspects can lead to a false representation of the project, and hence an uninformed decision being passed. In order for a business to survive it must grow. For growth to be optimal, management must first be able to identify the most attractive prospective leadsRead MoreChallenges of International Business Management1037 Words   |  5 PagesCHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT What are the challenges of International Business Management? International business management is a term that is used collectively to describe all commercial transactions which include; †¢ Private †¢ Governmental †¢ Sales †¢ Investments †¢ Transportation The above take place between two or more nations. It involves all business activities which partake in cross border activities of goods, services and resources between nations. PrivateRead MoreInternational Business1578 Words   |  7 PagesInternational business contains all business transactions private and governmental, sales, investments, logistics, and transportation that happen between two or more regions, nations and countries beyond their political limits. Generally, private companies undertake such transactions for profit governments undertake them for profit and for political reasons. It refers to all those business activities which involve cross border transactions of goods, services, resources between two or more nationsRead MoreInternational Business And International Marketing1457 Words   |  6 PagesInternational business compares all commercial transactions like private and government, investments and sales and transportation which take place between two or more regions , nations and countries beyond their political boundries.simply international business is exchange of goods and services among business and individual in multiple count ries. International business such as an essential subject for students around the world because international business is vital ingredient in entrepreneurshipRead MoreInfluential Factors of International Business and International Business Environment4145 Words   |  17 PagesA Business Growth and Strategy Project On INFLUENTIAL FACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT By: Ankit D Jethani 6937 Business Environment consist of every factors influential to the business operations. These factors are classified into two broad categories. These are: a) External or UncontrollableRead MoreInternational Business Environment6667 Words   |  27 PagesModule specification INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Code: PGBM04 Credits: 15 Level: Masters FBL, Business School Board: Postgraduate Business Studies Learning Hours: 150 of which 30 CONTACT hours Rationale 1. The international business environment is multi-dimensional, including economic, political, socio-cultural and technological influences. While each can be viewed in specific national settings, increasingly they have become interrelated through processes of globalisation. In particularRead MoreInternational Business5797 Words   |  24 Pagesof world output and world exports accounted for by the United States and other long-established developed nations is unlikely. FALSE 23. (p. 21) A current trend in international business is the growth of medium-sized and small multinationals, known as mini-multinationals. TRUE 24. (p. 22) Today, the risks involved in doing business in countries such as Russia are low, but so are the returns. FALSE 25. (p. 23) If the free market reforms in China continue for two more decades, China may move fromRead MoreInternational Trade As A Tool For International Business1707 Words   |  7 Pagesfourteen asks some very important questions regarding international trade as SME and MNE evolve globally due to technology. Therefore as international business continues to evolve companies are find easier ways to find importers and exporters from the comfort of their offices without the costly methods of travel and due diligences trying to find reputable companies to handle their needs. Using a variety of sources I will analyze international trade through the use of websites and go into detail aboutRead MoreBusiness Administration International Business Essay1784 Words   |  8 PagesBUSINESS ADMINISTRATION amp; INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS In the literal meaning, Business refers to an organized approach to providing customers with the goods and services they want. Business Administration has over the years taken the form of a formal field of knowledge, besides engineering medical and even closely-related Economics. In the 20th century, with the development and growth of business schools in America and Europe, the dynamics of business administration changed. With more research conductedRead MoreThe Problem Of International Business842 Words   |  4 Pages International business c Trade occurring between one or more countries worldwide. Balance of trade Difference in value of a countries imported and exported goods. Balance of payments Also known as BOP, is the monitoring of all international money transactions during specific times. Global dependency The dependency of one nation to another. Competitive advantage The advantage a company has over its competitors, allowing them to achieve greater

