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Old Friday, July 17, 2009
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(1) Bernard Lewis, "The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years"
Scribner | 1995 | ISBN: 0684807122 | 465 pages | siPDF | 9.5 MB


As the birthplace of three religions as and many civilizations, the Middle East has for centuries been a center of knowledge and ideas, of techniques and commodities, and, at times, of military and political power. With the historical—and still growing—importance of the Middle East in modern politics, historian Bernard Lewis's cogent and scholarly writing brings a wider understanding of the cultures of the region to a popular audience.

In this immensely readable and broad history, Lewis charts the successive transformations of the Middle East, beginning with the two great empires, the Roman and the Persian, whose disputes divided the region two thousand years ago; the development of monotheism and the growth of Christianity; the astonishingly rapid rise and spread of Islam over a vast area; the waves of invaders from the East and the Mongol hordes of Jengiz Khan; the rise of the Ottoman Turks in Anatoia, the Mamluks in Egypt and the Safavids in Iran; the peak and decline of the great Ottoman states; and the changing balance of power between the Muslim and Christian worlds.

Within this narrative, Lewis details the myriad forces that have shaped the history of the Middle East: the Islamic religion and legal system; the traditions of government; the immense variety of trade and the remarkably wide range of crops; the elites—military, commercial, religious, intellectual and artistic—and the commonality, including such socially distinct groups as slaves, women and non-believers.

He finally weaves these threads together by looking at the pervasive impact in modern times of Western ideas and technology, and the responses and reactions they evoked. Rich with vivid detail and the knowledge of a great scholar, this brilliant survey of the history and civilizations of the Middle East reveals the huge Islamic contribution to European life, as well as the European contribution to the Islamic world.

From Booklist
For more than 50 years, Lewis has strived mightily and successfully to explain the cultures and histories of Middle Eastern peoples to Western readers. The task of writing a political history of the region has already been fulfilled by him and by many others. In his latest work, Lewis has chosen to accentuate the social, economic, and cultural changes that have occurred over 20 centuries. He ranges from seemingly trivial concerns (changes in dress and manners in an Arab coffeehouse) to earth-shaking events (the Mongol conquest of Mesopotamia) in painting a rich, varied, and fascinating portrait of a region that is steeped in traditionalism while often forced by geography and politics to accept change. As always, Lewis is eloquent, incisive, and displays an intuitive grasp of the social dynamics of the culture he describes. Both scholars and general readers with an interest in the Middle East will find this work a delight.

Contents
List of Maps
List of Illustrations
Preface
Illustrations

Part I – Introduction

Part II – Antecedents
1 Before Christianity
2 Before Islam

Part III – The Dawn and Noon of Islam
3 Origins
4 The 'Abbasid Caliphate
5 The Coming of the Steppe Peoples
6 The Mongol Aftermath
7 The Gunpowder Empires

Part IV – Cross-Sections
8 The State
9 The Economy
10 The Elites
11 The Commonalty
12 Religion and Law
13 Culture

Part V – The Challenge of Modernity
14 Challenge
15 Change
16 Response and Reaction
17 New Ideas
18 From War to War
19 From Freedom to Freedom

Notes
Bibliographical Note
Note on Calendars
Chronology
Maps
Index

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(2) World Conflicts: Asia and the Middle East
Salem Press | ISBN 158765136X | 2003 | PDF | 10.4 MB | 657 pages


Asia and the Middle East examines crisis areas in the nations of the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. This set applies a broad definition to "Middle East" to encompass the predominantly Muslim nations of both the eastern Mediterranean region and North Africa. This definition corresponds closely with the U.S. State Department's definition of "Near East." The thirty-four articles in World Conflicts: Asia and the Middle East are updated versions of articles that appeared in Salem Press's World Conflicts and Confrontations. Two of the articles cover broad regions (Middle East and Asia); the rest cover individual nations. Designed to meet the needs of students, faculty, and others seeking clear explanations of and background to what has been going on in the region's many troubled countries, the set identifies the "hot spots" and offers in-depth analyses of the countries facing difficult and dangerous problems that are of vital concern to the entire world. The nations covered in individual essays have been selected because of the intensity of their recent and current conflicts, as well as the roles they play in the world as a whole. The essays on Asia and the Middle East explore regional patterns, analyzing why some countries within the regions have been more prone to conflict than have others, and pointing up trends that may have implications for the future. Each essay opens with a statement summarizing the most pressing problems of the country, followed by an analysis of the origins, nature, and history of these problems. Basic facts and statistics pertaining to each country are summarized in boxed profiles. Moreover, every essay contains at least one map, a detailed time line of modern events, and a discussion of sources of further information, with special attention to the growing availability of the valuable online resources of the World Wide Web. Appendices include an article on U.N. Peacekeeping Operations; a glossary; a list of print and broadcast news sources that provide up-to-the-minute news on Asian and Middle Eastern affairs; and a list of nations arranged by conflict types.


