In the years following the turmoil of the Arab Spring, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates jockeyed for power, becoming significant forces—and rivals—in regional politics. Emma Soubrier unpacks the nuts and bolts of these two small states' rise to prominence, exploring how their diverging foreign and security policies have enabled both of them to become power players in the Middle    More >

Smuggling and trafficking activities have intensified throughout North Africa in recent years, threatening both fragile economies and human security. The authors of The Mediterranean Connection examine the nature of these illicit flows and the routes that they take across Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and beyond. As they explore the practices of criminal networks and what allows them to    More >

In a sweeping narrative, Asher Susser traces the evolution of Jordanian politics through the prism of the kingdom's policies toward Palestine and the Palestinians. Susser shows how the triangular relationship involving Jordan, the Palestinians, and Israel—from the creation of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 to the present—came to influence the Jordanians' sense of    More >

In September 2013, Xi Jinping announced the launch of a Chinese-led megaproject, the Belt and Road Initiative, that would transform Asia's position within the global economy. Some ten years on, the BRI, while facing significant obstacles, has gone from strength to strength. How has China’s BRI diplomacy affected its image across Asia? What does the BRI mean for Sino-US competition?    More >

The Middle East and North Africa comprise by all measures one of the least democratic regions in the world. At the same time, decades of research show robust support for democracy among MENA residents. A paradox ... or is it? Hannah Ridge explores the "democracy paradox" by parsing the meanings that citizens assign to the Arab word dimuqratiyya. Drawing on Arab Barometer data from    More >

The deadly attack on Kabul's airport in August 2021 shocked the world and brought concentrated attention to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISK). New questions quickly arose: How did this ISIS affiliate become such a force in Afghanistan and Pakistan? And why is it now a lethal threat to the Taliban? Addressing these questions, Amira Jadoon and Andrew Mines draw on original data and newly    More >

Why, given the enormous resources spent by the US and Europe on security assistance to Arab countries, has it led to so little success? Can anything be done to change the disheartening status quo? Addressing these thorny questions, the authors of this state-of-the-art assessment evaluate the costs and benefits to the main providers and recipients of security assistance in the MENA region and    More >

Drought, lack of access, poor quality … water supplies are in jeopardy across Africa and the Middle East. These same areas are rife with conflicts involving Islamic extremist groups. Marcus King explores linkages between water stress and violent conflict by looking closely at how ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and al-Shabaab in Somalia have weaponized water in the pursuit of    More >

"The quest to disarm Iraq took place between two wars—one justified and right, the other a dreadful mistake, a violation of international law that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths."  With these unvarnished words, Rolf Ekéus begins his political-thrilleresque story of the disarmament of Iraq—and the machinations that ultimately led to the fall of Saddam    More >

In June 2017, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE announced a comprehensive boycott of Qatar. Diplomatic ties were severed, trade was banned, and airspace was closed. Qatari nationals were expelled from all four countries. It seemed that disaster loomed for this small Gulf nation. But not so. Instead, in an unexpected turn of events, the Qatari government deftly used its enormous wealth and    More >

After decades of US military assistance in the Middle East—providing expensive weapons systems and conducting military exercises—why are the military capabilities of US allies in the region still lacking? Why does it matter? And what can be done to remedy the status quo? Bilal Saab addresses these vexing questions through a set of in-depth case studies. Identifying the pitfalls of    More >

Mohammed bin Salman. A monarch-to-be without scruples? Or a visionary seeking a path to global power? A social reformer determined to bring his country into the twenty-first century? Or just another brutal dictator? A leader on the road to greatness, or one destined to follow in the footsteps of Icarus? Veteran Washington Post foreign correspondent David Ottaway draws on more than a half-century    More >

How did the lands that are today Syria survive the vicissitudes of centuries of Ottoman, Egyptian, and French rule, only to stand in ruins today, shattered by a brutal civil war? To provide answers, James Reilly traces five centuries of Syrian history, from the Ottoman period to the present. Reilly brings to life the myriad historical, cultural, social, economic, and political factors that have    More >

T. E. Lawrence once observed that Saudi Arabia had "so little art" that it could "be said to have no art at all." Whether that was once the case is arguable. But that it is not the case now is clear in Sean Foley's Changing Saudi Arabia. Exploring the contemporary arts movement in Saudi Arabia in the context of the kingdom's changing political realities, Foley finds    More >

Despite substantial spending on education and robust support for reform both internally and by external donors, the quality of education in many, if not most, Arab countries remains low. Which raises the question: why? The authors of The Political Economy of Education in the Arab World find answers in the authoritarian political economies that shape the architecture of national governance    More >

The collapse of the multiethnic, multireligious, and multilingual Ottoman Empire after World War I led to the establishment of several nation-states, with enormous repercussions for the empire's minority populations. Baskın Oran focuses on religious and ethnic minorities in the Republic of Turkey—home for centuries to Alevites, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, Syriacs, and more—to    More >

Over the course of more than seven decades, NATO has sought, but not settled on, an effective strategy for interacting with its neighbors in the Middle East and North Africa. Rolf Schwarz traces the evolution of NATO's engagement with its neighboring region—including the launching of the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative—and assesses its potential for    More >

How are intelligence systems structured in countries across Asia and the Middle East—from Russia to India, from Turkey to China and Japan, from Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia? In what ways did decolonization and the Cold War influence their organization? What is their mission, and to what extent do they come under public scrutiny? The authors of this comprehensive reference delve into these    More >

The ongoing turbulence in Turkey's domestic and international politics raises a number of crucial questions. What explains the movement toward one-party, and even one-person, rule? What role does Islam play in the ideology and policies of the ruling party and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan? Is the country's long commitment to secular rule a thing of the past—and if so, with what    More >

