What characteristic did the ruling class of the italian city-states and tokugawa japan have in common?

Dominant clans ruled. Basically both societies used the "Godfather" system in forms suited to their time and culture. Strong emphasis on clan, bloodline, obedience, social class divisions and racism in the sense of what we would now call nationality (nation states were just beginning to emerge and the concept of 'citizen' was fuzzy and evolving).

It is still true that for obvious reason the Japanese still equate nationality with race but while that's interesting, it's not what the question is looking for.

Hope this helps! have a blessed day <3

after a more than a decade and a half of combating al qaeda (aq) in afghanistan and pakistan,

the united states faces a diverse array of threats from al qaeda affiliates in the middle east and

africa. while senior al qaeda figures reportedly remain based in pakistan, the network includes

a number of affiliates across the middle east and africa including al qaeda in the arabian

peninsula (aqap), al qaeda in the islamic maghreb (aqim), and al shabaab. al qaeda also

retains a small but possibly growing presence in afghanistan. u.s. officials have stated that al

qaeda still maintains a foothold in syria through its ties to hay’at tahrir al sham (formerly

known as the nusra front), though the exact nature of that relationship may be evolving. this

report examines the threat posed by al qaeda affiliates in the middle east and africa as described

by u.s. officials and outside observers, as well as the u.s. approach to date in responding to these

threats. this was all i could find hope this : )