(3) Arthur Goldschmidt & Lawrence Davidson, "A Concise History of the Middle East (8th Edition)"
Westview Press | 8th Edition | 2006 | ISBN: 0813342759 | 576 pages | siPDF | 10.1 MB


The eighth edition of Arthur Goldschmidt’s widely acclaimed text has been extensively revised to reflect the latest scholarship and the most recent events in the Middle East. As an introduction to the history of this turbulent region from the beginnings of Islam to the present day, the book is distinguished by its clear style, broad scope, and balanced treatment. Written for undergraduate college students, the text assumes no prior knowledge of Middle Eastern history. It focuses on the evolution of Islamic institutions and culture, the influence of the West, the modernization efforts of Middle Eastern governments, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the reassertion of Islamic values and power, the aftermath of the Gulf War, and issues surrounding the Palestinian Question. The eighth edition brings new discussion to the post-9/11 political developments and surveys terrorism in the Middle East, the Iraq War, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The list of contents is very long, so i decided to mention only main headings. I highly recommend this book.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Maps
Figures
Tables
Preface to the Eighth Edition

1 Introduction
What Is History?


2 The Middle East Before Muhammad


3 The Prophet of Mecca
Muhammad's Early Life

4 What Is Islam?
Basic Beliefs
God
Angels
Books
Messengers
Judgment Day
The Five Pillars of Islam
Witness (Shahadah)
Worship (Salat)
Fasting (Sawm)
Tithing (Zakat)
Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Other Duties and Prohibitions
Conclusion

5 The Early Arab Conquests
The Succession Issue

6 The High Caliphate
Restoration of the Umayyad Order
Abd al-Malik's Triumph
The Downfall of the Umayyads
The Abbasid Caliphate

7 Shi'is and Turks, Crusaders and Mongols

8 Islamic Civilization


9 Firearms, Slaves, and Empires
The Mamluks
The Mamluk Ruling System
The Decline of the Mamluks


10 European Interests and Imperialism
Ottoman Weakness

11 Westernizing Reform in the Nineteenth Century
Egypt
Napoleon's Occupation


12 The Rise of Nationalism
Egyptian Nationalism

13 The Roots of Arab Bitterness
Arab Nationalism


14 Modernizing Rulers in the Independent States


15 Egypt's Struggle for Independence
Britain's Role in Egypt


16 The Contest for Palestine
Origins


17 Israel's Rebirth and the Rise of Arab Nationalism
Israel's War for Independence


18 War and the Quest for Peace
The June 1967 War

19 The Reassertion of Islamic Power
Prefatory Remarks on Islam and Politics
The Iranian Revolution

20 The Gulf War and the Peace Process
The Gulf Crisis
Iraq's Complaints and Claims
Iraq's Annexation of Kuwait


21 The War on Terrorism
The Present in Historical Perspective
Survey of Terrorism

Chronology
Glossary
Bibliographic Essay
Appendix
Table A.1 Basic Statistics for Middle Eastern Countries
Table A.2 How Many Palestinians?
Index


(4) Patrick Tyler, "A World of Trouble: The White House and the Middle East--from the Cold War to the War on Terror"
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2009 | ISBN: 0374292892 | 640 pages | siPDF | 9.9 MB


The Middle East is the beginning and the end of U.S. foreign policy: events there influence our alliances, make or break presidencies, govern the price of oil, and draw us into war. But it was not always so—and as Patrick Tyler shows in this thrilling chronicle of American misadventures in the region, the story of American presidents’ dealings there is one of mixed motives, skulduggery, deceit, and outright foolishness, as well as of policymaking and diplomacy.

