Asan in the News

2015JUL10

[Arirang Radio] “IT presence and penetration in the Middle East: Globalizing Monarchies and Korea”

[Arirang Radio]  2015-7-10

“IT presence and penetration in the Middle East: Globalizing Monarchies and Korea”

1. How is the status of technology penetration and IT presence in the Middle East, specifically UAE, Saudi Arabia?

2. What about other Middle Eastern countries? Is this phenomenon only limited to the oli rich monarchies in the region?

3. I remember that the Arab Spring revolution of 2011, was described as a SNS revolution. Thanks to the IT penetration into the society in the Arab World, the outbreak and spread of the revolution possible. Is this proposition holding true and feasible?

4. How do you assess the future of those IT technology-friendly but still very traditional countries of oil rich Arab monarchies?

5. What is the implication of your assessment about the globalizing oil rich monarchies for Korea, then?

* Good Morning Seoul, Arirang Radio  (2015. 7. 10)

About Experts

Jang Ji-Hyang
Jang Ji-Hyang

Center for Regional Studies

Dr. JANG Ji-Hyang is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Middle East and North Africa at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Dr. Jang served as a policy advisor on Middle East issues to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2012-2018). Previously, Dr. Jang taught comparative and Middle East politics at Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Ewha Woman’s University, and the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include political economy of the Middle East and North Africa, political Islam, comparative democratization, terrorism, and state-building. Dr. Jang is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Essential Guide to the Middle East (Sigongsa 2023 in Korean), The Arab Spring: Will It Lead to Democratic Transitions?(with Clement M. Henry (eds.), Palgrave Macmillan 2013), “Disaggregated ISIS and the New Normal of Terrorism” (Asan Issue Brief 2016), “Islamic Fundamentalism” (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 2008) and a Korean translation of Fawaz Gerges’ Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy (Asan Institute 2011). Dr. Jang received a B.A. in Turkish studies and M.A. in political science from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Texas at Austin.