Description
US scholars of political science focus in turn on 16 individual countries or groups. In order to incorporate events since the 1995 edition, most of the previous articles have been updated by their original authors, though a few new authors have also been added. Among the changes are a succession of new leaders, important alterations in regional alignments, and efforts to achieve peace and stabilize the region. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read More
Rapid social, economic, and political change is endemic to the Middle East and is often more revolutionary than evolutionary in nature. In many ways, the entire political landscape of the Middle East has been transformed in the past decade in the realm of both international relations and domestic politics: The collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the cold war, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait have all had a profound effect on relations among states within the region and between those states and countries outside the region.In this revised edition, Long and Reich provide comprehensive and up-to-date analyses of many critical contemporary events and issues. The contributors explain how Desert Storm isolated Iraq and brought Syria back into the mainstream of Arab politics, contributing to the revival of the Arab-Israeli peace process. They also show how the return of a Labor government in Israel has allowed the peace process to go forward. Evaluating the economic costs of the Kuwait war and the continuing oil glut, the authors find that resulting changes in the domestic economies of the oil-producing states have created additional pressures for social and political change. The most profound change in government and politics, however, is the rise of Islam as the idiom of political discourse among moderates as well as extremists.
Read Less