Choice Outstanding Academic Book! The role of gender in the Middle East and North Africa is widely discussed—but often little understood. Seeking to close that gap, the authors of this comprehensive study explore a wide range of issues related to gender in the region as they have been unfolding since the Arab Spring.    More >

The previous edition of Understanding the Contemporary Middle East was published soon after the Arab uprisings, and the authors—writing across disciplines—captured those moments of possibility. Now, more than six years later, the Middle East is substantially changed, with three protracted civil wars, several retrenched authoritarian regimes, possibly one emerging democracy, and social    More >

Whether democracy promotion should play a role in US foreign policy continues to be a subject of considerable debate, perhaps nowhere more than with regard to the Arab World. But looking beyond the "whether," what explains why, where, and how the United States promotes democracy? What caused the shift from the Obama administration's support of the Arab Spring protests in 2011 to its    More >

The rise and decline of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Deepening authoritarianism in Turkey. The return to military-led rule in Egypt. The impact of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. Heightened sectarian tensions throughout the region. These are among the many current topics covered in the third edition of the acclaimed Politics and Society in the Contemporary Middle East. With the    More >

In a country whose citizens have experienced prolonged exposure to intractable conflict, are there unique features to be found in Israeli society’s core beliefs? And how—and to what effect—have those beliefs changed across the decades? To answer these questions, Neta Oren deeply explores Israel's political culture. Oren focuses especially on two circular processes: the    More >

Honorable mention for ISA's Religion and International Relations Section Book Award! The debate continues unabated: Is political Islam decipherable through the tenets of the Islamic tradition—or is it a tool of secular actors who shrewdly misuse religious references? Is it an expression of modernity, or a return to the past? Eschewing these dichotomies, Jocelyne Cesari demystifies the    More >

What exactly is Islamism? And what explains its violent expansion in recent decades? Why are Islamists so determined to change the world order? Are there similarities between Islamism and classical totalitarian regimes and ideologies? Will it fail, as those regimes did in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union—or can it adapt effectively to changing realities? What are the fundamental strengths    More >

After the autocratic regimes in the seemingly unassailable police states of Tunisia and Egypt suddenly collapsed in 2011, the Islamic parties that took over quickly succumbed in turn to further massive uprisings, this time by disaffected secularists and, in the case of Egypt, with the support of the army. What explains this? And why do the current regimes in both countries remain so    More >

How might Arab countries build the foundations for rule of law in the wake of prolonged authoritarian rule? What specific challenges do they confront? Are there insights to be gained from comparative analysis beyond the region? Exploring these questions, the authors of Building Rule of Law in the Arab World provide a theoretically informed, empirically rich account of key issues facing the    More >

Belying assertions of the incompatibility of Islam and democracy, many Muslim-majority countries are now or have been democratic. Paul Kubicek draws on the experiences of those countries to explore the relationship between political manifestations of Islam and democratic politics. Kubicek's comparative analysis allows him to highlight the common features that create conditions amenable to    More >

Why did human rights claims have such a limited impact on the authoritarian status quo in the Middle East prior to the Arab Spring—and why are they so often thwarted now? What factors have shaped human rights debates and outcomes in the region? Addressing these questions, Bosmat Yefet offers a comparative analysis, both empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated, of the forces    More >

Despite the relative calm apparent in Iran today, there is unmistakable evidence of political, social, and cultural ferment stirring beneath the surface. The authors of Politics and Culture in Contemporary Iran—a group of scholars, activists, and artists—explore that unrest and its challenge to the legitimacy and stability of the present authoritarian regime. Ranging from political    More >

Though there is much discussion of the role of youth in recent upheavals in the Middle East, there are few serious analyses of just what that role has been. Haggai Erlich sheds important light on this topic, focusing on the activism of educated young people in creating revolutionary change and the part played by higher education in shaping new generations of youth. Moving from the nineteenth    More >

How did the vast Ottoman Empire, stretching from the Balkans to the Sahara, endure for more than four centuries despite its great ethnic and religious diversity? The classic work on this plural society, the two-volume Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire, offered seminal reinterpretations of the empire's core institutions and has sparked more than a generation of innovative work since it    More >

This new edition of The Foreign Policies of Middle East States reflects the momentous events and shifting dynamics that have occurred in the region in the nearly fifteen years since the first edition was published. Working within a common analytical framework, the authors offer a theoretically grounded, systematic examination of the foreign policies of eleven states.    More >

Mustafa Kabha plumbs the complex story of the Palestinian people, from the revolts of 1936-1939 to the present, focusing on their efforts to establish a viable independent state—and the internal factors that have thwarted them. With unparalleled access to primary sources, as well as secondary material in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, Kabha provides an abundance of new information in a    More >

How are women in the Arab world negotiating the male-dominated character of Islamist movements? Is their participation in the Islamic political project—including violent resistance against foreign invasion and occupation—the result of coercion, or of choice? Questioning assumptions about female powerlessness in Muslim societies, Maria Holt and Haifaa Jawad explore the resistance    More >

These memoirs of the distinguished Iraqi statesman Tawfiq al-Suwaydi (1892-1968) evocatively recapture a now largely vanished Arab world—and are an eloquent reminder that Iraq was once a far more open and tolerant society than it is today. Al-Suwaydi served as Iraq's prime minister three times (1929, 1946, 1950), as foreign minister on numerous occasions, and as ambassador to Iran,    More >

Valentine Moghadam's seminal study of the gendered nature of political and social processes in the Middle East and North Africa has been fully updated to reflect more than a decade of major changes. This new edition reflects an emphasis on the impacts of both globalization and democratization. It also  includes entirely new chapters on the gender dynamics of conflicts in the region, on    More >

