This volume explores the present-day realities of Islamic family law, with particular emphasis on the rights of women. Three contrasting country cases have been selected: Egypt, the most populous Arab state with a constitutional clause on the place of "principles of the sharia" as the principal source of legislation; the West Bank and Gaza, family law here being a contested site between different visions of national identity in the process of trying to build a Palestinian state; and the United States, where some in the minority Muslim communities seek to regulate their family relations in...

The author takes a fresh look at China's economic policies, development strategies and economic experiences since 1978. General economic principles and analysis are applied in a comparative framework which provides useful insights for assessing China's economic strategies and its implication for other developing countries. Among the topics discussed are market reforms, new technology and technology transfer, foreign direct investment, regional development, poverty and income inequality, agricultural development, industrial development, enterprise management, the tourism industry, population...