Animal Testing Pros and Cons Essay - 1021 Words

The ethical treatment and testing on animals is a widely controversial subject in the field of zoology. Views on animal testing range from positivity to full negativity. Animals such as mice and rats have been found to have psychological and genetic similarities that relate to humans which make them perfect for the experimental trials. Before various products are put out for humans consumption, animals are the most common way for companies to see if their new inventions work. The benefits and improvements to modern medicine as a result of animal testing should be weighed heavily against the harmful and toxic ingredients used in such experiments and their detrimental effects on test subjects like rats and mice. Something important to†¦show more content†¦The three Rs represents a way of keeping to an absolute minimum of usage, purifying experiments down to the basics and using alternatives. These will benefit the animals and help worried consumers. Changes in modern medicine because of animal experimentation can be seen in many parts of the field of medicine. Not only in human medicine, but also in veterinary medicine are obvious improvements. There are better vaccines for rabies, amongst many others, and treatments for feline leukemia. According to Americans for Medical Progress, 2.7 million Americans have an active seizure disorder (Animal Research). It is reported that because of animal testing, nine new medicines and eight treatments are in the process of being created from product testing on animals. Also, there is restored hope that there is a chance that diseases like AIDS and heart disease could be cured because of experimental animal trials (Animal Research). There has also been dramatic improvements for a Parkinsons Disease treatment including stem cell therapy first done on animals (Animal Research). The improvements are very beneficial to not only humans but also animals alike. On the other hand, there are many harmful toxins and ingredien ts in the testing materials that cause harm to animals. Animal advocates believe that all creatures should have the same rights as humans (TheShow MoreRelatedThe Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing937 Words   |  4 PagesAbout Animal Testing? Kaylee Smith 9-6-2017 AGR 199 Introduction and Background Not very many people think about the fact that a majority of the products they buy have been tested on animals, let alone animal testing in general. Animal testing has been going on for many years, with the use of dogs, cats, mice, rabbits, mini pigs, and farm animals. When someone brings up animal testing there usually is an argument about the pros and cons. Many people are against it because the animals are beingRead MoreThe Pros and Cons of Animal Testing2973 Words   |  12 Pagescabinet has been tested on an animal at one point or another. A government funded corporation called the Food and Drug Administration, abbreviated as the FDA, is in charge of making sure that all drugs, cosmetics, biological products, and more are efficient, secure, and safe for human usage. The FDA will not allow any drug to be released or sold to the human population if it has not first been tested on animals. In fact, when a drug is first created it is tested on animals before humans are even all owedRead MoreThe Pros and Cons of Animal Testing1413 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Each year in USA laboratories more then 100 million animals are burned, poisoned and lamed (Top 5 Shocking Animal Experimentation Facts). Each year scientists use animals in order to progress, to improve life of people and animals. However, many testing animals suffer and die. But others do not agree and support the fact that we should use animals because of advance. So what are advantages and disadvantages of using animals? This problem will be researched from different areas such asRead MorePros And Cons Of Animal Testing1074 Words   |  5 Pages Animal Testing is a enormous upset in the word today. Animal activist have been trying to put an end to it for years , but to no avail. Animal testing is when scientist will use animals to do experiments on . They will either hook heavy machinery to these poor defenseless animals or inject them with harsh chemicals just to see if its okay for human use. Over 26 millions of animals are used every year in just the united states alone for these cruel acts by the hand of man. Testing on animals haveRead MorePros And Cons Of Animal Testing1288 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Each animal bred or used for research, whether a mouse, fish, or monkey, is an individual capable of experiencing pain, suffering, and distress† (â€Å"Animal† 2013). The advancements in technology today had sparked a debate worldwide on whether it is right or wrong to use animals for experimentation in laboratories. With newl y advanced scientific technology, experts are able to utilize advanced