Despite radical changes in Turkish politics since the transition to a multiparty system in the mid-1940s, the center-right parties have consistently won an electoral majority. Why? How have they managed to maintain such a firm hold in the face of social cleavages that pit modernizing, secularist state elites against a conservative and pious majority? Ergun Özbudun uses the lens of    More >

A small isthmus in the central Gulf, with barely 300,000 citizens and a total population of 1.7 million, Qatar has risen rapidly from obscurity to become the world's wealthiest country per capita. Matthew Gray traces this spectacular rise, exploring the development of Qatar's economy, the patterns of its politics, its role on the world stage, and its prospects for the future.    More >

Sherko Kirmanj offers a balanced, critical analysis of the evolution of Iraqi national identity and the process of national integration, tracing a history of antagonisms and violence that began with the creation of the state in 1921. Challenging approaches that variously blame the legacy of the Baathist regime or the US invasion for the sectarian violence that plagues Iraq, Kirmanj delves into    More >

The 18-day revolt that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30 years of rule marked a historic turning point in the political fortunes not only of Egypt, but of the entire Middle East. While the impact of that seminal event will continue to unfold for years, this volume, written by members of the Department of Political Science at the American University in Cairo, presents an authoritative exploration of the    More >

Bouthaina Shaaban worked closely with Syria's president Hafez al-Assad from 1990 until the time of his death, serving as both official interpreter and adviser. Her new book, part memoir and part historical account, takes the reader behind the closed doors of the Syrian Presidential Palace to provide uniquely Syrian perceptions of the failed Arab-Israel peace talks. Sharing firsthand stories    More >

What are the dynamics of civic activism in authoritarian regimes? How do new social actors—many of them informal, "below the radar" groups—interact with these regimes? What mechanisms do the power elite employ to deal with societal dissidence? The authors of Civil Society in Syria and Iran explore the nature of state-society relations in two countries that are experiencing    More >

For years the authoritarian regimes of the Arab world displayed remarkable persistence. Then, beginning in December 2010, much of the region underwent rapid and remarkable political change.  This volume explores the precursors, nature, and trajectory of the dynamics unleashed by the Arab Spring. The authors focus on the complex forces that have sustained authoritarianism in the region, as    More >

Ofra Bengio explores the dynamics of relations between the Kurds of Iraq and the Iraqi state from the inception of the Baath regime to the present. Bengio draws on a wealth of rich source materials to carefully trace the evolution of Kurdish national identity in Iraq. Dissecting the socioeconomic, political, and ideological transformations that Iraqi Kurdish society has undergone across some    More >

Recent years have seen dramatic changes in the nature, direction, and impact of Turkey's foreign relations in its neighborhood—a region that encompasses Europe, the Middle East, the Black and Caspian seas, and the Caucasus. The authors of this original collection explore those changes, the causes behind them, and their impact on Turkey's ties with its traditional allies in the    More >

Rami Ginat offers an entirely new reading of the evolution of communism in Egypt, including the central role of Egyptian Jews in both its development and its impact on Egypt and the wider Middle East. Drawing deeply on previously inaccessible original sources, Ginat traces a story of intrigue and ideology from the late 1910s to the early 1950s. Many of his findings directly challenge the    More >

Scott Seward Smith focuses on Afghanistan's 2004 presidential election—the first popular election ever held there—as he explores the painstaking attempt by the United Nations to develop democratic institutions in the country. Smith thoroughly describes the personalities, policies, bureaucracies, and external factors that shaped the faltering transition process from 2001 through    More >

Although reform movements have been prominent in varying degrees in most Middle Eastern countries for some time, the recent cascade of events has generated new pressures for democratization throughout the Arab World. Political Change in the Arab Gulf States explores the politics influencing the volatile situation in the region, as well as specific measures devised by regimes in power to adjust to    More >

ForeWord Magazine's Reference Book of the Year! The three-volume Encyclopedia of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is the first authoritative reference source to provide comprehensive, impartial coverage of one of the most torturous and prolonged conflicts of our time. Written by an international team of more than 100 experts, and subject to an exhaustive, bias-hunting editorial process,    More >

If petroleum buys political legitimacy in the Arab Gulf states, how can we explain the rise of dissent and calls for political reform despite sustained oil revenues? The answer, according to Sean Foley, lies in political, social, and economic dynamics that have been brewing beneath the surface for more than a decade—and that are slowly shifting the balance of political power. While not    More >

Spanning more than a century, this systematic study brings to the forefront a dazzling array of novels by Arab women writers. Bouthaina Shaaban's analysis ranges from the work of Zaynab Fawwaz, published at the end of the nineteenth century, to that of Sahar Khalifah and Najwa Barakat, published at the cusp of the twenty-first. The novels discussed reflect not only specifically Arab    More >

Ahmad Suba'i's autobiography is the story not only of an Arab boy growing up in Saudi Arabia at the turn of the twentieth century—to become a noted writer, educator, and social critic—but also of a place, Mecca, and of the world of the traditional quranic school of the time. Contextualizing the work, the editors have provided information about Suba'i's life and work,    More >

In the decade-and-a-half since the first edition of this book was written, there have been dramatic changes both in the town of Aswan and among the devoutly Muslim Nubians of the of West Aswan. Anne Jennings’s revised and updated ethnography reflects those changes and also incorporates new material from archaeological/historical research and new literature on the impact of tourism, the work    More >

Choice Outstanding Academic Book! What is Wahhabism? What is its relationship with the Saudi state? Does it play a part in Islamist terrorist threats? These are among the complex questions tackled in Religion and Politics in Saudi Arabia. Moving from the historical, social, and political contexts in which Wahhabism originated and flourished to its current internal divisions and its impact on    More >

