Product Description
Thoroughly revised and updated, this text presents a comprehensive analysis of the interactions of economic development, state systems, and social actors as factors promoting or blocking change in the Middle East.

The third edition closely examines the sometimes profound changes in demography, education, labor markets, urbanization, water and agriculture, and international labor migration in the Middle East in recent years. It considers the effect of rising oil prices on reinforcement of authoritarian governance, refines its assessment of "the Washington Consensus" and the shifting balance of state and market in economic growth and reform, and presents Islamism as a vital force in the region that is nonetheless a vast, diverse social movement with many conflicting participants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Good Survey
This book starts to fill a gap sorely lacking on political economy in the Middle East. At times, it suffers from what most surveys of regions do - overlooking particular experiences of individual countries and other important factors determining important cause and effect relationships.

Nevertheless, it provides a good starting point for the student of the Middle East and the general reader who has a curiosity concerning the lack of non-oil wealth in the Middle East.

A Good Survey
This book starts to fill a gap sorely lacking on political economy in the Middle East. At times, it suffers from what most surveys of regions do - overlooking particular experiences of individual countries and other important factors determining important cause and effect relationships.

Nevertheless, it provides a good starting point for the student of the Middle East and the general reader who has a curiosity concerning the lack of non-oil wealth in the Middle East.

Essential and Excellenttextbook
I have read and used sevral books in my research on the Middle East.I find this book to be the best to gain a bird's eye view of many social, political and economic problems in the region.R & W discuss problems of nation - building, state types and formation, competing ideologies, socio-economic crisis and oil politics (among other things).It's an excellent place to start for serious approaches to the subject.I have read both editions and look forward to future books form these authors.

I

Essential to Obtaining a Multi-faceted Understanding of ME
This authorative work was monumental when first released, and the second edition updates the first well, addressing many new contemporary developments.At times, the book can be daunting; however, for the material it covers, it is often suprisingly readable.It is great a launchpad for a multifarious number of other studies because it integrates and discusses so many other concerns.The charts, graphs, and tables which are employed generously are helpful as well.Overall, the book succeeds well at being balanced, practical and straightforward about the problems facing the Middle East, including their source and future.

Recommended for students and professionals seeking specialized knowledge of the M. E. which presents a solid framework for seeing the interelatedness of many aspects of Mid. East society.Casual readers will be overwhelmed by it analytical style and attention to detail.A general knowledge of economics as well as politics is of course recommended before reading this as well. ... Read more

Product Description

By recasting the relationship between religion and nationalism in the Middle East, Roschanack Shaery-Eisenlohr proposes a new framework for understanding Shi'ite politics in Lebanon. Her study draws on a variety of untapped sources, reconsidering not only the politics of the established leadership of Shi'ites but also institutional and popular activities of identity production. Shaery-Eisenlohr traces current Shi'ite politics of piety and authenticity to the coexistence formula in Lebanon and argues that engaging in the discourses of piety and coexistence is a precondition to cultural citizenship in Lebanon. As she demonstrates, debates over the nature of Christianity and Islam and Christian-Muslim dialogue are in fact intertwined with power struggles at the state level.

Since the 1970s, debates in the transnational Shi'ite world have gradually linked Shi'ite piety with the support of the Palestinian cause. Iran's religious elite has backed this piety project in multiple ways, but in doing so it has assisted in the creation of a variety of Lebanese Shi'ite nationalisms with competing claims to religious and national authenticity. Shaery-Eisenlohr argues that these ties to Iran have in fact strengthened the position of Lebanese Shi'ites by providing, as is recognized, economic, military, and ideological support for Hizbullah, as well as by compelling Lebanese Shi'ites to foreground the Lebanese components of their identity more forcefully than ever before.

Shaery-Eisenlohr challenges the belief that Shi'ite identity politics only serve to undermine the Lebanese national project. She also makes clear that the expression of Lebanese Shi'ite identity is a nationalist expression and an unintended result of Iranian efforts to influence the politics of Lebanon.

Customer Reviews (1)

Valuable contribution
This is a highly-informative book on the Lebanese Shia, tracing their historical, religious and cultural development and the domestic roles of the key factions, Hizbullah and Amal, their relationship to one another and to Iran. Chapter one is about the formation of the Shia community in the historically Maronite-dominated country. Chapter two is about the various private schools run by the Shia and their impact on Shia public identity. Chapter three addresses the relationship of the factions to the Palestinian cause, contrasting the Amal/Musa Sadr position of support for the Palestinians short of undermining Lebanon with Hizbullah's narrative of "resistance" and subordination of Lebanese interests to Iran's regional agenda. Chapter four deals with Shia factionalism since the foundation of Hizbullah in 1982. Chapter five provides the history and present of Iranian cultural politics in Lebanon.

If this ordering seems a bit confusing, that is because it is. The chapter and subchapter organization of this book is pretty bad, and it detracts from the otherwise excellent content. Chapter two on the different Shia school systems and their role in forming identity makes a lot more sense once you have read the historical background spread through chapters three, four and five. That chapter, along with more recent socio-cultural discussions related to Hizbullah and Iran, should have come well after the history was discussed. Amal's history is also spread all throughout. It would have made more sense to start with a broad historical narrative and then had chapters dealing with social, educational and modern political issues.

Of great cultural value is the author's relation of personal experiences in speaking with Lebanese from the various camps. There is insight you just can't get from written sources, you have to be there.

