Why I researched lebanon
Despite the controversy and breaking news that always seems to be surrounding the area, I had never bothered to try and understand the situation in the Middle East. As a child, I remember always being told that it was very complicated, but never really understood the history behind the situation. So when this open ended prompt was assigned, and I found an article on Saad Hariri's resignation, it seemed like a good opportunity to explore important events that I had been ignoring. The situation seemed dire, with war just around the corner. So I decided that I wanted to explore the impacts of war on the persons and the people of Lebanon.
Finding informative articles on the situation was a simple task, and I swam through an ocean of resources in my initial research on the situation at hand. Unfortunately, I soon found that news journalists are not much for speculation on the topics they cover, and ran into an issue. I needed information on the possible impacts of the impending conflict that was nowhere to be found. After quite a bit more searching, I found my answer: Yemen. With the situation so blatantly paralleled I was able to establish a research based prediction about the effects of war through comparison.
From that point onward, with enough research to cover my initial hypothesis, my argument was set. Even if I had not determined exactly to what extent I would argue, the transition from hypothesis to thesis was painless and included just a bit of rephrasing for concision. With my initial research and the comparison to Yemen, my argument portrayed a harsh and extreme future for Lebanon. Though thinking back, this may or may not have come to pass in such an apocalyptic fashion. But it was not impossible for events to play out as such, and I found it more effectively supported my solution than a moderated statement.
Going into this topic, I expected to discover a more prominent relation to the more publicized conflicts from the region. The fight against the Islamic State and the controversial position of Israel were what I had immediately associated with conflict in the Middle East. However, what I found was that the problem was much larger and far reaching than either of those controversies, though they did play some role in the threat I examined. I had a vague inkling of the role of the Sunni versus Shia divide in conflict, but discovered it to be far more central to the issue. What I had no idea about were the prominent positions of and cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The research on this I found to be the most enlightening and intriguing in my project.
When it finally came down to the deadline for the project, I ran into the most frustrating obstacles throughout the research and writing process. My essay was short, and was missing information that should have been more thoroughly elaborated on. And so I was making last minute changes with new research on Hezbollah I scrounged around for. With this last minute addition I put myself in a bind. Our family desktop was the only computer connected to our printer, and had finally begun to deteriorate. I ended up sprinting to the library and printing just in time, but in my haste ignored an important detail: the new addition to my works cited was not properly placed. But I had finished, and was subsequently able to rectify the mistake.
Since writing my essay, the situation has actually been resolved for the moment. The United Nations made a statement condemning escalation in Lebanon, and the Prime Minister rescinded his resignation. For now, Lebanon can enjoy a brief reprieve from the hostile advances from its surrounding nations.
Finding informative articles on the situation was a simple task, and I swam through an ocean of resources in my initial research on the situation at hand. Unfortunately, I soon found that news journalists are not much for speculation on the topics they cover, and ran into an issue. I needed information on the possible impacts of the impending conflict that was nowhere to be found. After quite a bit more searching, I found my answer: Yemen. With the situation so blatantly paralleled I was able to establish a research based prediction about the effects of war through comparison.
From that point onward, with enough research to cover my initial hypothesis, my argument was set. Even if I had not determined exactly to what extent I would argue, the transition from hypothesis to thesis was painless and included just a bit of rephrasing for concision. With my initial research and the comparison to Yemen, my argument portrayed a harsh and extreme future for Lebanon. Though thinking back, this may or may not have come to pass in such an apocalyptic fashion. But it was not impossible for events to play out as such, and I found it more effectively supported my solution than a moderated statement.
Going into this topic, I expected to discover a more prominent relation to the more publicized conflicts from the region. The fight against the Islamic State and the controversial position of Israel were what I had immediately associated with conflict in the Middle East. However, what I found was that the problem was much larger and far reaching than either of those controversies, though they did play some role in the threat I examined. I had a vague inkling of the role of the Sunni versus Shia divide in conflict, but discovered it to be far more central to the issue. What I had no idea about were the prominent positions of and cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The research on this I found to be the most enlightening and intriguing in my project.
When it finally came down to the deadline for the project, I ran into the most frustrating obstacles throughout the research and writing process. My essay was short, and was missing information that should have been more thoroughly elaborated on. And so I was making last minute changes with new research on Hezbollah I scrounged around for. With this last minute addition I put myself in a bind. Our family desktop was the only computer connected to our printer, and had finally begun to deteriorate. I ended up sprinting to the library and printing just in time, but in my haste ignored an important detail: the new addition to my works cited was not properly placed. But I had finished, and was subsequently able to rectify the mistake.
Since writing my essay, the situation has actually been resolved for the moment. The United Nations made a statement condemning escalation in Lebanon, and the Prime Minister rescinded his resignation. For now, Lebanon can enjoy a brief reprieve from the hostile advances from its surrounding nations.
Header borrowed from "bbc.com"
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14647308
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14647308