Current History, December 2014, "The Middle East"

CONTENTS

CURRENT HISTORY

December 2014 Vol. 113, No. 767

339 ISIS and the Third Wave of Jihadism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fawaz A. Gerges

The Islamic State has taken the world by surprise with its lightning offensives in Iraq and Syria. Understanding the group requires exploring its roots in the global jihadist movement.

344 The Saudi Thermidor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frederic Wehrey

Dissatisfied with Washington, Riyadh has undertaken an activist strategy for restoring regional order in its own image—but its forceful interventions abroad mask a deep domestic malaise.

350 The Silent Victory of the Israeli Settlers’ Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ami Pedahzur

Settlers have employed nonviolent tactics to penetrate the Israeli bureaucracy and change facts on the ground. Their fundamentalism, mirrored by Palestinian Islamists, has undermined hopes for peace.

356 Turkey at a Tipping Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny White

For more than a decade, the Islamic-rooted ruling party has overseen deep changes in Turkish society.  Now the prime minister’s authoritarian ways threaten to tear open old wounds.

362 Kurdish Nationalism’s Moment of Truth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Eppel

The Kurds have long been one of the world’s largest ethnic groups without a nation-state. The current

turmoil in the Middle East may finally create the conditions for their independence. Third in a series on resurgent nationalism around the world.

PERSPECTIVE

369 Obama’s Middle East Headaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Augustus Richard Norton

Barack Obama has tried to reduce American involvement in the region, but events keep pulling him

back in. Iraq and Syria are spiraling out of control, while allies only make things worse.

BOOKS

372 Syria in the Abyss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max Weiss

A new book by journalist Reese Erlich offers a tour of the hell that Syria has become, and an explanation of how it got there. To bring peace, he argues, foreign intervention must end.

THE MONTH IN REVIEW

374 October 2014

An international chronology of events in October, country by country, day by day.

375 2014 Current History Index