I do have a slightly different point of view on the Iran-Hizbullah relationship. The author rejects the depiction of Hizbullah as a mere stooge or puppet, and notes correctly that it must maintain a degree of Lebanese authenticity to remain credible, and so concludes that Hizbullah is more like a partner to Iran, albeit a junior one. She gives two examples of Hizbullah's alleged independence (pp. 194-196), both of which I think are pretty trivial. I would say instead that Hizbullah is an organic extension of Iran, or more specifically, of the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad-IRGC camp within the regime. The author correctly, I think, argues that Hizbullah's closeness to the regime leadership enables it to explain what actions would undermine them beforehand so as to have input into decision-making before a decision is announced. But Hizbullah was founded by Iran, is funded by Iran, follows Khamenei's fatwas without hesitation, and is basically an extension of it. I was struck reading Hizbullah forums after the June 12 election and seeing how perfectly matched Hizbullah members' opinions are to the Ahmadinejad camp. Hizbullah often talks of the "Islamic Republic" - instead of Iran or the Islamic Republic of Iraq - as a kind of disembodied entity, separate from Iran as a country with a people. It is the regime with which they identity.

I'm not persuaded by the author's brief discursion on Iraqi politics near the end, in part because there are some minor factual errors (Muqtada Sadr's marja Kathim Haeri does believe in wilayat al-faqih, see his "Foundations of Islamic Government" p. 137, [...]; and the English name of al-majlis al-ala al-iraqi al-islami is Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, or ISCI, not Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, or SIIC). In fact I think her discussion of ISCI's relationship to Iran weakens her point on Hizbullah. ISCI has deviated from a strict Khomeinist line much more than Hizbullah - they formally switched their allegiance to Sistani in 2007, and have worked closely with the United States. Yet it remains clear that they are an Iranian surrogate. Not only does their vast financial advantage over other Shia political parties clearly come from Iran, but the recent ascension of Ammar Hakim to leadership makes this clear. There is no way that an independent political party would have promoted this guy to leadership.

But this is all sideshow. If you are interested in the Lebanese Shia or have a strong interest in Lebanon or regional Shia politics, the book is worth the minor drawbacks.
... Read more

Product Description
The Next Founders brings to light the stories of seven remarkable people, six Arabs and an Iranian. Five are men; two, women. Four are Sunnis, two are Shiites, and the seventh is mixed. Their lives revolve around a sense of mission, and while the angles from which they attack it are varied, this mission is the same for all seven--to make their countries more free and democratic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

personalizing the struggle for freedom in the Middle East
Over the last two decades, I have read countless volumes on comparative politics in the Middle East, many of which are tremendously informative, but terribly dry.In the Next Founders, Josh Muravchik uses the lens of seven pioneering individuals to convey a large amount of information about politics within the seven critical countries in which they live. By putting a human face on an extraordinarily complex set of political dynamics,the book leaves the reader not only knowing more, but caring more about the struggle for freedom and human rights in the Middle East.

Freedom in the Middle East
I found this book intelligent and inspiring. It's hard not to be captivated by the voices of the courageous people the author presents, and impossible not to feel uplifted. We are introduced to seven exceptional individuals, five men and two women, one each from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Kuwait and Syria. Each is doing the remarkable work of trying to bring democracy to his or her country. Muravchik is a good storyteller and I found that the pages turned themselves. In addition to being fascinated by their stories and situations, I was quite moved by the passionate commitments each of these people had made, risking life and safety to work for human rights and justice in a region that has known little of freedom. ... Read more

Product Description
In an effort to restyle Cairo into a global capital that would meet the demands of tourists and investors and to achieve President Anwar Sadat's goal to modernize the housing conditions of the urban poor, the Egyptian government relocated residents from what was deemed valuable real estate in downtown Cairo to public housing on the outskirts of the city. Based on more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork among five thousand working-class families in the neighborhood of al-Zawyia al-Hamra, this study explores how these displaced residents have dealt with the stigma of public housing, the loss of their established community networks, and the diversity of the population in the new location.
Until now, few anthropologists have delivered detailed case studies on this recent phenomenon. Ghannam fills this gap in scholarship with an illuminating analysis of urban engineering of populations in Cairo. Drawing on theories of practice, the study traces the various tactics and strategies employed by members of the relocated group to appropriate and transform the state's understanding of "modernity" and hegemonic construction of space. Informed by recent theories of globalization, Ghannam also shows how the growing importance of religious identity is but one of many contradictory ways that global trajectories mold the identities of the relocated residents. Remaking the Modern is a revealing ethnography of a working class community's struggle to appropriate modern facilities and confront the alienation and the dislocation brought on by national policies and the quest to globalize Cairo. ... Read more

Product Description

This third edition of Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945 analyzes the nature of conflict in the Middle East, with its racial, ethnic, political, cultural, religious and economic factors. Throughout the book Peter Hinchcliffe and Beverley Milton-Edwards put the main conflicts into their wider context, with thematic debates on issues such as the emergence of radical Islam, the resolution of conflicts, diplomacy and peace-making, and the role of the superpowers.

The book is brought fully up to date with events in the Middle East, covering, for instance, developments in Iraq in 2006 where a democratically elected government is in place but the insurgency show no sign of coming under control. The analysis of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is also brought up to the present day, to include the election of the Hamas government and the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hizballah.

Including a newly updated bibliography and maps of the area, this is the perfect introduction for all students wishing to understand the complex situation in the Middle East, in its historical context.

Customer Reviews (3)

Objective and timely
Unless you are a zionist or a radical islamist you will appreciate Dr Milton Edward's useful and penetrating analysis of the problems of the Middle East. She has managed to bring academic objectivity to a highly sensitive subject and the chapters on Palestine and Israel are particularly useful for understanding the background to this long standing conflict. Neither the Palestinian Authority nor the State of Israel escape responsibilty for the present impasse and inevitably some of the criticisms of recent actions by the Israeli government have raised hackles in Academe especially in the US where any criticism of the Jewish State arouses ire in certain quarters-the first review above is a classic example of this phenomenon. The section on Iraq is also timely and penetrating and I srtongly recommend this work which, Iam told, is about to go into a third edition.