Tyler draws on newly opened presidential archives to dramatize the approach to the Middle East across U.S. presidencies from Eisenhower to George W. Bush. He takes us into the Oval Office and shows how our leaders made momentous decisions; at the same time, the sweep of this narrative—from the Suez crisis to the Iran hostage crisis to George W. Bush’s catastrophe in Iraq—lets us see the big picture as never before. Tyler tells a story of presidents being drawn into the affairs of the region against their will, being kept in the dark by local potentates, being led astray by grasping subordinates, and making decisions about the internal affairs of countries they hardly understand. Above all, he shows how each president has managed to undo the policies of his predecessor, often fomenting both anger against America on the streets of the region and confusion at home.

A World of Trouble is the Middle East book we need now: compulsively readable, free of cant and ideology, and rich in insight about the very human challenges a new president will face as he or she tries to restore America’s standing in the region.

From Publishers Weekly
In this epic, remarkably readable history of U.S. involvement in the Middle East from Eisenhower to Bush II, Washington Post reporter Tyler uses an up-close, journalistic style to depict the power struggles and compromises that have defined the past half-century. Tyler focuses on key turning points in U.S.–Middle East relations and documents the conversations and real-time decision-making processes of the presidents, cabinet members and other key figures. Readers are treated to an intimate view of Eisenhower's careful, steady diplomacy during the Suez crisis, Kissinger's egocentric and fateful decision to fully arm Israel in the October war of 1973 while Nixon struggled through the Watergate scandal, and the tangled web of communication and intentional deceit during the Reagan administration that led to the Iran-Contra scandal. Tyler makes the issues and relationships clear without resorting to oversimplification or ideological grandstanding, and his journalistic instincts steer him toward direct quotation and telling anecdotes rather than generalization. Readers in the market for an examination of how leadership has embroiled the U.S. in the Middle East are well-advised to consult this riveting text.

Contents

“ List of Illustrations
Prologue: America in the Middle East
1 The Arab Awakening: Eisenhower, Nasser, and Suez
2 The Six-Day War: Johnson and Israel
3 Nixon and Brezhnev: Cold War and International Terror
4 Nixon and Kissinger: Yom Kippur—The October War
5 Jimmy Carter: Camp David and the Struggle with Menachem Begin
6 Carter and the Shah: Khomeini's Revolution
7 The Shame of Lebanon: Reagan's Warriors in the Middle East
8 The Iran-Contra Affair: The Clash of Saudi and Israeli Influence
9 Nebuchadnezzar-Land: Saddam Hussein and the Persian Gulf War
10 Bill Clinton: Tilting at Peace, Flailing at Saddam
11 Clinton: Flight from Terror; Lost Peace
12 George W. Bush: A World of Trouble
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index


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(5) Spies in Arabia: The Great War and the Cultural Foundations of Britain's Covert Empire in the Middle East By Priya Satia
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA | ISBN: 0195331419 | edition 2008 | PDF | 472 pages | 2 mb



At the dawn of the twentieth century, British intelligence agents began to venture in increasing numbers to the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire, a region of crucial geopolitical importance spanning present-day Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. They were drawn by the twin objectives of securing the land route to India and finding adventure and spiritualism in a mysterious and ancient land. But these competing desires created a dilemma: how were they to discreetly and patriotically gather facts in a region they were drawn to for its legendary inscrutability and by the promise of fame and escape from Britain?
In this groundbreaking book, Priya Satia tracks the intelligence community's tactical grappling with this problem and the myriad cultural, institutional, and political consequences of their methodological choices during and after the Great War. She tells the story of how an imperial state in thrall to the cultural notions of equivocal agents and beset by an equally captivated and increasingly assertive mass democracy invented a wholly new style of "covert empire" centered on the world's first brutal aerial surveillance regime in Iraq. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources--from the fictional to the recently declassified--this book explains how Britons reconciled genuine ethical scruples with the actual violence of their Middle Eastern empire. As it vividly demonstrates how imperialism was made fit for an increasingly democratic and anti-imperial world, what emerges is a new interpretation of the military, cultural, and political legacies of the Great War and of the British Empire in the twentieth century.