Islam and Peacemaking in the Middle East begins with a set of provocative questions: How, for example, do Muslims conceive of peace? To what degree do differences in the interpretation of Islam affect the ways in which peace is sought in the contemporary Middle East? Through analysis of regional trends and case studies, the authors explore various Islamic ideas of peace and their bearing on    More >

The authors of Narrating The Nile seek to encourage the study of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia not only as autonomous entities, but also as part of the Nile region, a shared theater of experiences, national identities, and collective memories. Combining in-depth historical studies and broad interdisciplinary discussions, they provide fresh perspectives on the region's politics and    More >

Libya's enigmatic Muammar Qaddafi demonstrated a perhaps unprecedented capacity for reinvention and survival, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. Yehudit Ronen traces Libya's sometimes tortuous trajectory in international affairs across the four decades of Qaddafi's leadership. Ronen addresses a range of critical issues: oil politics, foreign military adventurism, WMDs,    More >

Political Participation in the Middle East provides essential context for understanding current political activism across the MENA region. Through an in-depth exploration of seven countries, the authors address how formal and informal political institutions create opportunities for participation in venues as varied as trade unions, civic associations, political parties, and elections. And,    More >

Yasmin Husein Al-Jawaheri argues that the explosion of violence against Iraqi women since the removal of Saddam Hussein should not have taken people by surprise. The deterioration of gender relations was in fact, as she vividly demonstrates, a direct result of a decade of international economic sanctions. Al-Jawaheri explores the gender-related impact of those sanctions in the areas of    More >

Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies provides an essential compendium of information regarding the politically charged issue of succession in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Based on scarce source material and a wide range of inside information, this exhaustive reference: traces the rise of each ruling family outlines key    More >

The stories in Oranges in the Sun capture a distinctly unique vision of the world, embodying the range of emotional and material concerns of the peoples of the Arab Gulf region. The introduction to the collection provides historical context, as well as a broad overview of the selections.    More >

From the dilapidated camps of Lebanon to the eye of the storm in Gaza, Palestinian refugees continue to be a focus of world attention. The Future for Palestinian Refugees addresses in depth this most difficult of the outstanding problems impeding peace in the Middle East. Michael Dumper maps the contours of the issue, with special reference to wider international practice and its possible    More >

Is an end to the violence in Iraq, and the establishment of an enduring peace within a unified state, a realistic goal? Addressing this question, the authors of Iraq Preventing a New Generation of Conflict consider the sources of conflict in the country and outline the requirements for a successful peacebuilding enterprise.    More >

Peace in Tatters was born in a set of questions with which the author, an Israeli scholar, has struggled for some years: What went wrong in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before the July 2000 Camp David summit and during the crucial negotiations? How have the dominant narratives about the collapse of the peace process been crafted? Does the ongoing crisis mark the end of the road for the    More >

In the midst of the continuing violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are many who remain committed to moving forward on the road to peace. The Palestinian and Israeli contributors to this book, recognizing the great potential of civil society and NGOs for the peacebuilding process, focus on realistic opportunities for conflict transformation.The book includes a directory of    More >

Is Islam compatible with democracy? Despite the seemingly endless debate on this issue, Moataz Fattah's study is a rare investigation of actual Muslim beliefs about democracy across numerous and diverse Islamic societies. Fattah's survey analysis of more than 31,000 Muslims in 34 countries (including 3 countries in which Muslims live as minorities), enhanced by focus group discussions,    More >

While the war in Afghanistan saw most industrial countries back the US-led campaign, the subsequent war in Iraq profoundly divided international opinion—and likely represents a watershed in the post-Cold War international order. The Iraq War examines the full range of explanations of the conflict, as well as its significance for the Middle East, for key international relationships, and for    More >

Islamism is often portrayed as a reaction against, or at best a belated accommodation to, modernization. Refuting this dismissive opinion, Bjørn Utvik explores the movement through the lens of its engagement with social and economic change in Egypt.   Utvik provides a comprehensive picture of debates within mainstream Islamist groups that are grappling with concrete economic issues.    More >

In the wake of September 11, the European Union proclaimed a new commitment to encouraging processes of political liberalization in the Middle East, and a plethora of initiatives were introduced to that end. Richard Youngs offers a thorough analysis of the policies actually followed by the EU—by national governments, as well as collectively—in the intervening several    More >

What explains the enduring rule of authoritarian regimes in the Arab world? Nicola Pratt offers an innovative approach to this recurring question, shedding light on the failure of democratization by examining both the broad dynamics of authoritarianism in the region and the particular role of civil society. Pratt appraises the part that civil society actors played in the normalization of    More >

Much has been made of the role that Saudi Arabia's education system played in fostering the hatred that fueled the September 11 terror attacks. But do Saudi textbooks deserve to be faulted for fostering violence? And have Wahhabi ideas infiltrated the Islamic textbooks used in public schools throughout the Middle East? Confronting these questions, Teaching Islam explores the political and    More >

What is the significance of Islam's growing strength in Ethiopia? And what is the impetus for the Saudi financing of hundreds of new mosques and schools in the country, the establishment of welfare organizations, and the spread of the Arabic language? Haggai Erlich explores the interplay of religion and international politics as it has shaped the development of modern Ethiopia and Saudi    More >

The United Arab Emirates has remained a mainstay of stability in an increasingly volatile Middle East, managing to maintain a traditional polity despite the impact of rapid modernization and globalization. This in-depth study explores the many contradictions that characterize the UAE and its position within the international system.   Davidson first provides a detailed historical    More >

Why do authoritarian regimes prevail in the Middle East, while successful democratic transitions are occurring elsewhere in the developing world? Authoritarianism in the Middle East addresses this question, focusing on the role of political institutions and the strategic choices made by both rulers and opposition challengers. The authors eschew cultural explanations, highlighting instead the    More >