technology to simulate functions of the human body on a much smaller scale, including microchips of humanRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing2487 Words   |  10 PagesMillions of animals suffer painfully and even die as an outcome of scientific research. The effects of drugs, food additives, cosmetics and other chemical products slowly kill innocent animals every year. Although some people believe animal testing is necessary, others firmly believe that the alternatives choices that have been discovered over the years are the way to go. Especially because these choices are cheaper, more reliable and do not harm animals. This essay looks into the pros and cons of animalRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing1725 Words   |  7 PagesEach year, more than 100 million animals are experimented on in U.S. laboratories. These experiments are for things such as biology lessons, medical training, curiosity -driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing.(Procon writers) Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. Animal testing is controversial and people findRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing826 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal testing, although extremely debated, is something that should no longer be practiced anywhere around the world. Let’s start by taking a look at just how much animal testing is practiced in the United States as well as in other countries. The article called, â€Å"Animal Use Statistics† from the Humane Society International, says, â€Å"Only a small proportion of countries collect and publish data concerning their use of animals for testing and research, but it is estimated that more than 115 millionRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing1502 Words   |  7 Pag esthat animal testing is beneficial to the advancement of human knowledge, while animal rights’ activists claim that animal testing is not humane and violates animals’ rights. The controversy over animal testing is best understood as a disagreement about whether animal testing is beneficial to humans. Each year more than 100 million animals are killed in the U.S. Every country has a law that permits medical experimentation on animals. While some countries protect particular kinds of animals fromRead MorePros And Cons Of Animal Testing905 Words   |  4 PagesAnimal testing has been the target of animal cruelty groups since the beginning of its existence, but the benefits it provides, humans and animals far greater than the type of method that is used to get the results. Scientists Karl Landsteiner’s success in finding a cure to polio is an example of how the benefits of animal testing helped better future human lives. In his experiments he discovered that P olio viruses had three variations, meaning that they would have to produce a product that could

The Generation Of The Technology - 899 Words

The generation of the technology, the delayed life choices, the impatience, the reliance on our parents, more commonly known as Generation Y or Millennials, is the generation born between 1980 and 2000. Older generations are always finding fault with what we, the Millennials, do or say or didn’t do or didn’t say. The world is changing so fast, we can hardly keep up. It is bad enough we have to push to learn as much as we can and apply the knowledge effectively, let alone being criticized for every move we make by our elders, who don’t really seem to help matters but complicate them. There are many labels, mostly negative, on my generation. Some common terms include incompetent, ghetto, lazy, apathetic, tech-savvy, procrastinators, and lacking potential for the world. In some ways these aim to be true, but in other ways they are far from the truth. I believe that my generation has more potential than we are given credit for. We are about to graduate, or have recen tly graduated high school or college, with some not even 18 years old yet. What has always baffled me is that we are expected by adults to know what we want to do for the rest of our lives before we’re even legal adults. Yes, colleges have undecided majors, but what happens after college when some people still don’t know exactly what they enjoy? Because of this, we are criticized for not having our lives together and â€Å"delaying life choices that traditionally signaled adulthood† (Evans, 1) as discussed in â€Å"BoomerangShow MoreRelatedThe Millenial Generation and Technology1414 Words   |  6 Pagesbe existing with their guardians, (45%) contrasted with utilized Millennials( 29%) (A Rising Share of Young Adults). Helicopter parents also influence Millennials to be dependant. According to Kathryn Tyler, a Generation X freelance writer and former Human Resource generalist, technology has increased children’s dependency and parental oversight, â€Å" making it easier for overbearing parents to ‘hover’ well into adulthood†. It gives parents control of their decisions. Millennials are dependent becauseRead MoreThe Generation Of Technology By Jae Imani949 Words   |  4 PagesBorn in the generation of technology, Jae Imani