The Middle East Journal articles from September 2007

The Middle East Journal archives from September 2007

Hermann Frederick Eilts, 1922-2006.(Editor's Note)(Obituary)
September 22, 2007... This issue is dedicated to the memory of Ambassador Hermann Frederick Eilts, who died in October 2006. The articles were selected through our normal peer review process, but reflect subject areas related to Eilts' career as both a diplomat and...

Israeli policy towards the occupied Palestinian territories: the economic dimension, 1967-2007.(Report)
September 22, 2007... This article focuses on the economic dimension of Israeli policy towards the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. The article argues that since 1967, both before and after the Oslo process, Israeli policy was directed at preventing the...

Lions tamed? An inquiry into the causes of de-radicalization of armed Islamist movements: the case of the Egyptian Islamic Group.(Report)
September 22, 2007... This article examines the factors that may lead previously radical and militant Islamist movements to de-radicalize, and in so doing alter their ideologies, strategies, and objectives. In particular it will focus on the process of...

Conflict and cooperation in the Persian Gulf: the interregional order and US policy.(Report)
September 22, 2007... For decades, the regional order in the Gulf was shaped by a triangle formed by Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. If one of them gained too much weight, the other two tried to compensate. Yet the 2003 Iraq War has created an entirely new situation...

Attitudes towards violence against women in Kuwait.(Report)
September 22, 2007... This study reports on attitudes of a sample of 474 college-educated Kuwaiti citizens towards violence against women. Four constructs were examined, namely: 1) social aspects of violence against women; 2) socio-economic status/educational...

Between reality and secrecy: Israel's freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, 1956-1967.(Report)
September 22, 2007... Following the Suez War, Israel defined any interference with its freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran as a casus belli. Despite acceptance by the international community, Egypt's opposed position remained intact. Hence, to prevent...

Chronology: April 16, 2007-August 15, 2007.(Chronology)
September 22, 2007... Arab-Israeli Conflict See also Israel, Palestinian Affairs Apr. 24: For the first time since November 2006, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, fired almost 100 rockets and mortars into Israel. The group...

Civil-military relations in Israel.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Defense and Diplomacy in Israel's National Security Experience: Tactics, Partnership and Motives, by David Rodman. Brighton, UK and Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. ix + 122 pages. Notes to p. 144. Bibl. to p. 151. Index to p. 160....

Iran: A People Interrupted.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Iran: A People Interrupted, by Hamid Dabashi. New York: The New Press, 2007. xii + 263 pages. Notes to p. 311. Index to p. 324. $26.95. In Iran: A People Interrupted, Hamid Dabashi looks at Iranian history over the past two centuries (i.e.,...

Iraq: People, History, Politics.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Iraq: People, History, Politics, by Gareth Stansfield. Cambridge, UK, and Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2007. xv + 208 pages. Notes to p. 220. Chron. to p. 228. Internet links to p. 231. Bibl. to p. 248. Index to p. 262. $22.95 paper. Gareth...

A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja, by Joost R. Hiltermann. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xxvi + 246 pages. Notes to p. 268. Bibl. to p. 281. Interview list to p. 292. Index to p. 314....

The Origins of the American-Israeli Alliance: The Jordanian Factor.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Origins of the American-Israeli Alliance: The Jordanian Factor, by Abraham Ben-Zvi. New York and London, UK: Routledge, 2007. xiii + 83 pages. Notes to p. 102. Sel. bibl. to p. 106. Index to p. 111. $110. Abraham Ben-Zvi's new study is...

Hezbollah: A Short History.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Hezbollah: A Short History, by Augustus Richard Norton. Princeton, NJ and Oxford, UK: Princeton University Press, 2007. vi + 159 pages. Gloss. to p. 162. Additional reading to p. 167. Sources cited to p. 171. Index to p. 183. $16.95. ...

Everyday Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam among Palestinians in Lebanon.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Everyday Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam among Palestinians in Lebanon, by Bernard Rougier. Tr. by Pascale Ghazali. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. x + 279 pages. Notes to p. 316. Acknowledgments. Index to p. 333. $28.95. ...