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(6) Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945 (The Making of the Contemporary World)
Routledge | 192 pages | 2003 | ISBN: 0415317878 | PDF | 1.7 mb



Since the Second World War, conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War and the Kuwait Crisis have made the Middle East the main focus of military attention. Conflicts in the Middle East analyzes the nature of conflict in the Middle East, with its racial, ethnic,political, cultural, religious and economic factors.

Giving a much-needed historical overview, the main conflicts are also put in their wider context with a thematic debate of issues such
as
* The emergence of radical Islam
* The resolution of conflicts
* Diplomacy and peace-making
* The role of the superpowers.

The new edition brings the book up to date and includes an examination of the effects of 9/11 on the Middle East Process and Bush's war on terrorism. Also included is an extended chronology and an updated bibliography.Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945 is an indispensable introduction to modern Middle Eastern history for undergraduates and the general reader alike.


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(7) Christopher Catherwood - A Brief History of the Middle East: From Abraham to Arafat (Brief History Series)
Pages:400 | PDF | Running Pr Book Publ (16. Oktober 2006) | ISBN 0786717009 | 4 MB



In The Brief History of the Middle East author Christopher Catherwood attempts to show how our entire world is ultimately shaped by events that have unfolded or have their origin in the Middle East. Catherwood insists that, unless we allow ignorance to blind uswhich to a certain extent it already hasthe Middle East must not be viewed as "some strange place over there. " Three of the world's major organized religionsJudaism, Christianity, and Islamall stem from the area, as do defining civilizations from Ancient Egypt to Babylonia. Catherwood examines this storied region through the lens of the present by asking these questions. How did the Palestinian issue arise? Why does Osama bin Laden harp on the glories of Moorish Spain? Why did Islamic extremism come to be a substitute for Arab socialist nationalism for so many? Today's headlines have clear historical explanations, and The Brief History of the Middle East will bring that concept into focus


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(8) Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East
Oxford University Press | ISBN 0195182537 | 2005 | PDF | 2 MB | 438 pages



Bernard Lewis is recognized around the globe as one of the leading authorities on Islam. Hailed as "the world's foremost Islamic scholar" (Wall Street Journal), as "a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world" (Baltimore Sun), and as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies" (New York Times), Lewis is nothing less than a national treasure, a trusted voice that politicians, journalists, historians, and the general public have all turned to for insight into the Middle East. Now, this revered authority has brought together writings and lectures that he has written over four decades, featuring his reflections on Middle Eastern history and foreign affairs, the Iranian Revolution, the state of Israel, the writing of history, and much more.

The essays cover such urgent and compelling topics as "What Saddam Wrought," "Deconstructing Osama and His Evil Appeal," "The Middle East, Westernized Despite Itself," "The Enemies of God," and "Can Islam Be Secularized?" The collection ranges from two English originals of articles published before only in foreign languages, to previously unpublished writings, to his highly regarded essays from publications such as Foreign Affairs and The New York Review of Books. With more than fifty pieces in all, plus a new introduction to the book by Lewis, this is a valuable collection for everyone interested in the Middle East. Here then is a rich repository of wisdom on one of the key areas of the modern world--a wealth of profound reflections on Middle Eastern history, culture, politics, and current events.


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(9) John J. Mearsheimer & Stephen M. Walt, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy"
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | ISBN: 0374177724 | 2007 | 496 pages | PDF | 13.1 MB


The Israel Lobby,” by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy.

Now in a work of major importance, Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent developments in Lebanon and Iran. They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. Mearsheimer and Walt provocatively contend that the lobby has a far-reaching impact on America’s posture throughout the Middle East—in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and the policies it has encouraged are in neither America’s national interest nor Israel’s long-term interest. The lobby’s influence also affects America’s relationship with important allies and increases dangers that all states face from global jihadist terror.

Writing in The New York Review of Books, Michael Massing declared, “Not since Foreign Affairs magazine published Samuel Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’ in 1993 has an academic essay detonated with such force.” The publication of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is certain to widen the debate and to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Expanding on their notorious 2006 article in the London Review of Books, the authors increase the megatonnage of their explosive claims about the malign influence of the pro-Israel lobby on the U.S. government. Mearsheimer and Walt, political scientists at the University of Chicago and Harvard, respectively, survey a wide coalition of pro-Israel groups and individuals, including American Jewish organizations and political donors, Christian fundamentalists, neo-con officials in the executive branch, media pundits who smear critics of Israel as anti-Semites and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, which they characterize as having an almost unchallenged hold on Congress.