is a twenty-one year old woman mixed with Spanish and black. Being the second generation born in American, Jae identifies with her Caribbean roots of Spanish and West Indian. Her mother’s family is from Barbados and her father’s family is from Panama. Jae values both the Bajan and Panamanian cultural equally. Growing up, Jae’s family socioeconomic status was the middle class. Jae’s parents worked hard to support her and her little brother. She was raisedRead MoreNetwork Architecture Of Third Generation Technology950 Words   |  4 PagesAbstract— 5G Technology stands for fifth Generation Mobile technology. From generation 1G to 2.5G and from 3G to 5G this wo rld of telecommunication has seen a number of improvements along with improved performance with every passing day. This fast revolution in mobile computing changes our day to day life that is way we work, interact, learn etc. This paper also focuses on all preceding generations of mobile communication along with fifth generation technology. Fifth generation network provide affordableRead MoreInfluence of New Technologies in the Generation Gap1088 Words   |  5 Pagesa younger generation and their seniors. Each generation developed in a different period, with different ways of living and with different ideals. Although these differences have been present throughout history, old generations have to be confronted at the cultural change which affects the actual society, particularly with the new generations X and Y. The basic purpose of this paper is to show that the development of medias and new technologies have a great influence on the Generation Gap. All theseRead MoreTechnology And Its Harm To Future Generations Essay1067 Words   |  5 PagesTechnology And Its Harm To future Generations Will the usage of computers in a classroom setting result in adverse effects on young future generations? No doubt, for years has this been an ongoing argument concerning the educational system. Because computer use is promoted in schools, and because computers are so ubiquitous, children have a great deal of exposure to them. Not everyone, however, is comfortable with the use of computers by young children. Educators, Professors, Parents, and SchoolRead MoreInformation Technology : A New Generation Of Sql1596 Words   |  7 PagesInformation technology continues to revolutionize the interactions of mankind in various ways, through social media, business, education and other channels. The internet has made it possible to transmit large data across many networks. These networks have made it possible to store, access and query billion of data from large databases. Innovation has given rise to special language used to manage and access all sorts of information within various databases know as SQL. Recently a new generation of SQLRead MoreTechnology On Our Generation s Future1239 Words   |  5 PagesPhilosophy December 16, 2016 Technology on our Generation’s Future Technology is machinery created by scientific knowledge that serves an active role in our industries (Computerhope). Around the world technology has become one of the most popular forms of communication (Computerhope). Starting with regular rotary phones and advancing into Instagram, twitter and facetime. Technology dating back to 1943 when the first computer was created by J. Presper EckertRead MoreTechnology And Social Media Of Our Generation1663 Words   |  7 Pagesaltered to make you believe it is real, therefor making it difficult to know what was altered and what was not. With current day technology and social media, there is a constant push on what you should look like, dress like, be like and most of the time they aren’t even real images due to all its alterations on the original picture. Advertisements and social media of our generation are the true reasonings behind many young women’s insecurities and down falls due to the larger institutional powers at play Read MoreWireless Mobile Telecommunication Technology And The Generation Essay802 Words   |  4 Pagesmore important. Cellular network technology is the basis for the wireless mobile telecommunication. And the generation is used to describe the development history of wireless mobile telecommunication standard and technology, from first generation (1G) to fifth generation (5G). Fourth generation (4G) is currently widely commercialized around the world by different wireless service providers, or carriers. Mobile WiMAX and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) are two technology categories in 4G systems and theRead MoreTechnology Is The Key Factor For Future Generations971 Words   |  4 Pageswas every generation of people come from the one before and through education they will become more knowledgeable and educated than the last generation. Education is the key factor in differing generations, without it they would only be replicas of the generation beforehand. Without being taught education we would still be in â€Å"Caveman Times† creating fire with sticks instead of where we are today creating advanced technology that would help educate the minds of many for future generations to come.

