Sunday, November 27, 2011

Current History "Middle East" issue: an excellent collection of articles


December 2011


Letter from Damascus: Will Syria Descend into Civil War?
by Sami Moubayed
“Many in the opposition are now saying the regime is stronger than they had imagined.”
The Palestinians’ Receding Dream of Statehood
by Nathan J. Brown
“The drama of international diplomacy has only obscured an ongoing, steady erosion of statehood as a focus of Palestinian aspirations.”
Uprisings Jolt the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry
by Frederic Wehrey
“Saudi and Iranian meddling aggravates a divisive, dangerous form of identity politics in fragile, vulnerable states.”
Islamism After the Arab Spring
by Ashraf El Sherif
“It makes no sense today to divide Arab politics into neatly crafted opposites, the ‘Islamist’ versus the ‘civil democratic’ blocs.”
The Middle East in Flux
by Michael C. Hudson
“The contagion effect created by the regime changes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya suggests a significant degree of imagined community among Arabs everywhere.”
Perspective: Libya’s Revolution: Do Institutions Matter?
by Michele Dunne
Libyans’ path toward democracy looks rocky, to be sure. But at least they have been spared the cynical, instrumental use of democratic institutions that Egyptians and Tunisians for decades endured.
Books: The Muslim World’s Counter-Jihad
by William W. Finan Jr.
A new book finds the sources of Arab unrest not only in fury at corrupt regimes and stagnant economies, but also in a popular culture that scorns Islamist extremism.

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