As a dramatic new era of Iraqi politics unfolds, Muhsin al-Musawi shows how artificially imposed notions of constitutional monarchy and secular nationalism failed to take root in the Iraqi sensibility, and instead provoked a broad-based counterculture of resistance. In a penetrating historical analysis, Musawi demonstrates the attractions of sectarianism and religion during periods of occupation and oppression.

This is the first study to observe the practice of modernization in Turkey and Iran not only from above, by examining the measures adopted by the political regimes of the late Ottomans, Ataturk and Reza Shah, but also from below, exploring how different social levels contributed to the drive for modernity. It is a full and thorough analysis of how these societies reacted to reform and change.
The State and the Subaltern offers a fresh perspective on the accommodation and resistance to modernization and the relation between the common people and the state in two Islamic societies...

The Jewish quarter of Jerusalem today seems like an organic fusion of a modern Israeli city with an ancient Jewish heritage. However, as Simone Ricca details in this fascinating book, the aesthetics of the Jewish Quarter were deliberately planned and executed by Israel after it was occupied during the 1967 war. Secular-nationalist as well as religious politicians agreed that it should be turned in to the capital of the Jewish nation, and that it should be excavated and developed in such a way as to create a sense of continuity with the Jewish people's historical claims to the land. Zionist...

People are on the move across the Arab world, organizing politically in new ways. The Arab media have also undergone a transformation and are still in a state of flux. It is therefore crucial to be able to discuss political initiatives in the region in the light of media developments. This authoritative book answers key questions about the connections between media and political change in the Arab world. Using research into, for example, practices of Internet users, journalists, demonstrators and producers of reality TV, it explores the interface between public interaction over the airwaves,...

One in every six Israeli citizens is a Palestinian Arab. While much has been written about the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza, the struggle for political rights by Palestinian citizens of Israel remains largely unexplored. Shany Payes offers a fresh look at this struggle through analysis of the increasingly growing sector of Palestinian non-governmental organizations. Charting the political history of these associations over the last quarter of a century and running right up to developments during the recent Intifada, she analyzes the political repression of Palestinian civil society...

Hesham Al-Awadi argues that the growing impact of the Muslim Brotherhood on Egyptian politics and society is part of the movement's struggle to gain official legitimacy since its ban in 1954. The movement's remarkable presence in syndicates, student unions, investment companies and parliament was the outcome of its highly organized structure, consolidated during the earlier years of President Mubarak. Although the Brotherhood failed to secure the recognition of the state, they did secure a degree of informal legitimacy, based on their services to middle class beneficiaries. This ""social""...

This is the first major work in political economy to study the impact of the 1989 IMF intervention and the changes that it has wrought upon the Jordanian economy. Knowles argues that the blurring of boundaries between the public and private sector has significantly affected the success of IMF and World Bank policies in Jordan which are predicated upon a clear distinction between these sectors. Furthermore Jordan's move from an economy that is dependent upon outside economic assistance to one that is dependent upon remittances has affected the power of the country's Elite which hitherto...

This book examines Islam's engagement with the reorganization of the global economy. By examining the incorporation of Islam into the existing relations of the Turkish state from the late Ottoman Empire to the present day, the author demonstrates how political Islam interacts with the global restructuring of classes, states and political actors. Atasoy challenges the view of Islamist politics as an anti-Modern, anti-Western force that is fundamentally opposed to the global economy and instead argues that political Islam is cosmopolitan and embedded in processes which incorporate Western...

A collection of essays exploring the modern history of Middle East societies by looking at the interaction between the internal history of ideas and the social transformation of local elites under Western impact.