The Arab Spring free essay sample

On the whole, the success rate of democratization is so far disappointing. That begs the question whether the Arab popular uprisings for democratic change, what the media conveniently dubbed the ‘Arab Spring’, are dead or still alive. Certainly, the Arab Spring is not dead; prevailing political and economic realities do, however, indicate that it is inching towards the death bed. Though it is too early to make such an assertion, the insurmountable political and economic challenges facing the post-revolutionary governments portend less hope for its success. There exist huge gaps between what the pro-democracy forces expected from the revolutions, that is, the expectations of transforming their societies away from authoritarian to democratic order, and what has been achieved or what is achievable on the ground. Neither national conditions nor global developments appear propitious to favor the goals and expectations of the pro-democracy forces. The Arab Spring, in stark contrast to other great historical revolutions, is marked by a series of distinctive features, and many of its weaknesses largely originate from these distinctive features. This is probably the first time in history that popular uprisings for social and political change kicked off without a particular ideology to promote. The Arab youths who organized the uprisings and shaped its course come from different political persuasions; they had no common political platform, no common political thread to tie them together. Neither in the post-uprisings period did they galvanize their political spirit by floating a common political party to consolidate their victories against the anti-democratic, counter-revolutionary forces. Equally noticeable was the absence of able leaders to guide the uprisings to successful conclusions. True, there existed some timid political parties in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen but no revolutionary or visionary leaders in the likes of George Washington, V. I. Lenin, Mahatma Gandhi, Ayatollah Khomeini or Nelson Mandela. These political parties were hesitant to join the pro-democracy popular movements but tried to catch up once protesters defied the security forces and went out of control of the autocratic regimes. The leadership vacuum has put the army initially and then the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Ennahda Party in Tunisia, a conglomerate of anti-Gaddafi forces in Libya, and elements of the old guards in Yemen in power. The beginning rather sounded inauspicious. Worse of all, the uprisings have fostered close collaboration between democratic and counter-revolutionary camps. The conservative Gulf monarchies, except Kuwait to a large extent, are the most fortified anti-democratic fort of the Middle East. In order to preserve hereditary rules and oil money-supported patronage systems, the Saudi King Abdullah sent troops on 14 March 2011 to suppress the popular demands for political and economic reforms in the island kingdom of Bahrain. The US, which has its Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain and a welter of strategic and business interests throughout the Gulf, acquiesced to Saudi intervention. Iran was projected as the enemy out there to take advantage. The Saudis, the Qataris and the Americans also found themselves onboard to oust Muammar Gaddafi through NATO-led military assault on Libya – a wonderful episode of cooperation between democracy and authoritarianism history will preserve in its archive for good. The young Egyptians, Libyans, Tunisians and Yemenis have defied all authoritarian hurdles to set their homelands on the track to democracy. They did not dream of becoming European liberals or American conservatives overnight but were motivated by the need to bury their authoritarian past and build their countries anew. There is a minimum expectation that propels every great revolution. In 1917 the Russian proletariat and the unpaid armed forces supported V. I. Lenin’s socialist revolution in the hope of securing a guaranteed future for bread and butter; the French revolutionaries of 1789 mobilized the common Frenchmen by promising an end to monarchical absolutism and the promulgation of inalienable rights, citizenships for all and good governance. In 2011, the Arab youths and mass people started their uprisings believing that they would be better off in a post-authoritarian system. Their expectations focused on achieving three principal goals – freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom to live in dignity what together make up human security, a concept the UNDP first popularized in 1994. Human security is widely defined as ‘safety from the constant threats from hunger, disease, crime and repression’. The achievement of human security in the post-revolutionary Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen requires, at a minimum, enough employment creations for the Arab youth bulge (15 – 29 age brackets) who constitute one-third of the total population, elimination of mass poverty (that ranges from 25 per cent in Egypt to 54. 