Though the regimes of Egyptian presidents Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak have been decidedly different, the nature of personal authoritarian rule in Egypt has remained virtually unchanged across more than five decades. Maye Kassem traces the shaping of contemporary Egyptian politics, considering why authoritarian rule has been so resilient and assessing the mechanisms that have allowed for its    More >

The recent deaths of four long-term heads of state in the Arab world heralded important changes, as political power passed from one generation to the next. Shedding light on these changes, Arab Elites explores the attitudes and political agendas of the new leadership emerging throughout the region.   A strong analytical framework informs the authors' discussion of elites in Algeria,    More >

Now available in paperback! Rejecting theories of economic deprivation and psychological alienation, Mohammed Hafez offers a provocative analysis of the factors that contribute to protracted violence in the Muslim world today. Hafez combines a sophisticated theoretical approach and detailed case studies to show that the primary source of Islamist insurgencies lies in the repressive political    More >

In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu, a technician at Israel's highly secret nuclear arms research center at Dimona, disclosed highly classified details about Israel's nuclear arms program to the London Sunday Times. As a result, Vanunu was kidnapped from London and taken back to Israel where, after a closed- door trial, he was sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment for espionage and    More >

This original work assesses the impact of globalization on women in Middle Eastern societies. To explore the gendered effects of social change, the authors examine trends within, as well as among, states in the region.   Detailed case studies reveal the mixed results of global pressures. For some women, for example, globalization has meant increased access to education and employment; for    More >

Jordan in Transition offers a cogent and compelling analysis of the country's domestic and international politics. Ryan argues that there have been four dramatic transitions in Jordan's recent past: ambitious economic restructuring, efforts toward political liberalization, realignments in foreign relations (culminating in the 1994 peace agreement with Israel), and the succession of King    More >

More than ten years after the Oslo Accords were heralded as the first step toward the resolution of a century of conflict, the Palestinians seem further from realizing their aspirations for self-determination than at any time since 1967. What explains the dismal failure of the post-Oslo peace process? What propels the prolonged and devastating upheaval known as the al-Aqsa intifada? Addressing    More >

Encompassing history, politics, and political culture, Robert Bowker explores the impact of Palestinian refugee mythologies on the potential settlement of the conflict with Israel. Bowker examines the nature of Palestinian refugee mythologies and their social and political underpinnings. He also discusses how these mythologies—and the manipulation of them—are key elements in the    More >

Sacred to three traditions, the Old City of Jerusalem is the Gordian knot at the center of the Middle East conflict. This book explores how religious and political interests compete for control of this sacred space, and how that competition affects the Middle East peace process. Dumper analyzes the religious dynamics in the Old City in political terms, investigating rivalries and tensions at    More >

The Turkish party system has undergone significant changes since the 1940s, moving from a two-party system to one encompassing nineteen parties— and resulting in a highly fragmented parliament. The contributors to this volume assess the intertwined effects of party fragmentation and voter volatility in Turkey. Presenting a wealth of data, they illuminate the trajectory of democratic    More >

Simon Murden investigates how Muslim societies in the Middle East are being affected by globalized politics and economics, and how they are adapting to it.   Murden describes how a Western-designed set of economic and political norms, institutions, and regimes has come to be a hegemonic system. His focus is on the encounter between the Islamic vision of society, with its emphasis on    More >

Reflecting cutting-edge scholarship and covering more than two centuries of change, this seminal collection represents key trends in the historiography of the modern Middle East. The authors each combine a methodological theme with concrete, original research, relating theoretical issues to the actual writing of history. Their topics range from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to globalization,    More >

Israel's ongoing dispute with Syria and Lebanon gravely undermines the potential for peace in the Middle East. Charting the course of this triangular relationship since 1948, Robert Rabil successfully integrates the domestic and international dynamics of the key players to reveal the complexities of this seemingly intractable conflict.    More >

What drives economic policymaking and performance in the Arab states? Paul Rivlin finds that domestic and international pressures have combined in the past decade to simultaneously foster change and limit available policy options. Rivlin examines the socioeconomic issues that are major concerns for policymakers, the role of rental incomes and interest groups, and the particular problems facing    More >

Cheryl Rubenberg's richly textured analysis provides a case study of the multifaceted and deleterious effects of patriarchy among Palestinians living in the rural villages and refugee camps of the West Bank: its negative consequences for men as well as women, for democratization, and for progress toward the creation of a more just, equitable, and prosperous society. Privileging the voices of    More >

Now Available in Paperback! UN sanctions have become an increasingly popular weapon in the political armory of the international community—a supposedly effective means, short of war, of bringing a transgressor state- back in line. Tim Niblock challenges this view in a dispassionate analysis of the political, economic, and psychological impact of sanctions on the Middle East's    More >

Once characterized by an avoidance of foreign entanglements, Turkey's diplomacy has changed dramatically in the present era of regional agreements and organizations. Tracing the evolution of that change, this comprehensive study explores the country's new international posture. The authors assess Turkey's policy toward Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the U.S., as well as its growing    More >

At the turn of the century, modern Turkey remains torn between the secular heritage of its founder, Kemal Ataturk, and the political and social trends that challenge that legacy. Alon Liel traces the development of Turkey's current political environment, investigating the collapse of the country's economy in the 1970s, its recovery in the 1980s, its relationship with its Middle Eastern    More >

The ongoing Egyptian-Ethiopian dispute over the Nile waters is potentially one of the most difficult issues on the current international agenda, central to the very life of the two countries. Analyzing the context of the dispute across a span of more than a thousand years, The Cross and the River delves into the heart of both countries' identities and cultures. Erlich deftly weaves together    More >