Misinformation
The region I know most about in the Middle East is Israel.So let me focus on how poorly this book deals with that nation.

It starts by explaining that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the result of competing nationalist agendas.Even this is misleading, given that the Israelis are not trying to get rid of the Arab nations, while the Arab foes of Israel are trying to get rid of Israel.We then are treated to a statement about how sad it is that both Jewish and Arab nationalism appeared at the same time, and that this is why they fought.Well, they did not appear simultaneously.Arabs had been oppressing Jews for centuries.When some Jews became liberated, that annoyed some Arabs, but a desire to get rid of Jewish rights is not the same as nationalism.Israel became a nation in order to defend Jewish rights (and, in particular, to repeal the British White Paper of 1939, which almost completely restricted Jewish immigration to the Levant).If a Levantine Arab nation comes into existence, even now, it will be explicitly to get rid of Israel, not for some positive purpose.That is not true nationalism.It is a bogus claim of nationalism, such as the one made by the Sudeten Germans in the 1930s.

The authors continue by saying that Levantine Arabs stood in the way of Jewish nationalism.That is misleading.In fact, many Arabs happily sold their land to Jews in the region (at very high prices, of course).The presence of Arabs in no way needs to stop Israel from existing, just as the presence of Catholics in no way needs to stop America from existing.There is not an inherent need to expel all Arabs or all Jews from Israel, just as there is not an inherent need to expel all Catholics or all Protestants from the United States.Arabs and Jews can both live in a Hebrew-speaking nation.

The book then gets into the area of "founding myths."Once again, it does poorly.When it deals with Israeli desires for human rights, it tends to group that with "myths" that may serve a purpose.When it deals with Arab claims to be blameless bystanders to a war of aggression that they started, it tends to group these with "myths" that may serve a purpose.Instead, the focus ought to be on truth.

The authors boast that in 1988 Arafat literally delivered an olive branch to the UN General Assembly.So what?His gang was still fighting a war against Jewish rights.If I give an olive branch to the UN General Assembly, do you suppose the authors will support my, um, right to take over the Levant in the name of the Roman Pagans who were displaced from it?

The authors discuss the intifada and the reporting of it, and wonder whether it has brought peace any closer.And they imply that the media did a good job.But in fact, the media happily showed PLO propaganda more often than not, and also gave this propaganda undeserved credibility.I think media dishonesty in fact has made peace more difficult to achieve.

I do not recommend this book.

A timely guide to a world of conflict
This book which covers the main mid east arenas of conflict since World War 2 (Palestine/lebanon/the Gulf/ the Kurds/Iraq/Kuwait) is a very valuable background to the events of September 11th (2001). Usama bin Laden needs to be put into the context of Middle East disputes: especially Arab/Israel to understand his motivations. 'Conflicts' includes studies on Islamic fundamentalism, 'Holy Terror' and big power confrontation.
This is a timely publication. Slim and concise-good maps and bibliography. For both the scholar and the general reader. (...) ... Read more

Product Description

Why do international crises seem to occur so often in the Middle East? Former U.S. diplomat Richard B. Parker presents three detailed studies of policy failures that he believes were precipitated by miscalculations on the part of diplomats and of government and military leaders in one or more Middle Eastern countries, the United States, and the former USSR. They are the Soviet-Egyptian miscalculation leading to the June 1967 war between Israel and the Arab states, the U.S.-Israeli miscalculation leading to Soviet military intervention in Egypt in 1970, and the U.S.-Israeli miscalculation leading to the disastrous Lebanese-Israeli peace agreement of May 17, 1983.

Parker's many-sided, often gripping account of the way in which these crises unfolded illustrates how the same events can be viewed very differently by the observers and actors involved, and how political decisions can precipitate reactions that are often very different from those anticipated. Although the book highlights the unavoidably uncertain and contingent element in all diplomatic activity, it also shows that careful attention to history, to past performance, and to prevailing mindsets in the countries involved can be invaluable aids in diplomatic crisis management. The many sources assembled and the careful weighing of their accuracy and reliability, along with the combined perspective of the practitioner and the scholar, make this book an important resource for diplomats, policymakers, and students of diplomacy.

Customer Reviews (1)

The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East
A bland title may give the impression of yet another retired government official indicting U.S. policy in the Middle East; but Parker uses "miscalculation" in a more precise way, meaning "a policy decision which goes awry because those making it did not foresee properly what the results would be." He explores three case histories from this angle: the Soviet-Syrian-Egyptian mistakes of May 1967, the U.S.-Israeli failure to hear Soviet threats to introduce troops into Egypt in February 1970, and the U.S. insistence on putting through the Lebanese-Israeli agreement in May 1983. The latter two studies do not sustain the weight Parker imposes on them. In the 1970 case, for example, it is true that Washington and Jerusalem failed to interpret a Soviet warning correctly, but that was a minor, almost routine sort of error. Parker's analysis comes into its own in the first study, however, a well-researched, insightful analysis of one of modern history's great enigmas-Why did the Six Day War take place? He draws on published accounts, interviews, and personal experience to establish the significance of such subtleties as the relationship between Gamal Abdel Nasser and his marshall, 'Abd al-Hakim 'Amr; he works out the intricacies of timing; and he shows how events acquired a momentum of their own. Until the archives open up fully, this probably rates as the last word on the outbreak of war in June 1967. As such, it provides a fascinating entrée into the many-mirrored world of Middle Eastern politics.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1994 ... Read more

Product Description
The Middle East is considered a classic among students, professors, and researchers seeking to understand this ever-changing region. This edition has been thoroughly updated and reorganized to provide vital coverage and analysis of the key issues and headline-making events in this dynamic area of the world.
Renowned for its balanced, informative, and accessible treatment of the complex and controversial affairs that make the Middle East so important and so volatile, The Middle East takes an in-depth approach to trends and events in the region as well as the history of its nations.
The Middle East has become a staple text in college courses on the modern Middle East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An Excellent Overview
The CQ textbook is an impressive and balanced view of modern issues in the Middle East. After having many classes that used broad overviews like Esposito's various editions, it was very refreshing to see some new ideas put forth. Its chapters are well researched and organized. I am not surprized to see that the DoD uses this text for several courses.

