Pan-Arabism

This book aims to alter profoundly the accepted version of the history of post-World War II Egyptian foreign policy. To this end, Doran convincingly demonstrates the absence of any true pan-Arab front from the very beginning of the Arab League. Reconsidering Cairo's policy decisions during the critical years from 1944 to 1948, he proves that Egyptian national interests were always placed before the united Arab front against Israel. Even while participating in the 1948 war with Israel, Egypt regarded Zionism and the Palestine Question as less important than achieving independence from Britain and thwarting the expansionist aims of Iraq and Jordan. Ultimately, this study is a bold rethinking of twentieth-century Middle Eastern politics and history, with key implications for both the study of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict and the volatile politics of the Middle East in general.

Since its founding in 1922, Foreign Affairs has been the world's leading journal of international relations, a distinction earned by providing the most insightful and far-reaching commentary on global politics and economic policy available anywhere. America has increasingly played a pivotal role in world events, whether military, political, economic, or ideological, and Foreign Affairs and its contributors have been at the center of each debate.

It was in Foreign Affairs that George Kennan first proposed the policy of containment that became the touchstone of U.S. strategy during the Cold War; that statesmen-scholars like Henry Kissinger and Arthur Schlesinger have debated the contentious issues of nuclear weapons and human rights; that journalists like Walter Lippmann and James Reston have offered prescient analyses of American foreign policy; and that thinkers like Isaiah Berlin and Samuel Huntington have explained the changing nature of the world. In The American Encounter, readers will find these landmark essays and many more in a unique intellectual history of this century and of the extraordinary role that America has played in it.

There is no other book like this, because there is no other publication like Foreign Affairs. The American Encounter is a powerful link to the giants of history, those visionaries whose warnings and advice still speak to us today, offering wisdom, insight, and a greater understanding of America's place in the world.

During the Cold War, the Middle East provided a major challenge for US policy-makers. Dr Takeyh re-evaluates US policy in the region during that era.

TO MANY, Jews and Arabs stand in permanent opposition, representing two clashing cultures, mentalities, and temperaments. In this book, Nissim Rejwan maintains that this perception is historically inaccurate. From the standpoint of culture, ethnicity, and religion, he says, Israel is an integral part of the Middle East.

As a nation Israel consists largely of Middle Eastern and North African Jews, native-born Israelis of European origin, and Arabs. Rejwan shows that peaceful and neighborly relations among these groups have always prevailed and that the lot of the Jews has been better in the realm of Islam than in the West.

Using Arabic, Hebrew, and English sources, the book traces the course of Arab-Jewish relations from their beginnings in pre-Islamic times to the present, and it offers a survey of Judeo-Arabic culture and literature. It also describes the ideological and cultural origins of Israel and demonstrates the way these roots shape the country's attitudes toward its surrounding.

The important relationship between the United States and the Middle East has historically been examined from a 1-dimensional perspective. This volume seeks to provide a cross-cultural reassessment of American policy toward the region.

Middle Easterners today are caught between memories of the past and frustrated hopes for the future. They struggle to find solutions to crises of economic stagnation, political gridlock, and cultural identity. In recent decades Islam has become central to this struggle, and almost every issue involves fierce, sometimes violent debates over the role of religion in public life. R. Stephen Humphreys's new book presents a much-needed and thoughtful analysis of Islam's place in today's Middle East. In clear, accessible language, he integrates the medieval and modern history of the region to show how the sacred and secular are tightly interwoven in its political and intellectual life.

Humphreys discusses the conflicts over power and resources that engage Middle Eastern politicians and looks at the major ideologies that have shaped these conflicts. He focuses on the impact of Islam on public life and examines Muslim ways of thinking about the "secular" versus the "religious." What values does Islamput into play? What challenges does it pose to "ordinary" politics? What resources does it bring to the struggle for social justice?

Humphreys recognizes the Western tendency to dismiss Middle Eastern politics as an incoherent tale of violence and fanaticism, and his book is especially valuable for its analysis of the deeper issues behind the headlines. These issues include the region's apparent inability to evolve democratic institutions, conflicts rooted in the peace

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.