Current History, December 2013

For those of you who might be interested, here is a link to my just published piece on Egypt on the return of the "deep state" from Current History, Dec. 2013. 

Here is the table of contents:

How the Syrian Regime Outsmarted Its Enemies by Reinoud Leenders (King’s College London)

Flexibly adapting to changing circumstances and unleashing ruthless violence, Bashar al-Assad has clung to power and demonstrated how dangerous it is to underestimate him.

The Return of Egypt’s Deep State by Augustus Richard Norton (Boston University)

Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood were political naïfs, but they never really had a chance against a bureaucratic behemoth determined to protect its privileges.

Is US-Iran Détente Possible? by Mohsen Milani (University of South Florida)

In the months since President Hassan Rouhani’s election, he has signaled his intention to seek normalized relations with Washington. Can he overcome internal obstacles?

Iraq Faces the Brink Again by Kenneth M. Pollack (Brookings Institution)

Fragile and too important to ignore, Iraq could revert to all-out civil war. But restraining factors, including converging US and Iranian interests, might keep the peace.

Propaganda and Power in the Middle East by Emile Nakhleh (University of New Mexico)

Autocrats pervert soft power in the region by peddling the unpersuasive message that all political opponents are terrorists or tools of foreign plots. Third in a series on soft power around the world.

Storms of the Arab Spring by Michele Dunne (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Three years ago, the Arab people rose up to demand bread, dignity, and freedom. While reactionary forces have proven resilient, there is no going back to the old status quo.

What Arabs Think by William W. Finan Jr. (Current History)

In his new book, Shibley Telhami analyzes extensive polling data from the Middle East, finding that public opinion embraces regional uprisings but dwells on old grievances.