Where did my earlier review go?
I have reviewed this product online for Amazon before and for some reason, my review has since been removed. I would strongly advise anyone teaching a Middle East course to AVOID using this textbook.

1) If you are focusing on politics, its orientation is to international and transnational issues, rather than domestic politics. Even though it has case chapters, the focus is a more international one at the expense of a discussion of domestic political institutions.

This is especially prevalent in the chapters on Israel, Jordan, the PA. The authors of these chapters spend comparatively little time dealing with the domestic political institutions. This is a real shame because Israel is one of the most democratic countries in the Middle East (despite the occupation), while Jordan and the PA are also quite democratic, when compared to their Arab neighbors.

2) The authors of the chapters on Israel, Jordan and the PA go to great lengths to show their anti-Israel bias. This causes them to state blatant falsehoods and cite incorrect statistics. This gets paritcularly ridiculous in the Jordan chapter. While Jordan is a player in the peace process, it is also a fascinating country and here, the bias comes at the expense of a substantive discussion of Jordan's political liberalization. Similarly, there is no substantive discussion in the Israel chapter about the parties or party system.

3) The other case chapters are quite dry. Incidentally, the chapters on Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict are done well. The actual A-I conflict chapter is done in an evenhanded manner, very dispassionately. However, I would stillrecommend avoiding this textbook. One evenhanded chapter does not balance out three chapters of propaganda.

Don't waste your students money on this book. Even my students, who symphatize very much with the Palestinian cause, did not appreciate the blatant bias.

great background for the middle east after WWII
Congressional Quarterly has published a great source for the Middle East. Ir provies plenty of information to better understand the region and focuses on the main issues in it. The Arab-Israeli conflict is dealt with starting from the original British mandate for ISrael to the post-Oslo time. It also focuses on U.S. foriegn policy in the region looking how differetn presidential administrations and the U.S. congress have dealt with the region. Oil and gas interests are mentioned disucssing issues that relate to it such as OPEC, the oil embargo, the Persian Gulf War and the 1986 price crash. The influence of Islam is also talked about focusing on how it as unified and fractured the Middle East. The book also has country profiles to better understand how each individiual country operates as well as providing a timeline of the Middle East since the end of WWII and short biographies of the area's main leader. ... Read more

Product Description

Kreutz examines the goals and strategies of Russia and the former Soviet Union toward most of the Arab states in the Middle East. The author argues that Russia has been an important actor in the region for over a century and has tried to regain its influence in several countries following its strategic retreat after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. However, according to Kreutz, Moscow does not seek confrontation with the United States or with the West in general in the region. Rather, the Russians are interested in peace and stability in the region, which is close to its borders. Because of that, although Moscow wants to cultivate its links with Israel, it also seeks to reach a peaceful and balanced solution to the Palestinian-Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflicts, taking Palestinian and Arab interests into account.

Washington can better engage Moscow as a stabilizing force in the Middle East and as a collaborator in the struggle against Islamic terrorists. At the same time, the United States must be cognizant of where Washington and Moscow diverge. Although Russia may be too weak now to compete with the United States on a global scale, it is not happy to see American or EU encroachment close to its own neighborhood. If we take their weakness for granted and become blind to the possibilities for Russian alliances in the region, we do so to our disadvantage. This book demonstrates Russia's enduring interest and influence in the Arab Middle East.

Product Description
Politics and Change in the Middle Eastpresents the politics of this area by discussing the economic, historical, social science, popular culture, and religious issues. It incorporates historical perspectives with contemporary material, giving readers the necessary background to make informed judgments on the politics of the region today.Comprehensive in its scope, this book covers traditional cultures of the region, the foundations of Islam, issues and events in the region from A.D. 632 to 1990, religious politics, culture, and social life, political leaders, the economic setting, and the events of 9/11/2001.For employees in corporations that deal with the region of the Middle East, where an understanding of the history and culture is necessary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Insightful and well balanced -- a truely scholarly effort
As a college student majoring in Economics, I was privileged to study with two of the authors of this book.However I read this book not as part of a curriculum but as side-reading.Having read several books on the Middle East (and being well familiar with the area including some undergraduate research), I can safely say that it is one of the most insightful books written on the subject.

The authors bring their expertise and familiarity with three different disciplines (anthropology, international relations and economics), combined with thorough on-site research.This extremely well-written book traces the history of conflict in the Middle East, the high and low points, the personalities who positively or negatively shaped the course of Middle Eastern history.

I believe it is recommended reading for any person today who wants to understand the Middle East better and who wants to increase their awareness of the global village we all are citizens of.More importantly though, this book should be recommended reading for future researchers, scholars and teachers as a guide to 'understanding, studying and researching a new culture or a differnet people'.

The techniques used in researching this topic truely do justice to a topic, which is very difficult to research, and write about, while maintaining brevity, objectivity and yet, not sacrificing thoroughness of research.