In the present golden era of Iranian fiction, women writers—contrary to what many in the West perceive—are making a powerful contribution to the literary scene. Reflecting this, A Feast in the Mirror captures the diverse voices of contemporary Iranian women, offering glimpses into their lives and into the labyrinths of Iranian society today. Moving from the framework of their own    More >

"Politics and the novel," Ghassan Kanafani once said, "are an indivisible case." Fadl al-Naqib reflected that Kanafani "wrote the Palestinian story, then he was written by it." His narratives offer entry into the Palestinian experience of the conflict that has anguished the people of the Middle East for more than a century. In Palestine's Children, each story    More >

Scholars and writers often encounter problems when conducting research on Asian and African countries because of the scarcity or inaccessibility of information about the lives of significant historical figures. Responding to that lacunae in the coverage of Egypt, this desk reference provides biodata, biographical sketches, and source material for approximately five hundred men and women who have    More >

Amnon Rubinstein traces the history of the Israeli state, and of Zionism, moving deftly between the roles of objective historian and persuasive politician.    More >

Though monarchies have been deemed obsolete by many observers, recent history testifies to their profound resilience. This volume offers an in-depth discussion of the fundamentals and performance of monarchies in the Middle East.  The authors focus on four themes: the roots and characteristics of Middle East monarchies, the causes of the collapse of some and the longevity of others, the    More >

The vitality and significance of parliaments in the Arab world is one of the essential—but overlooked—stories of political life in the 1990s. Baaklini, Denoeux, and Springborg present the first comprehensive, comparative analysis of modern Arab legislatures. Drawing on their extensive experience as both scholars and project consultants, the authors Yemen). Their work is of critical    More >

Questions of identity and ethnicity have always been part of the intricate web of politics in the Arab World, but the recent expansion of political participation has made these issues more political, more visible, and more acute. This book offers a comprehensive discussion of minorities and ethnic politics in eight Arab countries. Focusing on the strategic political choices made by minorities,    More >

This unusually accessible book provides a comprehensive picture of Islam in contemporary Egyptian politics and society, emphasizing its diversity and heterogeneity. Tracing the development of Islam as a social, political, and economic force in Egypt, Sullivan and Abed-Kotob analyze the role it plays in governance and opposition to political authority, in social relations, and in the often-ignored    More >

Nizar Kabbani’s poetry has been described as "more powerful than all the Arab regimes put together" (Lebanese Daily Star). Reflecting on his death in 1998, Sulhi Al-Wadi wrote (in Tishreen), "Qabbani is like water, bread, and the sun in every Arab heart and house. In his poetry the harmony of the heart, and in his blood the melody of love". Arabian Love Poems is the first    More >

This collection of important stories by novelist, journalist, teacher, and Palestinian activist Ghassan Kanafani includes the stunning novella Men in the Sun (1962), the basis of the film The Deceived. Also in the volume are "The Land of Sad Oranges" (1958), "'If You Were a Horse . . .'" (1961), "A Hand in the Grave" (1962), "The Falcon" (1961),    More >

Intercultural relations have revolved around the River Nile throughout recorded history: sharing the river's waters, Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sudanese have developed rich dialogues of mutual cultural enrichment, as well as misconceptions and conflicts. This volume represents a rigorous scholarly attempt to trace these complex relations, exploring the multifaceted representations of the Nile,    More >

This first collection of al-Hakim’s stories to be published in English includes 27 of the author’s best works written from 1927 to 1966. Some inspired by literature and others by Egyptian social conditions, the stories range from mock-autobiographical to science fiction and folk fantasy to allegory and philosophy.    More >

Bored housewives, kept in seclusion, smuggling in Harlequin romances. Modish young men transformed into Islamic militants. A baker unwittingly caught in a web of intrigue, an imam whose faith is tested by urban corruption, a lonely divorcee accused of prostitution—all take part in Merzak Allouache's novel of a society on the brink of crisis. Allouache tells the story of the people of    More >

Poignant and thought-provoking, this anthology offers a representative selection from the past three decades of works by the best-known women writers in Saudi Arabia. The authors’ stories of their patriarchal society afford rare insight into the traditional and changing roles, relationships, and expectations of modern Saudi women. The editors provide an introductory essay on modern Saudi    More >

It is the 26th day of Ramadan in the year 610, and a handsome man named Muhammad is meditating in a cave on Mount Hira. Fear grips him as he tries to sort out the visions and voices washing over him; and terrified that he is possessed, he leaves the cave to return to Mecca. The day that will transform Muhammad’s life—and change the world—has begun. That day becomes a fluid    More >

A vivid portrait of the lives of the Egyptian poor, particularly in the Nile Delta region, emerges in this collection of 24 short stories. El-Bisatie offers glimpses of the daily struggles and activities of old men, young women, prisoners, war widows, and everyone in between. Masterfully crafted, his stories cultivate in the reader compassion, hatred, understanding, and suspense.    More >

Study after study of women in the Muslim world has focused primarily on Middle Eastern societies, usually emphasizing the sexual ideology of a reified Islam. This book rounds out that view, exploring the status, roles, and contributions of Muslim women not only in the Middle East, but also in Africa and Asia, including post-Soviet Central Asia. The authors, many of them from the countries they    More >

Globalization and changing political economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are affecting women's labor-force participation, educational attainment,  and access to economic resources. But are these changes in fact resulting in economic gains for women? And will this produce an intensification or a subversion of the patriarchal gender contract that has thus far characterized    More >

As a young widow with two boys to raise, Horia El-Gharib struggled to reconcile tradition and change. She dared to take on a man's role in commerce and trade to protect the future of her sons—but now, all is at risk in the midst of the turmoil of the newly independent regime. Lion Mountain is the unforgettable story of a stubborn old woman, a one-legged Nubian war hero, and a    More >