This lobby, they contend, has pressured the U.S. government into Middle East policies that are strategically and morally unjustifiable: lavish financial subsidies for Israel despite its occupation of Palestinian territories; needless American confrontations with Israel's foes Syria and Iran; uncritical support of Israel's 2006 bombing of Lebanon, which violated the laws of war; and the Iraq war, which almost certainly would not have occurred had [the Israel lobby] been absent. The authors disavow conspiracy mongering, noting that the lobby's activities constitute legitimate, if misguided, interest-group politics, as American as apple pie. Considering the authors' academic credentials and the careful reasoning and meticulous documentation with which they support their claims, the book is bound to rekindle the controversy.

Contents


Part I: The United States, Israel, and the Lobby
1 The Great Benefactor
2 Israel: Strategic Asset or Liability?
3 A Dwindling Moral Case
4 What Is the "Israel Lobby"?
5 Guiding the Policy Process
6 Dominating Public Discourse

Part II: The Lobby in Action
Introduction to Part II
7 The Lobby Versus the Palestinians
8 Iraq and Dreams of Transforming the Middle East
9 Taking Aim at Syria
10 Iran in the Crosshairs
11 The Lobby and the Second Lebanon War
Conclusion: What Is to Be Done?



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(10) Mario Liverani, "Israel's History and the History of Israel" (BibleWorld)
Equinox Publishing Ltd (2007) | English | ISBN: 1845533410 | 450 pages | PDF | 11.6 MB


One of Italy's foremost experts on antiquity addresses a new issue surrounding the birth of Israel and its historic reality. Many a tale has been told of ancient Israel, but all tales are alike in their quotation of the biblical story in its narrative scheme, despite its historic unreliability. This book completely rewrites the history of Israel through the evaluation of textual and literary critiques as well as archaeological and epigraphic findings. Conceived along the lines of modern historical methodology, it traces the textual material to the times of its creation, reconstructs the temporal evolution of political and religious ideologies, and firmly inserts the history of Israel into its ancient-oriental context.


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(11) Beyond Oslo, The Struggle for Palestine: Inside the Middle East Peace Process from Rabin's Death to Camp David By Ahmed Qurie
Publisher: I. B. Tauris | ISBN: 1845119460 | edition 2008 | PDF | 320 pages | 2,7 mb



With new talks in the Middle East Peace Process about to begin, the shadows of previous negotiations fall heavily across all involved. In this powerful and absorbing testimony, one of leading figures of the Oslo talks, former Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie (‘Abu Ala’) takes us behind closed doors and inside the negotiating rooms of Wye River, Stockholm and Camp David, where the terms of peace and a Palestinian state were sketched out, argued over, and eventually lost. Larger than life figures emerge from the minutes of these dramatic meetings-- released here for the first time. Qurie recounts both the Israelis’ intractability and the dynamic inside the Palestinian camp with candor and insight. This indispensable first-hand account provides a completely new perspective on the history, issues and personalities that will determine the future of the Middle East.


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(12) Political Islam: Essays from Middle East Report (Merip Reader) By Joel Beinin, Joe Stork Publisher: University of California Press 1996 | 383 Pages | ISBN: 0520204484 | PDF | 1.7 MB


The essays and case studies collected here--featuring some of the best material from Middle East Report over the past decade as well as much original material--challenge the facile generalizations about what Western media and political establishments usually call "Islamic fundamentalism." The authors demonstrate the complexity of these movements and offer complementary and contrasting interpretations of their origins and significance. The material included covers a broad range of themes--including democracy and civil society, gender relations and popular culture--as they have emerged in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa.