An excellent book, a must-have for academics and people who want to have a deeper understanding of the Middle East as well as become familiar with the unique style and techniques of research utilized in this work. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Middle East international politics in the light of international relations theory. It assesses the impact of international penetration, including the historic formation of the regional state system, the continued role of external great powers, and the incorporation of the region into the international capitalist market. It examines the region’s distinctive dialect between trans-state identities, Arabism and Islam, and the consolidation of a sovereign state system. It looks at the consequences of state formation for the ability of state elites to manage the external and domestic arenas in which they must operate; and it analyzes the impact of the foreign policy process in individual states.
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Customer Reviews (1)

Robust examination of facets of authoritarianism
This edited volume collects essays from scholars who seek to avoid the exceptionalism trap that many scholars writing on the Middle East too often fall into by examining the specific power structures and challenges faced by states in the region. Although there are no earth shattering new arguments and many of the essays seem rather self-evident to one who is familiar with the region, it nonetheless provides a rare look into the politics of the Middle East that is often missing from generalized discussions of authoritarianism. As an introduction to the region, furthermore, it is well worth the price.

The book is divided into two parts based on whether the authors attribute the stubbornness of authoritarianism to state- or society-centered explanatory variables, although the approaches can fall into either the "prerequisites" school that posits certain institutional preconditions for democracy (economic, cultural, or societal) or the "transitions" paradigm that views democratic transition as contingent upon certain conditions. Vickie Langohr offers one of the must erudite essays that pokes holes in the conventional wisdom of promoting NGO development and civil society before political parties have sufficiently developed. She argues that NGOs have coopted the traditional role of political parties, which may be detrimental in the long-term for democratization. Eva Bellin's chapter on coercive institutions is one of the best in the book since she offers four explanations for the robustness of the region's security apparatuses- rentierism, Patrimonialism, international support, and the degree of popular mobilization- thus integrating many of the common arguments into one unified explanation. Posusney's chapter on multiparty elections is less fulfilling, however, since her argument about the strategic dilemma posed to opposition forces by authoritarian rulers who often manipulate election results to ensure the emergence of loyal parliaments is somewhat self-evident. Her examination of the electoral systems and techniques of manipulation, however, add specific insight into the politicking behind the politics we read about in the news. Angrist's essay on party systems and regime formation is similarly obvious - that the nature of the political party system at the time of independence was critical for success - and although she holds up Turkey as a successful example of a pluralist democracy, she underestimated exogenous factors and breezes over the role of the military, leaving her essay rather hollow. ... Read more

Product Description
A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm is a definitive Middle East Policy strategy authored and implemented by operatives in the highest levels of the US government.There is just one problem.The plan was a strategy for Israel, not the United States of America.Neocon Middle East Policy reviews strategies and consequences of the "Clean Break" plan authored by Richard Perle, David Wurmser, and Douglas Feith in 1996.It analyzes the core assumptions of the policy, cost of tactics that have already been implemented and discusses the likelihood others will be executed in the future. Neocon Middle East Policy then turns to the most difficult questions of all, "Can a policy crafted for a foreign government and presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu serve as a blueprint for US regional policy? At what cost in credibility, blood, treasure and American integrity? At what cost to Israel?"Neocon Middle East Policy is a must-read for anyone concerned about the convergence of US and Israeli foreign policy in the Middle East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Never turn your back on an "ally".
Though too short, this is well-researched, factual, and just one of many revealing books on a subject of which most Americans are ignorant.The Un-American Neoconservatives and their willing stooges on Fox News and in the Republican party have maneuvered the United States into a vulnerable position in the world and that is the just the way they want it.Greed is good, never mind the Israelli Lobby and the Jack Abramoffs and Bernie Madoffs, forget about the wars started by the Bush-Cheney-Wolfowitz neocons.Just keep shoveling us bilge about celebrity infidelity and political criminality, sports hero drug use and weather reports read by brainless bimbos and since most of us get all our news from television, interrupted only by commercials, don't worry-be happy.Read this book and the others.Search on line.Do it now.This is your country not theirs--for a while.

Excellent Title!
These criminals, along with Bush and his cabinet have given new meaning to the shredding of the Constitution. Chenny and Bush have their corporate interests to attend to, while the Wolfowitz's of foreign policy place Israeli interests above American ones. This is a sordid tale of globalists (Bush and co) joining hands with the war-mongering Lukidnik Jews within the United States. Both serve their own personal interests and should be ejected from office immediately.

enlightening
Very informative, and a very interesting review of what is happening right now between Israel and Lebanon.

The Neocons Exposed
The cover of this timely book is its message! It was the slippery Neocon ideologues, who have played a critical role in getting America involved in the immoral, unjust and illegal war with Iraq. On the background of the cover, you see the flagged-draped coffins of our dead military heroes lined up in the bottom of a huge cargo airplane, probably located at Dover Air Force Base, in Delaware. They are returning home from Iraq. In the forefront are the mug shots of three of the leading Neocons: Richard Perle, David Wurmser and Douglas Feith, who had all rabidly advocated the Iraqi conflict, based on as it turns out, misleading and deceptive information.

These three characters, among others, helped to draft for an Israeli government, back in the 90s, the notorious "A Clean Break" policy document, a/k/a "ACB." It urged the Israeli right wing regime of that day, headed by then-Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to remove "Saddam Hussein from power" and to begin "rolling back Syria." Since that time,the ACB has, tragically, morphed into the policy position of the warmongering and Neocon-infested Bush-Cheney Administration. It then led directly to the preemptive invasion of Iraq by the U.S. military forces, on March 20, 2003. It is beyond cavil, that Iran is the next target of this Washington, DC-based War-Making cabal. In the book, at p. 87, Adam Shapiro put it this way, "Iran can legitimately assume that after Iraq, it is next in line on the Israeli (and therefore American) list of targets for military intervention..."