Drawing on the theoretical insights offered in its companion volume, this book examines the processes of and prospects for political reform in 10 Arab countries—Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—selected to demonstrate a broad range of contexts, trajectories, and political potentials. The authors have gone beyond the traditional    More >

For more than a decade, policymakers and observers in the Muslim world and the West have struggled with the specter of political Islam—or "Islamic fundamentalism"—often confounded by myriad and contradictory images. This book offers a thorough, objective examination of the impact of political Islam on domestic and international politics in countries ranging from North Africa    More >

A candid critique of the institutional systems and practices that define, and in many cases limit, the administrative state in the Arab world, this study centers on the factors contributing to the failure of development efforts. Almost all Arab leaders, points out Jreisat, have promised bureaucratic reforms. However, their political-administrative structures have not succeeded in building the    More >

This comprehensive, up-to-date bibliography covers nearly 3,000 English-language books and articles on Muslim women throughout the world. Works are listed alphabetically by author, with an extensive index including both geographical and topical headings. A special feature of the bibliography is its annotated list of the 50 "most highly recommended" books and articles; the result of a    More >

An assassination, the election of a new prime minister, and a fresh round of Palestinian unrest have highlighted the ongoing tensions between religious and secular Israeli Jews. Among the latter, the events have introduced fear about the onset of a new religious war and a dramatic shift in public policy. However, Ira Sharkansky notes that, while religious interests in Israel have been powerful    More >

An innocent yet stinging—and always absorbing—account of the lives of two young expatriate girls in Kuwait in the 1960s. Isabel, the red-headed daughter of an American mother and Arab father, befriends Laila, whose family has left the lush, cool mountains of Lebanon in search of a better life in the heat and desert of Kuwait. Abdul-Baki presents the voices of both girls, telling their    More >

Long dominated by authoritarian regimes, the Arab World is now experiencing a variety of factors—both internal and external—-that pose the challenge of change. Significant degrees of political liberalization have occurred already in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Kuwait, although the extent to which this presages eventual democratization is far from self-evident. Elsewhere—for    More >

The violence of war leads to the euphoria of Algeria's newly won independence from France—and then quickly deteriorates into a harsh and cynical reality in this brutal yet lyrical autobiographical novel. Shattered Vision (first published in France as Le regard blesse) was awarded the Prix France Culture in 1987.    More >

Jabra's highly acclaimed novel is a masterful exploration of the post-1948 Arab world, with its frustrations, yearnings for homeland, and struggle for survival. As his characters interact on a ship sailing from Beirut to Europe, Jabra exposes them to the elements of spiritual and physical displacement. Some survive; others do not.    More >

Dealing with sexual mutilation, Accad’s lyrical, tragic novel shows woman as prisoner, victim, and target of man’s age-old preoccupation with domination by and fear of women. Set in exploding, agonized Lebanon, the work is Islamic, Christian, modern, and antique in scope. First published in French in 1982. This new paperback edition includes a preface by the author.    More >

A revealing study of a girl growing to maturity in middle-class Syria and of her family’s struggle to survive in the tumultuous years of 1940–1961 in Damascus. Attar’s work shows a keen eye for the daily scene, a keen ear for conversation, and a tragic sense of history. Reflecting the rapid sociopolitical changes in Syria that exalted some, but crushed others, it marks anew the    More >

In this turbulent novel of shame, violence, and hypocritical morality, the adolescent son of a repudiated mother grows up in a hostile, erotic, bourgeois world, where he must fight for his own soul. Using violence against violence, the young hero seeks to realize his better nature by overcoming the powers of hedonism, religious conformity, and tribalism. First published in French in 1969.    More >

After many years abroad, Brahim, the author of stories about a detective (alter-ego) named Ali, returns to Morocco with his pregnant Scottish wife and two sons. Soon to join them are his in-laws, complete with golf clubs and nervous expectations about a mysterious land. In a warm, satirical novel about the misunderstanding between two worlds, Chraïbi pokes fun at both the native Morocco of    More >

As in many developing countries, women in Egypt play a key role in the agricultural sector. This has not been adequately reflected, however, in the official statistics on services, employment, and income, nor has there been a fair appreciation of the socioeconomic constraints women encounter in participating in the development process. In response, this fully annotated bibliography represents    More >

Schirazi uses agricultural policy to demonstrate the complications and consequences resulting from the Islamization of development policy in Iran. Refuting claims by Iran's religious leaders that their interpretation of Islam provides the best possible solution for development problems, not only in Iran, but throughout the world, the author concludes from his research that the conception of    More >

Traditional, urban Egyptian women—baladi women—extol themselves with the proverb, "A baladi woman can play with an egg and a stone without breaking the egg." Evelyn Early illustrates this and other expressions of baladi women's self-identity by observing and recording their everyday discourse and how these women—who consider themselves destitute yet    More >

Egypt's agricultural development has been constrained by, among other factors, the need to conserve scarce natural resources, the pressures of rapid urbanization, the onslaught of the desert, and, not least important, technological limitations and restrictive economic structures. This book addresses the issues crucial to achieving and maintaining sustainable agriculture in Egypt.    More >

The Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Palestinian intifada in particular have given rise to a wave of critical reappraisals of the Israeli experience—reappraisals that increasingly have come from those who can only be described as mainstream Israelis. Situated within this emerging tradition of scholarly criticism, this book addresses a variety of problems that arise from the fact that    More >

From the beginning of the Ba'th regime in 1968 to the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iraq was an important ally of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. Haim Shemesh explores the evolution of this Soviet-Iraqi relationship—one that Moscow often exploited—concentrating on the impact of the 1969-1975 and 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq conflicts on the fluctuations in Soviet-Iraqi ties and    More >