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(13) Camron Amin, Benjamin C. Fortna, Elizabeth B. Frierson "The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook "Oxford University Press | 2006-05-12 | ISBN: 0199262098 | 704 pages | PDF | 5 MB


The Modern Middle East is a collection of translated sources covering the period from 1700 to the present. Sources include official and private archives, the periodical press, memoirs, western journalists' and travellers' accounts, literature, and official reports (including statistical data). Each document has been prefaced, translated and annotated by a specialist in the particular history and culture from which it was drawn. Enough information is provided so that every student can appreciate the value of a document and begin a further exploration either of its specific historical context or its relationship to broader themes in modern Middle Eastern history, whilst scholars will find it of value for its use in teaching and discussion. Themes covered include the expansion of state power, changing gender roles, religious revival, nationalist mobilization, increasing participation in a wider global culture and economy, and the redefinition of traditions and identities.



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(14) Dietrich Jung - The Middle East and Palestine: Global Politics and Regional Conflict Palgrave Macmillan | 2004 | ISBN: 1403964149 | Pages: 256 | PDF | 5.37 MB


Taking issue with the convenient views that the Middle East is an irrational and exceptional region of world politics and that the long and bloody history of the Palestine conflict is proof, the authors of this stimulating collection combine theoretical reflection and empirical investigation, marrying International Relations theory and Middle East studies. Through integrating macro- and micro-perspectives, tracing the interaction of global and regional environments with individuals pursuing political goals, this book rejects the cultural stereotype of "Middle Eastern exceptionalism" and argues that regional patterns of conflict are deeply embedded in international and transnational relations and that their particular trajectories have to be interpreted in the light of global political developments.


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(15) David Seddon “A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East"
Routledge | 2004-12-16 | ISBN: 1857432126 | 320 pages | PDF | 2,92 MB



A definitive guide to the economics and politics of the Middle East.
This title provides clear definitions detailing terms, concepts, names and organizations used in relation to current economic or political affairs in the Middle East. Entries define, explain and give further relevant information on countries, regions, ethnic groups, political parties, organizations, policies and disputes.
Definitions include:
* Abu Jahid
* Baath Party
* Balfour Declaration
* The Camp David Agreement
* Golan Heights
* Hawal
* Kurdistan
* The Polisario Front
* Sharon
* Zionism
This unique collection of mini essays provides an invaluable background to an area at the forefront of international affairs. Coverage spans the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kurdistan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Autonomous Areas, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.



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(16) Vassilis K. Fouskas, "Zones Of Conflict: US Foreign Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle East"
Publisher: Pluto Press | 2003 | ISBN 0745320309 | PDF | 184 pages | 1.7 MB


The US has several major interests in the Balkans, the Greater Middle East and the wide Eurasian zone, which determine its political and military strategies in the region. What are these interests, and what strategies are used to ensure that they are maintained? Examining the balance of power between the US, the EU and key EU states in the region, Vassilis Fouskas offers a critique of US foreign policy and its underlying motivations. He argues that the major US objectives include control over gas and oil producing zones; safe transportation of energy to Western markets at stable prices; and the elimination, but not destruction, of America's Eurasian competitors. He asserts that US foreign policy is therefore driven by the desire to maintain a strategic partnership with key EU states, while preventing the emergence of an alternative coalition in Eurasia capable of challenging US supremacy. Has US foreign policy undergone a dramatic U-turn after the end of the Cold War or, for that matter, after September 11th? This book tackles such questions and argues that the emergence of a social democratic administration in Eurasia is a feasible alternative to American unilateralism.



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(17) Martin Sieff , "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East"
Regnery Publishing (January 28, 2008) | ISBN-10: 1596980516 | 230 Pages | PDF | 61,2 MB



In this informative, iconoclastic book, veteran foreign correspondent Martin Sieff offers a jaw-dropping survey of the history and politics of a region that people know surprisingly little about--even though it's never off the front pages of the morning papers.