After authoring the ACB, the books points out how Perle became the Chair of the highly-influential Pentagon Defense Policy Board; Feith assumed the powerful position of Undersecretary of Defense, serving under another radical Neocon and ultra-War Hawk, Paul Wolfowitz; while Wurmser became a Middle East advisor to Dick Cheney. These are the name of only few of the Neocons who took over extremely sensitive positions within the Bush-Cheney Administration, the Pentagon, the Justice Department and on Capitol Hill itself. There are many more Neocons, like Perle, Feith and Wurmser found in the Establishment-controlled Media. I'm talking specifically about people, such as: William Kristol, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, A. M. Rosenthal, Charles Krauthammer, William Bennett and Mona Charen, to name just a few.

The authors of this thoughtful 109-paged book analyzed the ACB paper from just about every perspective. They also reprinted it in full on pp. 95-104, so that the readers themselves can judge the truth of their opinions as to the negative effects that this controversial document, and its application to our present foreign policy, have had on our Republic. As I write this review, over 1770 brave Americans have died in Iraq and another 13,500 have been reported as having been seriously wounded. The cost to the beleaguered taxpayers of this blood stained conflict is fast approaching the $300 billion mark, with no end in sight.

Finally, thanks to the release of the compelling "Downing Street Memos," and the splendid work that Think Tanks, like the Institute for Research for Middle East Policy (IRmep), and others, have done over the years in revealing the cutting edge part the Neocons have played in using America as a chump over Iraq, that this seminal issue has become clearer.This fine, cogent book on the "Neocon Middle East Policy" is another contribution to that laudable effort. It is a must read for anyone who is concerned about how we got into the Iraqi War and how it is so important that these radical, hawkishNeocon types not ever again be put in a position where they can influence the making of America's foreign policy.

The only question that remains is this one: "When are the American people going to wake up and fight back to restore our Republic, which rightfully belongs to them and them alone, under the U.S. Constitution?"

A good start
As the authors of this book remark in their forward, this book studies the consequences of a particular document, called "A Clean Break, a New Strategy for Securing the Realm," which was composed in 1996 by the Institute for Strategic and Political Studies. This think tank was located in Jerusalem at the time, and the purpose of the document was to advise the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who was at that time the newly-elected Prime Minister of Israel. The document is reprinted in an appendix to the book, but can also readily be found on the Internet.

Anyone whose is intellectual honest, both with her self and others, will no doubt find the thesis that one document can by itself have wide influence difficult to accept. Such skepticism would be justified, but it should also be remembered that the political concepts and philosophy expoused in "A Clean Break" is held by many individuals in both the United States and Israeli governments at the present time, and there is every indication that this influence will continue. There is little doubt now of the destructive and destabilizing effects of this philosophy, which has been called `neo-conservatism' both by the authors of this book and many others in the political science community. Indeed, the war in Iraq and the separating wall in Israel are ample evidence of the decadence of this philosophy. The authors show in fair detail some of its consequences, although at times some of their claims are left unjustified. They state explicitly though that they wish to avoid the "mono-causal" trap of holding to an "all-encompassing" historical explanation of the policies of the United States in the Middle East.

It is not necessary to hold to all of the assertions made by the authors in order to obtain useful information from this book, concise as it is. It is a good start for a more extensive and future study of the influence of neo-conservative thought on the United States government. The book is composed of several different articles written by various individuals of different backgrounds, levels of expertise and religious affiliations, and this serves to give a broader range of opinion than might be found with only a few authors. There a many places in the book where statistical facts are omitted, such as the claim that the Palestinian economy suffers from 70 percent unemployment, and the claim that 70 percent of the Israeli population are willing to give up occupation in order to have peace with the Palestinians. The inclusion of careful statistical evidence would certainly make the authors case more credible and would convince the more scientific and skeptical reader of the truth of their assertions.

If one peruses history, it is not surprising at all that a very small group of individuals, via their rhetoric and their hype, would put into play a series of events that stand with only a few others in their deceptive power and brutality. History is replete with examples of how these individuals, through both verbal and written communication, can influence a great majority of people to do things that they would not do under ordinary circumstances, and commit acts that are contrary to their chosen ethical standards. The vast majority of these examples share a common denominator, namely the exploitation of fear to bring to fruition a certain political, religious, or financial goal. The authors of "A Clean Break" are examples of how this is done. Fortunately their philosophies and their horrific consequences are now being discredited. This book is one of the few available that dares to expose the decadence of these philosophies. Hopefully there will be many more. ... Read more

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A key addition to any world politics or religion collection
The root of the Middle East's political problems lies in its religion... or does it? "Religion and Politics in the Middle East: Identity, Ideology, Institutions, and Attitudes" is a discussion of the Middle East and how each country's religion shapes its politics, or as Lee argues, how each country's politics shapes its religion. Offering a very balanced view at the Middle East's problems with separation of Church and State, "Religion and Politics in the Middle East" is a highly enlightening and scholarly read, a key addition to any world politics or religion collection.
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This authoritative text has been updated to take into account the very latest developments in the Middle East. Serves as an excellent introduction for newcomers to the modern history and politics of this fascinating region. ... Read more

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A fantastic overview of the Politics of the Middle East
Although the 200-page limit places necessary limitations on what can be covered in a book such as this, this history of the modern Middle East by one of the region's foremost historians is a wonderful guide and an introduction to the region.

