Technology from a Global Perspective



Technology from a Global Perspective

Introduction

One of the most significant regions of the world is Middle East because of the oil resources, holy sites and the geopolitical situations. The internal situations of the countries included in Middle East are largely governed by the competition for leadership and territorial, ideological, ethnic disputes. It is due to the extreme religious violence and external invasions in the Middle East countries that they lag behind in the race of technology, despite being blessed with the huge Oil and natural resources. Various ethnic, cultural and political factors are responsible for impeding the diffusion of technology in the countries of Middle East including Iraq.

Boundaries with Neighbor Countries

The boundaries are classified as international, indefinite, disputed or other lines of separation. Iraq has international boundaries with all of its neighbor countries including Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Neutral zone (The Geographer, 2000).

Factors Impeding diffusion of technology

• War with Iran

The Iraq Iran war which lasted from 1980 to 1988 is one of the major factors for impeding the technology in the involved countries. The major causes of this war included the deep concerns for territorial boundaries and internal security. For Iraq, the advancements in science and technology seized due to the war, and the country could not recover from the disaster as yet. This war also resulted in the defeat of Iraq in 1991. During the war with Iran, the military soldiers were trained of fighting against the slow moving soldiers of Iran, who mostly had static and artillery defenses. The soldiers of Iraq often used unsophisticated and obsolescent tanks to shell the infantry and gun down. All these factors combined to form such military conditions for Iraq that they could not stand against the high tech US forces (Dunn, 2009).

• Constant conflict with two religious organizations

The majority of the Iraqi public belongs to the religion Islam. Although the government does not support religious groups or organizations, there exist few. The two major organizations found in the country are Sunni and Shi'a. There are major differences between religious beliefs, doctrines, rituals and laws. Iraq is one of the four countries which consists of Shi'a majority.

• Educational system

The educational system of the country is still backward, and the rote learning is promoted in most of the schools in country. Most parents believe that their children should be equipped only with the religious educations, and should not get modern education. In addition to this belief of the people, it has also become difficult for the students and instructors to reach their educational institutes due to the extreme violence in the country. Most students are found claiming that on their way to school, they have to face serious threats of violence. This becomes particularly true for the students and teachers who are involved in the teachings of modern science and technology; many teachers involved in the medical or Science education have been targeted for assassination. International agencies claim that the education ...