5 per cent in Yemen) and economic inequalities, the elimination of conflicts, crimes and violence, and an end to intimidations, illegal tortures, and discriminations. In a nutshell, in order for the Arab Spring to stay alive, the post-uprisings Arab governments must achieve a minimum level of economic development to satisfy the basic needs of their people, and reorient the political order to secure good governance and social justice for all. The big question is: can they do it? Both insiders and outsiders easily comprehend that much of the violence and conflicts that keep battering Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen originate from the lack of adequate economic provisions for the common people. The initial euphoria for democracy, it seems, may not last long unless the economy picks up dynamism with job promises for the young people. A 2012 Pew Research Center poll has found that the common Arabs prefer a strong economy to a democratic government. One does not need to be a genius like Karl Marx to grasp the simple idea that economics shapes the patterns of politics. The Egyptians are particularly frustrated that their post-revolution economic condition is worse than it was under Hosni Mubarak. Fiscal crisis and current account imbalances are more than threatening to the goals of pro-democracy movements. Egypt’s foreign currency reserves dropped from $36 billion in 2010 to $24 billion by July 2011 and by January 2013 it shriveled to $13. 6 billion; foreign investors pulled $5. 5 billion by the end of 2011 and foreign direct investment declined sharply; GDP growth rate slid to 1. 8 per cent in 2011 to 1. 5 per cent in 2012 creating many economic woes for the Egyptians. The same picture is visible in Tunisia and Yemen. The dictators vanished leaving behind their economies in shambles. Under Hosni Mubarak, Egypt strongly pursued a pro-market private sector-led development strategy till his fall in February 2011. Late Anwar El-Sadat introduced this strategy in the mid-1970s that marked a cut-off point from Gamal Abdel Nasser’s social contract that guaranteed employments for the educated youths and free social services for the common Egyptians in exchange for political loyalty. Mubarak’s son Gamal Mubarak, groomed as the next in succession line, pursued a rapid privatization program and sold most state corporations to private Egyptian businessmen and investors from Brazil, China, Russia, the US, and the Gulf Arab states. The program spread elite corruption and sharply widened the gaps between the rich and the poor effectively turning Egypt into a two-tier society. In Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali established a family fiefdom where his family members and relatives came to firmly control the economic and commercial activities of the country. The common Tunisians suffered so much so that their patience broke down once the college graduate Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on 17 December 2010. In Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh dispensed power and patronage through biased tribal and regional systems that bred discontents nationally and ignited rebellion in some parts of the country. Al-Qaeda fighters stepped in to take advantage of domestic political and economic grievances created by Saleh’s misrule. A quick improvement in post-revolutionary economies requires nothing less than economic miracles but this is very unlikely to happen. A few steps that seem urgent include a bold transition to market economy, introduction of sound fiscal and economic growth strategies to create employment opportunities for the youth bulge, policies to reduce social and economic gaps between the rich and the poor and simultaneous democratization of the political order at a pace people find acceptable. Libya may find the transition relatively easy since money coming from the oil sector gives it substantial leverage to navigate through financial and economic difficulties. The Libyan government earned a total of $54. 9 billion in 2012 in oil and gas revenues with a state budget of approximately the same amount for the same year to finance (50 billion Libyan dinars budget). For resource-poor Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen there is no easy solution. Their limited capacities to deal with post-revolution social and economic problems are chipped away by the continuing global economic recession, particularly the economic decline in the European Union (EU) member states. The economies of Egypt and Tunisia are more integrated with the EU; Tunisia, in particular, is sensitive to the ripple effects of what happens in the big EU economies. The economic and social problems are complicated more by the evolving patterns of politics. Except in Yemen, the Islamists are in control in all the post-revolutionary Arab states. Long repressed by the Arab autocrats, the Islamists rose to power by capitalizing on the weaknesses of the secular political forces and by dint of their organizational strength. The electoral victories of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or the Ennahda Party in Tunisia did not bring with them a wealth of democratic state and nation-building experiences. While in the opposition they found too many faults with the now toppled dictators but once in power they started wavering in action, sometimes making the politically counterproductive decisions. The violent popular reactions to power grab by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is just a case at hand. In the absence of governance experiences and a development plan to stimulate economic growth to steer clear of political discontents, many Islamists turned to Turkey under the AKP (Justice and Development Party) rule since 2002 as a possible model to emulate. Soon after the Tunisian revolution, the Ennahda Party leader Rachid Ghannouchi told a press conference that his party would