Owen covers a great deal in these 200 pages, and he does so concisely and lucidly. Not only does the book address the end of empire, the emergence of the states and the growth of state power, but also analyses parties, political economy, religious revival, military politics, and non-state actors.

As a person who teaches Middle East politics, I recommend this book highly.

Superficial commercial treatment of complex issues
This is a book by another "specialist" on the Middle East that would appeal to the common denominator reader. In an attempt to cover a wide scope of countries and issues and histories, Roger Owen, a well-respected authority in the subject matter, churns out a shallow text that does not even start getting to the issues at hand. It is a dull read that follows a standard template for what a professor believes should be fed to undergraduate students.
Professor Owen dwells in 280 pages on state building and political parties and movements, but lacks insight into events at the beginning of the 20th century that contradict his conclusions. I would not recommend this book for serious readers of Middle East issues or history, but it is useful for those under duress to produce a term paper at college.
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Shrewd, witty, and highly readable, this concise, accessible analysis by a professor of International Relations at Oxford surveys the volatile politics of the Middle East--and the role the United States and other great powers are playing in the region. ... Read more

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Good Succint Intro to International Relations of Middle East
This book is a nice introduction to the great powers' influence on international relations of Middle Eastern countries. Surely, it offers a partial picture which is mostly about the role of great powers in shaping international relations in the Middle East. But it does a good job in doing what it does. Some of the stories and argumensts are so important for understanding contemporary conflicts in the Middle East. Here are some excerps from the books:

"The Ottoman Empire had provided a far from perfect political system, but it worked. During WWI Britain and it allies destroyed the old order in the Arabic-speaking Middle East without considering the long-term consequences."

"Nixon and Kissenger also aided the shah in his compaign to destabilize the Ba'ath regime in Baghdad. In 1972 they agreed to covert American-Israeli-Iranian action in support of the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq."

"[regarding Iran-Iraq war] Kissinger summed up the general preference when he indicated that the best outcome would be for both sides to lose."

"[The Iran-Iraq war] started as a result of rivalries inside rather than outside, but Reagan's intervention prolonged it unnecessarily."

"On July 31 [1990], three days before Iraqi troops charged into KuwaitJohn Kelly [the US assistant secretary of state for Near East and South Asian Affairs] testified on Capitol Hill that America had no treaty and no commitement obliging it to send forces should Kuwait be overrun."

"[The Gulf War] also demontrated that Americans are better at short, sharp burst of military intervention designed to restore the status quo than at sustained political engagement to resolve the undrlying origins of instability in the Middle East."

"Most of the American mistakes in the last half century can be traced to the combination of globalism and the Israel-first approach."

How the West and East relate to the Middle East
Rather than a concise history of the Middle East this book offers only 146 pages of brief summary of outside powers effects on the region.

This isn't a history of the Middle East, it's a history of how Europe, the US and the Soviet Union interacted with the Middle East. Though undeniably important in understanding the region, Western and Eastern relations with the Middle East are not the only reasons for studying it. There is more going on, far more, that Shlaim does not address, and it opens a large crediblility gap.

What is missing? A lot.

This might be a good book if it's only goal were to teach people a very concise history of Western and Eastern relations to the Middle East, so perhaps it is just poorly titled. The information that it did offer though seemed good enough, and it provided a fair overview of US relations with the Middle East, but I expected more and was dissapointed.

Unmissable classic - please bring out a new edition!
When this first came out I nearly missed it because it appeared too short to be anything but a simplistic popularised summary. Thank goodness I did start browsing, because not only did the style have me hooked, the argument's balance and lucidity, and (whatever Likudnik propagandists may say) the thoroughly scholarly grounding of the account, made me realise that here at last I had the perfect introductory text for the intelligent student entering upon a study of modern Middle Eastern history and politics. It has been a top recommendation in my final-year university course on Middle East politics ever since. The only frustration has been that, since it went out of print in the UK, my students have had to rey on the few library copies and my own. I shall now be directing them to Amazon to get their own copy - and order some more for the library.

The book somehow manages to synthesise a mass of historical detail and controversy into a straightforward but finely judged account, bringing out all the key themes and dynamics: this is not only a list of facts and events, but a compelling analysis. He brings to life especially well the interplay of external actors (especially Britain, France and the US) and regional factors (the calculations of regional elites, balancing between dynastic/regime ambitions and the constraints of the international environment;and in places the outbursts of popular anger against both regimes and outsiders - including against the influx of Jewish settlers and eventually the establishment of Israel).

The book wears its scholarship and erudition lightly - but it is perhaps only someone as thoroughly grounded in the disciplines of International Relations and History as is professor Shlaim, that could perform this feat with such apparent ease and elegance.

Serious scholars of the region, while perhaps willing to quibble with small details, will (and indeed do) agree about the author's mastery of the material and the soundness of his judgement. That he ties a number of observations to the historical analysis that have a political flavour about current events (e.g. about US foreign policy), does not make the historical analysis itself any less rewarding. Nor indeed can the conclusions regarding the current shape of the Palestine problem be dismissed (as happens in one or two of the other reviews on this site) except by those with the sorts of preconceived convictions (and political agendas?) that brook no challenge.

This is a little gem of a book, and one of those few that serve the wider public as well as the novice student of Middle Eastern affairs.Buy it and help persuade the publishers (and the author!) to bring out an updated edition for the mid-2000s!

Try some other book
Daniel Pipes said about this book:

"With uncommon skill, Shlaim has managed-in the confines of a very small volume with very large margins-to pack misjudgments, arrogance, and lack of sense into 1994's worst book on the Middle East."

Well, is that true?Probably.But just to show everyone that I am not only tolerant and soft-hearted, but generous, I'll give this book not just one, but two stars!