Colonial Madness: Psychiatry in French North Africa.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Colonial Madness: Psychiatry in French North Africa, by Richard C. Keller. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. vii + 294 pages. Notes to p. 255. Bibl. to p. 285. Index to p. 294. $70. In this ambitious, wide-ranging, and...

Civil Society and Political Change in Morocco.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Civil Society and Political Change in Morocco, by James N. Sater. Abingdon, Oxon, UK and New York: Routledge, 2007. xiii + 169 pages. Abbrevs. Notes to p. 191. Bibl to p. 209. Index to p. 212. $120. This book's analysis of political change,...

Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Amazigh Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity, by Cynthia J. Becker. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2006. xiii +194 pages. Appendix to p. 199. Notes to p. 210. Bibl. to p. 217. Index to p. 225. $45. Cynthia Becker's...

Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony?(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony? by Toby Shelley. London, UK and New York: Zed Books, in association with War and Want, 2004. 192 pages. $27.95. The Western Sahara issue is one of the world's most...

Zenana: Everyday Peace in a Karachi Apartment Building.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Zenana: Everyday Peace in a Karachi Apartment Building, by Laura A. Ring. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press 2006. 82 pages. Gloss. to p. 184. Notes to p. 192. Bibl. to p. 201. Index to p. 211. $55. Laura A. Ring's study of social...

Glimpses into the Corridors of Power.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Glimpses into the Corridors of Power, by Gohar Ayub Khan. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2007. viii + 354 pages. Photos. BP 11.99. In 2007 both Mohammad Ayub Khan (the father) and Gohar Ayub Khan (the son) have had books published that...

The Palestinian Peasant Economy under the Mandate: A Story of Colonial Bungling.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Palestinian Peasant Economy Under the Mandate: A Story of Colonial Bungling, by Amos Nadan. Cambridge, MA and London, UK: Harvard University Press, 2006. xl + 341 pages. Bibl. to p. 361. Index to p. 370. $19.95. In the last quarter...

Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement, by Zaki Chehab. New York: Nation Books, 2007. xi + 227 pages. Notes to p. 236. Index to p. 244. $25.95. Zaki Chehab's book Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant...

The Political Culture of Leadership in the United Arab Emirates.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Political Culture of Leadership in the United Arab Emirates, by Andrea B. Rugh. New York: Palgrave, 2007. xiii + 236 pages. Map. Notes to p. 249. Bibl. to p. 253. Index to p. 269. $69.95. Andrea Rugh has produced an in-depth study of...

A Tribal Order: Politics and Law in the Mountains of Yemen.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... A Tribal Order: Politics and Law in the Mountains of Yemen, by Shelagh Weir. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2007. xviii + 314 pages. Map. Appends. to p. 342. Notes to p. 354. Gloss. to p. 358. Bibl. to p. 374. Index to p. 390. $50. ...

Son of the Cypresses: Memories, Reflections, and Regrets from a Political Life.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Son of the Cypresses: Memories, Reflections, and Regrets from a Political Life, by Meron Benvenisti. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2007.233 pages. Notes to p. 239. Index to p. 253. $27.50. This deeply...

The Shia Revival.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Shia Revival, by Vali Nasr. New York and London, UK: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 254 pages. Notes to p. 268. Acknowledgments to p. 270. Index to p. 287. About the author. $25.95 cloth; $14.95 paper. In The Shia Revival, which is a...

Syria and Saudi Arabia: Collaboration and Conflicts in the Oil Era.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Syria and Saudi Arabia: Collaboration and Conflicts in the Oil Era, by Sonoko Sunayama. London, UK and New York: Tauris Academic Studies, 2007. viii + 223 pages. Notes to p. 240. Bibl. to p. 258. Index to p. 269. $79.95. When the Syrian...

Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I, by Edward J. Erickson. New York and London, UK: Routledge, 2007. xiv + 167 pages. Appends. to p. 182. Notes to p. 216. Sel. bibl. to p. 230. Index to p. 236. $125. Building on an earlier work, (1)...

The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change, by Muhammad Qasim Zaman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. xv + 191 pages. Notes to p. 257. Gloss to p. 262. Bibl. to p. 286. Index to p. 293. $37.95 cloth; $19.95 paper. ...

Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn, by Asef Bayat. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007. xviii + 176 pages. Journals cited to p. 209. Notes to p. 211. Bibl. to p. 255. Index to p. 275. $55. This...

The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant.(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Sword of Persia: Nadir Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant, by Michael Axworthy. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2006. xx +286 pages. Maps. Illust. Notes to p. 328. Sel. bibl. to p. 337. Index to p. 348. $24.50. In ten...

Terror in the Holy Land: Inside the Anguish of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.(ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Terror in the Holy Land: Inside the Anguish of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, ed. by Judy Kuriansky. Westport, CT and London, UK: Praeger, 2006. xv + 261 pages. Index to p. 269. $49.95. Judy Kuriansky assembles over 30 essays from prominent...

Victory for Us is to See You Suffer: In the West Bank with the Palestinians and the Israelis.(ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Victory for Us is to See You Suffer: In the West Bank with the Palestinians and the Israelis, by Philip C. Winslow. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2007. xxii + 217 pages. Notes to p. 224. $24.95. This book by veteran journalist Philip Winslow...

Armenian Identity in a Changing World.(ARMENIANS)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Armenian Identity in a Changing World, by Levon Abrahamian. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc., 2006. xv + 353 pages. Bibl. to p. 387. Index to p. 406. $35 paper. Abrahamian explores the subject of Armenian identity by using a...

Iraq: Preventing a New Generation of Conflict.(IRAQ)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Iraq: Preventing a New Generation of Conflict, ed. by Markus E. Bouillon, David M. Malone, and Ben Rowswell. Boulder, CO and London, UK: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007. xiv + 314 pages. Figures. Tables. Bibl. to p. 325. Contribs. to p. 333....

The Struggle for Kirkuk: The Rise of Hussein, Oil, and the Death of Tolerance in Iraq.(IRAQ)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Struggle for Kirkuk: The Rise of Hussein, Oil, and the Death of Tolerance in Iraq, by Henry D. Astarjian. Westport, CT and London, UK: Praeger Security International, 2007. xvi + 169 pages. Index to p. 179. $49.95. This memoir recounts the...

The Triumph of Military Zionism: Nationalism and the Origins of the Israeli Right.(ISRAEL)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Triumph of Military Zionism: Nationalism and the Origins of the Israeli Right, by Colin Shindler. London, UK and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2006. 223 pages. Refs. to p. 259. Bibl. to p. 267. Index to p. 282. $39. Incorporating new scholarship...

To Be an Arab in Israel.(ISRAEL)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... To Be an Arab in Israel [revised and updated edition], by Laurence Louer. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. ix + 207 pages. Bibl. to p. 221. Index to p. 228. $27.50. In To Be an Arab in Israel, Laurence Louer studies an often-neglected...

Culture and Customs of Jordan.(JORDAN)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Culture and Customs of Jordan, by John A. Shoup. Westport, CT and London, UK: Greenwood Press, 2007. xxv + 116 pages. Chron. Gloss. to p. 123. Bibl. to p. 127. Index to p. 131. n.p. This Jordan installment of the Culture and Customs of the...

The Truth about Syria.(SYRIA)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Truth about Syria, by Barry Rubin. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. xii + 263 pages. Notes to p. 283. Index to p. 292. $24.95. In this study, Barry Rubin seeks to familiarize readers with the historical and social background of Syria....

Secret Sects of Syria and the Lebanon.(SYRIA)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Secret Sects of Syria and the Lebanon, by Bernard H. Springett. London, UK and New York: Kegan Paul, 2007. 296 pages. Bibl. to p. 300. Appendix to p. 341. Index to p. 351. $212.50. This work is a comprehensive exploration of the history of...