In The Politically Incorrect Guideâ„¢ to the Middle East you'll learn:

Why Islamic fundamentalism isn't ancient--making it more dangerous;

Why the Saudis are part of the solution, not the problem;

Why democracy and a Marshall Plan for the Middle East would only make things worse;

Why Arab-Israeli peace is impossible; and

Why we'll miss the old Arab dictators when they're gone--because the alternative is Islamic fundamentalism


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(18) David Ryan, "Vietnam in Iraq: Lessons, Legacies and Ghosts (Contemporary Security Studies)"
Publisher: Routledge | ISBN: 0415405629 | edition: 2006 | PDF | 240 Pages | 1,5 Mb


The Vietnam War has exerted a considerable influence over US foreign policy, its method of engagement, and its sense of credibility, military tactics and overall strategic initiatives since 1969. The Bush administration's intervention in Iraq 2003 departed significantly from the accumulated lessons acquired since the 1970's. Though Vietnam has been a frequent point of reference in regional conflict, various facets of that war have returned with even more frequency and persistence both within the United States, Iraq and elsewhere. This book aims:
-To examine the impact of the Vietnam analogy on the war in Iraq
-To assess the military tactical lessons that were learned from the Vietnam War
-To examine the broader strategic lessons and the US concern with their credibility in fighting 'ground wars'.
-To examine the influence and persistence of Vietnam's legacy in US politics, culture and diplomacy and its ability to continue to exert influence on Washington's tactics.
-To examine the impact of US foreign policy on both Vietnam and Iraq.


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(19) Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran
Not Avail | ISBN 158487211X | 2005-01 | PDF | 314 pages | 1.2 MB


As Iran edges closer to acquiring a nuclear bomb and its missiles extend an ever darker diplomatic shadow over the Middle East and Europe, Iran is likely to pose three threats. First, Iran could dramatically up the price of oil by interfering with the free passage of vessels in and through the Persian Gulf as it did during the l980s or by threatening to use terrorist proxies to target other states oil facilities. Second, it could diminish American influence in the Gulf and Middle East by increasing the pace and scope of terrorist activities against Iraq, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, Israel, and other perceived supporters of the United States. Finally, it could become a nuclear proliferation model for the world and its neighbors (including many states that otherwise would be more dependent on the United States for their security) by continuing to insist that it has a right to make nuclear fuel under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and then withdrawing once it decides to get a bomb. To contain and deter Iran from posing such threats, the United States and its friends could take a number of steps: increasing military cooperation (particularly in the naval sphere) to deter Iranian naval interference; reducing the vulnerability of oil facilities in the Gulf outside of Iran to terrorist attacks, building and completing pipelines in the lower Gulf region that would allow most of the non-Iranian oil and gas in the Gulf to be exported without having to transit the Straits of Hormuz; diplomatically isolating Iran by calling for the demilitarization of the Straits and adjacent islands, creating country-neutral rules against Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty state members who are suspected of violating the treaty.


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(20) Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs By Ray Takeyh
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA | ISBN: 0195327845 | edition 2009 | PDF | 328 pages | 1,08 mb


For over a quarter century, Iran has been one of America's chief nemeses. Ever since Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah in 1979, the relationship between the two nations has been antagonistic: revolutionary guards chanting against the Great Satan, Bush fulminating against the Axis of Evil, Iranian support for Hezbollah, and President Ahmadinejad blaming the U.S. for the world's ills.
The unending war of words suggests an intractable divide between Iran and the West, one that may very well lead to a shooting war in the near future. But as Ray Takeyh shows in this accessible and authoritative history of Iran's relations with the world since the revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans is a nation that is far more pragmatic--and complex--than many in the West have been led to believe. Takeyh explodes many of our simplistic myths of Iran as an intransigently Islamist foe of the West. Tracing the course of Iranian policy since the 1979 revolution, Takeyh identifies four distinct periods: the revolutionary era of the 1980s, the tempered gradualism following the death of Khomeini and the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1989, the "reformist" period from 1997-2005 under President Khatami, and the shift toward confrontation and radicalism since the election of President Ahmadinejad in 2005.



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(21) Roger Howard "Iran Oil: The New Middle East Challenge to America"
I. B. Tauris | 2007-01-09 | ISBN: 1845112490 | 272 pages | PDF | 4,3 MB


The US sees itself as being locked into a confrontation with Iran, its number one enemy since the invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. But, as Roger Howard argues in this compelling and provocative new book, by attempting to isolate Iran, the US may in fact be undermining its own power. Furthermore, because of US trade embargoes on Iran, it is only the US's rivals, such as China, who are able to fully exploit Iran's natural resources, thus powering a new alliance of countries which will act as a counterweight to US global power. By pursuing such a hostile agenda to a country with so much petro-clout, America is, according to Howard, writing its obituary as the world's only superpower.


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