You see, there are plenty of facts in this small book.In addition to the misjudgments, arrogance, and lack of sense which it does indeed abound with.

Shlaim claims that the 1973 Yom Kippur War broke the diplomatic stalemate in the region and led to peace.He's not the only one to have said this.But I wouldn't consider saying something like this on a dare.I'd be laughed out of town! Could I say with a straight face that the way to start negotiations towards peace is to launch a war of aggression against a neighbor?No.And just how strong is the peace between Egypt and Israel anyway?Not very.It is more a cease-fire than a peace, with a constant barrage of anti-Israeli propaganda from the Egyptian side.

After that, we see Shlaim explain that land-poor Israel can have territory or peace.Really?I think it is more reasonable for those who want peace to permit land-poor nations to buy or keep something closer to their fair share of land.In my opinion, Israel is more likely to have both territory and peace or neither of them than one or the other.And the author says that Israel can have territory or American support.Again, this could well be a false choice.Even if Israel, for some reason, can not have both American support and territory, why ought one expect it to have American support if it does not have territory?

Shlaim sums up the problem of the Arabs versus the Jews.Security pleases the Jews.Fairness pleases the Arabs.I wish this were true.

Let's see.Fairness.Does that mean letting everyone, including Jews and Arabs, buy land throughout the region and keep it?Does that mean a Truth and Reconciliation session or two where the Arabs can apologize for their violence and aggression against Levantine Jews?Sounds fair to me!Shlaim is totally out of line to pretend that it is unfair to not steal Jewish land, or that it is unfair to allow Israel to stay on the map.

As for the Oslo peace accords, Shlaim praises them as the beginning of a new era.Plenty of people were extremely suspicious of Oslo.Shlaim was wrong here.And those who were suspicious of Oslo generally had the right reasons to be suspicious.I think that ought to make us more than a little suspicious of Shlaim.

Now, what does Shlaim recommend?It is simple.America is simply too much in favor of Israel!Shlaim thinks we need a more "even-handed" approach.And that (this was written before 9/11) America ought not "bolster Israel as a strategic partner in an unwinnable war against an imaginary Islamic threat."Wow.Imaginary.But unbeatable.Shlaim really took a strong view here.I think 9/11 showed that we're dealing with a real, not an imaginary threat.And in the long run, why shouldn't a war in favor of truth, justice, and human rights be winnable?I see no reason to give up without even trying.

If you want to learn about war and peace in the Middle East, try some other book.

Arab-Jewish Family Feud
The author is clearly an educated man but in places this book looks like neither he nor the publisher took time to give the manuscript a careful edit. For example, we read of a rumored attempt by Jimmy Carter to get the Iran hostage crisis resolved in time to strengthen his chances for reelection, and are told that George Bush, Reagan's V.P. candidate, called this Carter's "October Surprise". A few pages later, the author speaks of the "October Surprise" as a (again rumored) secret manipulation by Reagan to delay resolution of the crisis until after his own election-the second reference being nearly a direct opposite of the first, and one not fitting the name. There are also some grammatical errors, mostly near the end of the book.

Knowing that author grew up in Israel, we rather expected to see the subject treated with Jewish bias. Not so, happily. There is plenty of blame to go around, and Schlaim gives the Israel its (small) share while, from his opening sentence, reserving his severest criticism for outsiders:
"Ever since Napolean's expeditionary force landed in Egypt in 1798, the Middle East has been the object of rivalry among the great powers".

He's objective enough however, to give credit to Abdul Shafi, head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference in August,1990, for the eloquence and moderation of his position, contrasting it with that of Israel's Yitzhak Shamir.
"He [Shamir] used the platform to deliver the first ever Israel Bonds speech in front of an Arab audience. His version of the Arab-Israeli conflict was singularly narrow and blinkered, portraying Israel as the victim of Arab aggression, and refusing to acknowledge that any evolution had taken place in Arab or Palestinian attitudes"

For all its seriousness, we're treated to a laugh now and then.
"Ronald Reagan spent many sleepless afternoons in the White House worrying about the Soviet threat."
"Pope John Paul II is said to have described two solutions to the problems of the Middle East, one realistic, the other miraculous. The realistic solution would involve divine intervention, while the miraculous calls for the Arabs and Jews to resolve their differences."

The book's main shortcoming is that it leaves out a lot of things. There's also the problem of currency.Written ten years ago, it tells us nothing of the events leading up to the American invasion of Iraq.

If you have time for only a brief account of this subject, you'll not be disappointed in this book. Otherwise, try "Righteous Victims, A History of the Zionist-Arab conflict 1881-2001", by Benny Morris. Though longer, it's better in many ways.
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Tribes and State Formation is the first effort to bring together the disciplines of history, anthropology, and political science around a major topic that none of these alone is adequately equipped to address. How and why did certain tribal societies metamorphose over time into states? Scholars concerned with general questions of theory and methodology and the interaction of anthropology and history, as well as political scientists and sociologists concerned with concepts of the state in the Middle East and other developing regions, will be well served by this innovative work.
The articles by an array of distinguished scholars cover a wide range of topics: the relationship of ideology to tribal and state power, comparisons between different regional patterns of tribe-state interaction, historical case studies from North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran extending to the contemporary period; theoretical and methodological inquiries, and systematic reviews of the literature on tribes and states. The articles argue against a unilinear approach to the study of tribes and state formation by emphasizing that states often existed alongside tribes and even created tribes for their own purposes. Some case studies emphasize the incompatibility of states and tribalism, while others illustrate the many areas in which tribes actually enhanced rather than impeded state formation. ... Read more