Pakistan - with its political instability, vociferous Islamic community, pressing economic and social problems, access to nuclear weapons, and proximity to Afghanistan - stands at the very center of global attention. Can General Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, control the forces that helped create the Taliban in Afghanistan? In this book, journalist Owen Bennett Jones looks at Pakistan's …
When Zionist leaders formulated the "Iron Wall" strategy in the 1920s they hoped that Israel would be able to make peace with its Arab neighbours. This has been an elusive hope. In this text, Shlaim explores the reason for Israel's long reliance on military power in the absence of a settlement.
Melamed considers all the major power players in the Middle East, explains the underlying issues, and creates a three-dimensional picture, an illustration that connects the dots and provides a fascinating roadmap. He elucidates developments such as the Arab Spring, the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood, the rise of ISIS, the epic Sunni-Shiite animosity, the essence of the war in Syria, the rol…
Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Consensus document of the Shramaya/United Nations University South Asian perspectives group on nation building in Sri Lanka 3. Political crisis 4. Identity conflicts 5. Nation-building: A Muslim perspectives 6. Plantation-village integration 7. Nation building through the process of constitutional reform
Insightful, penetrating, and shocking, the defining biography of Iraq's deposed tyrant Drawing on an unparalleled network of sources, contacts, and firsthand testimonies, Con Coughlin takes us to the center of Saddam Hussein's complex, bewildering regime and beyond. Coughlin examines Hussein's regime both before and after its fall, exploring the contradictions of Saddam's private life: his s…
The Middle East is notorious in the West for many reasons, few of them are positive. Synonymous with terrorism, oil riches, bad governance, corruption, and conflict, it has led many Western commentators to write it off as both backward and insular. In this pioneering introduction, Oxford University's Philip Robins argues that the region is plagued by the same problems that afflict the rest of …
After five centuries of colonial rule, Sri Lanka became independent in 1948 and the Republic was founded in 1972. An interesting ethnic mix coexists in the country including 74% Sinhalese, 12.6% Tamil, 5.5 % of Indian Tamils, 7.1% of Moors and 0.3% of Malaysians (also Muslims), 0.3 of "Burghers" (citizens of European origin) and 0.3% of other origins. The four main religions are represented in …
Involved for over thirty years in the politics of Iraq, Ali A. Allawi (the former Minister of Defense and Finance) was a long-time opposition leader against the Baathist regime. In the post-Saddam years he has held important government positions and participated in crucial national decisions and events. In this book, the former Minister of Defense and Finance draws on his unique personal experi…
Although Pakistan achieved independence in 1947, it still has not succeeded in integrating its diverse peoples into a nation as its short yet turbulent history vividly demonstrates. The nation's search for stability is traced in this new introduction to Pakistan's political, economic and social development. New chapters detail political developments since 1991, including the elections of 1993 a…
In 1979, seemingly overnight, moving at a clip some thirty years faster than the rest of the world, Iran became the first revolutionary theocracy in modern times. Since then, the country has been largely a black box to the West, a sinister presence looming over the horizon. But inside Iran, a breathtaking drama has unfolded since then, as religious thinkers, political operatives, poets, journal…