Turkey, the US and Iraq.(TURKEY)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Turkey, the US and Iraq, by William Hale. London, UK and San Francisco, CA: Saqi Books, in association with the London Middle East Institute, SOAS, 2007. 179 pages. Notes to p. 182. Bibl. to p. 191. Index to p. 198. $21.95 paper. The United...

Electoral Volatility in Turkey: Cleavages vs. the Economy.(TURKEY)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Electoral Volatility in Turkey: Cleavages vs. the Economy, by Yasushi Hazama. Chiba, Japan: Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO, 2007. x + 136 pages. Tables. Appends. to p. 146. Bibl. to p. 159. Index to p. 166. n.p. Hazama explores why,...

Modernizing Yazd: Selective Historical Memory and the Fate of Vernacular Architecture.(ART AND ARCHITECTURE)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Modernizing Yazd: Selective Historical Memory and the Fate of Vernacular Architecture, by All Modarres. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc., 2006. xxii + 179 pages. Figures. Translit. table to p. 188. Sel. refs. to p. 195. Index to p. 199....

Twenty-First Century Peace Operations.(CONFLICT RESOLUTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Twenty-First Century Peace Operations, ed. by William J. Durch. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2007. xxxiii + 608 pages. Abbrevs. Gloss. Figures. Tables. Sel. bibl. to p. 618. Index to p. 651. $65 cloth; $35 paper. This...

Contested State Identities and Regional Security in the Euro-Mediterranean Area.(CONFLICT RESOLUTION)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Contested State Identities and Regional Security in the Euro-Mediterranean Area, by Raffaella A. Del Sarto. New York: Palgrave, 2006. xiii + 233 pages. Notes to p. 246. Refs. to p. 272. Index to p. 281. $69.95. The core argument of this study...

Taboo Memories, Diasporic Voices.(CULTURE AND SOCIETY)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Taboo Memories, Diasporic Voices, by Ella Shohat. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006. xxi + 384 pages. Index to p. 406. $23.95 paper. In 12 essays, written during the last 20 years, Shohat draws upon her critical method to explore...

Transnational Muslims in American Society.(CULTURE AND SOCIETY)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Transnational Muslims in American Society, by Aminah Beverly McCloud. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2006. 137 pages. Notes to p. 153. Index to p. 161. $39.95. The author explores Muslim immigrant communities in the United...

The Struggle of Democracy against Terrorism: Lessons from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel.(MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... The Struggle of Democracy against Terrorism: Lessons from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, by Emanuel Gross. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2006. xv + 258 pages. Notes to p. 284. Index to p. 291. $35. In...

Amirs, Admirals and Desert Sailors: Bahrain, the U.S. Navy, and the Arabian Gulf.(MODERN HISTORY AND POLITICS)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Amirs, Admirals and Desert Sailors: Bahrain, the U.S. Navy, and the Arabian Gulf, by David F. Winkler. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2007. xi + 198 pages. Notes to p. 221. Gloss. to p. 225. Sel. bibl. to p. 236. Index to p. 244. About...

Travels through Northern Persia, 1770-1774.(Pre-20th Century History)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Travels through Northern Persia, 1770-1774, by Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin. Trans. and annotated by Willem Floor. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers, 2007. xxvii + 312 pages. Maps. Appends. to p. 362. Index to p. 381. $75. Russian Tsar Catherine the...

Religion, Empire and Torture: The Case of Achaemenian Persia.(Brief article)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Religion, Empire and Torture: The Case of Achaemenian Persia, with a Postscript on Abu Ghraib, by Bruce Lincoln. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. xvii + 107 pages. Photos. Notes to p. 142. Bibl. to p. 167. Index to p. 176....

Communications.(Obituary)(Letter to the editor)
September 22, 2007... The JOURNAL welcomes comments from its readers. All communications should be addressed to the Editor and bear the full name and address of the writer. A selection of those received will be published periodically in these columns. When a comment...