Abdul-Baki’s stories, set in Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, and Jerusalem, explore the themes of young women coming of age, the effects of civil war, and differences between East and West.    More >

Reportage and interviews by the first woman journalist allowed free access to the peoples and places of Yemen. Deonna offers both verbal and photographic images of this largely traditional society. Traveling from capital to village, from coast to desert, Deonna talks, and looks, and takes her pictures. She encounters kindness, courtesy, curiosity, and an ancient civilization, troubled, proud, but    More >

Prophetically named for a real war yet to come, Six Days depicts the struggle of a fictional city under siege. Barakat tells the story of shy lovers, friends, increasing fear and anger, and finally the terror of war. The people of Dayr Albahr are confronted with an ultimatum: surrender or be destroyed. They choose to resist, knowing that they face inevitable defeat, but sustained by a    More >

The final volume in a trilogy that includes The Flutes of Death and Mother Spring, Birth at Dawn extends to the eighth century the story of the arrival of Islam in Morocco and Algeria. First published in French in 1986.    More >

Jameel Farran, a Christian Arab, is forced to flee his destroyed Jerusalem in 1948. Teaching at Baghdad University, he falls in love with a beautiful Muslim girl, Sulafa, but their turbulent affair meets almost insurmountable obstacles of tradition and circumstance. This is a story of multiple conflicts—between Arab and Jew, desert and city, dictatorship and futile liberal effort, Eastern    More >

Seventeen short stories by such well-known writers as Abdullah, Idris, Mahfouz, Taher, Ibrahim, Sharouni, Fahmy, Sibai, and    More >

The dehumanization of the Arabs who emigrated to "Mother France" is the subject of Chraïbi’s second novel, echoing Simple Past. This time, however, the focus is more on the values and customs of the West, whose promises to the Islamic world appear as a facade for violence and exploitation. The story unfolds in the mind of Yalaan Waldik, an "Arabo" who aspires to    More >

Beginning with an epilogue set in the present, this novel quickly moves back to the time of the generation after Muhammad—a time when North Africa, the home of the Berber peoples, was overrun by Arab armies. With strong characters and a compelling sense of place, Chraïbi demonstrates how the Berbers tried to maintain their cultural identity in the face of the overwhelmingly rapid and    More >

A detailed study of the literary debate among medieval Arab critics and philosophers about the use of truthfulness and untruthfulness in the poetry of the period. Emphasis on the critical schemes proposed by al-Jurjani and al-Qarta-janni. The book includes extensive notes, a bibliography, an index of personal names, and a useful glossary/index of literary and philosophical terms.    More >

"I enjoy playing in the small square between the archway and the takiya [monastery] where the Sufis live. Like all the other children, I admire the mulberry trees in the takiya garden, the only bit of green in the whole neighborhood. Our tender hearts yearn for their dark berries. But it stands like a fortress, this takiya, circled by its garden wall. Its stern gate is broken and always, like    More >

Haim Gerber addresses the phenomenon of radical revolution within Islam, seeking both to understand a certain type of revolution and to discover whether there is a typical Muslim response to Communism. Gerber first investigates the 1944 Marxist revolution in Albania and the 1967-1969 Marxist revolution in South Yemen. He finds, in conformity with the sociological theory of revolution, that these    More >

Behrangi offers five children’s stories that are notable for their realism and social significance. In keeping with his desire to combat ignorance and bridge the cultural gap between the rural poor and wealthy city dwellers and land owners, his stories do not shield children from knowledge about the pain and cruelty of life. Rather, they pay homage to the lives of the poor, who despite their    More >

Elaborating on Barrington Moore's theory of the agrarian origins of civilization, Gerber traces the effects of the Ottoman socioagrarian structure on political formation and revolution in the modern Middle East.    More >

The first book in a trilogy that continues with Mother Spring and Birth at Dawn, this naturalistic allegory is about two Arabic-speaking police officers who set out in the Atlas Mountains in search of a revolutionary. Once in this mysterious region, the officers, with their postcolonial, Westernized manners, are challenged by the ferociously suspicious and independent-minded Berber    More >

Set against the background of post-1967 Lebanon, this novel caused a sensation in the Arab world because of its frank and realistic descriptions of Lebanon's—and particularly Lebanese women's—problems. Tragedy awaits Tamina, who is drawn by the lure of the city to leave her Shia Muslim village for the university in Beirut. Injured in a student demonstration, she is rescued by    More >

Setting his novel during World War II, Chraïbi opens the door on the protected and well-to- do world of an Arab woman whose role in society is restricted to that of wife and mother. At the urging of her two sons, she seeks knowledge of the larger world with all its political, economic, and social realities. Soon, she begins to develop and express her own opinions about the ongoing World War    More >

Focusing on the interaction of finely portrayed characters from all elements of society, Days of Dust depicts the existential drama of the Six Days War as it was experienced on a personal level. The novel provides a remarkable perspective for comprehending Palestinian uprootedness and a people’s unceasing struggle for a homeland. First published in Arabic in 1969. This edition includes    More >

Includes The Wisdom of Solomon, King Oedipus, Shahrazad, Princess Sunshine, and Angels’ Prayer.    More >

Includes The Song of Death, The Sultan's Dilemma, and Not a Thing Out of Place, as well as the title play, an absurdist comedy.    More >

Salih's shocking and beautiful novel reveals much about the people on each side of a cultural divide. A brilliant Sudanese student takes his mix of anger and obsession with the West to London, where he has affairs with women who are similarly obsessed with the mysterious East. Life, ecstasy, and death share the same moment in time. First published in Arabic in 1969.    More >

Poems of home and exile by Fouzi El-Asmar, a Palestinian poet and journalist. Most selections are presented in dual English/Arabic text.    More >