follow the Turkish model. A 2011 TESEV (Turkish Economic and Social Studies Center) public opinion survey in the Arab world found that 66 per cent of Arabs preferred Turkey as a model for their respective countries. Though opinions on what the Turkish model exactly means are divided, a simple articulation of the model points to the coexistence of democracy, political Islam, and successful economic liberalization. The Islamic AKP coexists with secular political parties in a secular democratic state structure without Islamizing the face and identity of Turkey but supervising rapid economic development with an average 8 per cent growth rate in 2010 and 2011. That marks a fundamental shift from the pre-2002 Kemalists-led state-imposed, elitist, and military supervised economic and political modernization of Turkey. Turkey, as a Muslim country and also because of its geographic proximity, appeals to the Arab world but it is doubtful whether Egypt, Libya or Tunisia can follow the footsteps of AKP. There is limited prospect for these countries at best to score big on issues like Turkish-style successful transition to market economy and integration into the global markets, a sufficient level of economic development to cope with the pressures of population growth, and efficient governance systems. Turkey itself is also experiencing economic contraction as its economy grew only by 1. 6 per cent in the third quarter of 2012. What hopes the economically less developed, less modernized Egypt, Tunisia or Yemen hold out for their people? While the AKP, being an Islamic party, has not really attempted to bring about Islamic transformation of Turkey, the Arab Islamic political parties and groups seek to promote Islamic laws and identities of their societies. Post-uprisings Egyptian, Libyan and Tunisian constitutions prioritize Islamic religion as the principal source of law and values. Extra pressures for Islamization are created by the salafi groups, such as the Libyan Islamic Movement for Change or the Al-Nour Party in Egypt. This is what destabilizes the post-revolution political order by unleashing diverse and conflicting political forces who constantly jockey for power and influence. No less damaging has been external interference in the spontaneous course of Arab pro-democracy movements. Great and regional powers have got dangerously enmeshed in the movements, either supporting or opposing the movements. UN Security Council Resolution 1973 legitimized NATO-led military intervention in Libya to promote democracy; it succeeded in bringing down the Gaddafi regime on 20 October 2011 but raised new serious questions about the application of force to promote democracy in the name of ‘the responsibility to protect’. The French arms delivery to the rebel fighters in violation of Security Council Resolution 1970 that imposed arms embargos on all Libyan parties, and regime change through force, according to many observers, overstepped the powers and jurisdictions of the two Resolutions. The Russians and the Chinese subsequently used it to justify their decisions to veto similar resolutions on Syria to stifle the pro-democracy forces. The Arab Spring, in fact, created a new geopolitical arena for the great powers either to promote or preserve their national interests, real as well as perceived. France became eager to spearhead the NATO military strikes on the Gaddafi regime once it secretly concluded coveted oil deals with the rebel National Transitional Council; the Russians would leave no stone untouched to safeguard their naval base in Syria’s sea port Tartus and continue arms supplies to the Bashar Al-Assad government; and the Americans would support no action against their allies – the Bahraini Al-Khalifa rulers and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh though they warranted Security Council interventions. One notices with painful sadness that Arab democracy promotions did not genuinely figure in their interests calculations. Distressing internal developments and encumbering external environment together have retarded the normal course of the Arab Spring. It is beyond the imagination of many people that the Arab Spring is getting dried out so soon. The fates of past great historical revolutions constantly remind us not to be too much optimistic about the glorious Arab pro-democracy movements. The 1917 Russian socialist revolution lasted some seventy years what prompted the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm to label the 20th century as ‘the short twentieth century’, the French Revolution soon unleashed a ‘Reign of Terror’ though normalcy returned after massive killings and bloodshed, and the 1979 Iranian Revolution soon found itself entangled in a long war with Iraq and then in shackles of sanctions imposed by the West. The Arab Spring is tied up by irresolvable internal politico-economic problems and unwelcome external involvements. This is what is cutting short the life of the Arab Spring. The young Arab democratic forces are angry with post-uprisings developments, they lack the capacities to define and determine the course of their countries but are spirited enough to safeguard what they have achieved by overthrowing the dictators in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen. That promises no return to the authoritarian past but, at the same time, guarantees no progressive actions to materialize the objectives of the pro-democracy revolutions to keep the Arab Spring alive for years or decades to come.