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Monarchical presidential regimes in the Arab world looked as though they would last indefinitely—until events in Tunisia and Egypt made clear their time was up. This is the first book to lay bare the dynamics of a governmental system that largely defined the Arab Middle East in the twentieth century, and the popular opposition they engendered.

Monarchical presidential regimes in the Arab world looked as though they would last indefinitely--until events in Tunisia and Egypt made clear their time was up. This is the first book to lay bare the dynamics of a governmental system that largely defined the Arab Middle East in the twentieth century, and the popular opposition they engendered.

In eleven dramatic years, Anwar Sadat changed history-not just that of Egypt, or of the Middle East, but of the entire world. As the architect of the 1973 war against Israel, he gained the support of other Arab nations and inspired the oil embargo that transformed the global economy. Following the war, however, he forever ended Arab aspirations of unity by making peace with Israel. Early in his presidency, Sadat jettisoned Egypt's alliance with the Soviet Union and turned to the United States, thereby giving the West a crucial Cold War victory. Sadat's historic tenure still resonates in the twenty-first century as the Islamic activists-whom he originally encouraged but who opposed his conciliatory policy toward Israel and ultimately played a role in his assassination-continue to foster activism, including the Muslim Brotherhood, today. Thomas W. Lippman was stationed in the Middle East as a journalist during Sadat's presidency and lived in Egypt in the aftermath of the October War. He knew Sadat personally, but only now, after the passage of time and the long-delayed release of the U.S. State Department's diplomatic files, can Lippman assess the full consequences of Sadat's presidency. Hero of the Crossing provides an eye-opening account of the profound reverberations of one leader's political, cultural, and economic maneuverings and legacy.

Despite all that has been written on it, the Iraq war - its causes, agency and execution - has been shrouded in an ideological mist. Now, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad dispels the myths surrounding the war, taking a sociological approach to establish the war's causes, identify its agents and describe how it was sold. Ahmad presents a social history of the war's leading agents - the neoconservatives - and shows how this ideologically coherent group of determined political agents used the contingency of 9/11 to overwhelm a sceptical foreign policy establishment, military brass and intelligence apparatus, propelling the US into a war that a significant portion of the public opposed. The book includes an historical exploration of American militarism and of the increased post-WWII US role in the Middle East, as well as a reconsideration of the debates that John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt sparked after the publication of The Israel lobby and US Foreign Policy.

The Aswan High Dam was a cornerstone of two overlapping political projects. For Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the dam symbolized a bright future in which the decolonized Egyptian people could finally claim their destinies and triumph over the twin forces of imperialism and nature. The Soviet-assisted megaproject acquired such symbolic importance that Nasser’s security apparatus carefully policed its representations in Egyptian society, culture, and intellectual life. For the USSR, by contrast, the dam symbolized Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s break with the Stalinist past, initiated in his famous February 1956 “secret speech” that criticized Stalin’s draconian repressions, isolationism in international affairs, and neglect of “the East.” Even as it led to economic, scientific technical, and cultural agreements with Afro-Asian states including Egypt, Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization agenda loosened controls over political speech at home, unleashing powerful new political ideas, forces, and artistic trends. This brief essay will explore the overlap between the two projects, asking where they met and diverged and what this means for studies of political, cultural, and environmental history.

After the Civil War of 1945-1949, Taiwan and mainland China were separated and developed two different systems: a British-American liberal-democratic capitalist system, and a socialist system with one-party dictatorship. Although differences between the two sides developed, there was still a consensus on ＂Chinese identity＂ during the rule of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo in Taiwan. This ＂Chinese identity＂ began to waver and the idea of ＂Taiwan identity＂ gradually emerged around the 1980s. As a result, the struggle between unification and independence in Taiwan sharpened. ＂The Taiwan nativists＂ (dupai) want to achieve the ideal of ＂independent nationhood.＂ ＂The Chinese culturalists＂ (tongpai) hope to maintain exchanges and interactions with the Mainland to create a win-win situation, and finally lead to a unified China. The current ratio of independence to unification (eventual not immediate), in terms of votes in the 2020 presidential election, is 57 percent for the Taiwan nativists and 43 percent for the Chinese culturalists. The Chinese culturalists firmly believe that cross-straits competition is grounded in institutional (rather than existential) competition, and experiments in Taiwan will contribute to the future of ＂China.＂ But they are facing three dilemmas. The first is pressure from mainland China with the possibility of military invasion. The second is pressure from the Democratic Progressive Party upholding Taiwan independence. And third, generational change: because of their lineage, educational, and cultural background, the Chinese culturalists are of an older age group, and as time goes on, the number of supporters will gradually decrease.

More than 40 years ago, János Kornai introduced his famous supermarket metaphor. Socioeconomic systems cannot be constructed from purposely selected features, similar to customers in a supermarket, who can freely put into their shopping trolley whatever they like. Systems constitute an organic whole. They contain good and bad features in fixed proportions. After 1990, Kornai and most Western commentators expected that as market integration and private property expand, China would eventually turn into a liberal democracy. Prior to the worldwide fall of communism, Kornai had three primary criteria to determine whether a country was socialist or capitalist; later he amended this with six secondary ones. The present paper introduces into this list an additional 11 criteria—i.e. 20 quantifiable metrics altogether. Kornai was among the very first to recognize that with President Xi Jinping taking charge, China made a U-turn. While capitalist elements remain strong, in the final analysis, the country is on its way back to where it was before 1978.

Since the 19th century the Gulf region has been an area of intense interest, having been influenced first by the British and more recently by the Americans. This book charts the changing security and political priorities of these two powers and how they have shaped the region. Adopting a narrative approach, the author provides background history on British involvement from the 19th century and a detailed analysis of the years after the Second World War, when oil supply became more critical. He covers the growth of US influence and the British withdrawal, and follows more recent changes as the US built up its military presence following Desert Storm and the invasion of Iraq. Looking at the three enduring missions fulfilled by the British - maintaining interstate order, protecting the free flow of commerce, which later included petroleum; and keeping out other Great Powers – the book demonstrates how these had by 1991 been assumed almost entirely by the American leaders. A comprehensive and thorough look at the history of the Gulf and the contemporary issues affecting the region, this will be essential reading for students of Middle East history, military history and diplomatic history. Visit the author's website at www.thepoliticsandsecurityofthegulf.com 1. Great Britain’s Legacy in the Persian Gulf 2. World War II and the Arrival of the Americans 3. The Early Cold War, the Loss of India, and Nasser's Revolt Against the British, 1946-1958 4. The British Position in the Gulf under Assault 5. America Watches as the British Birth a New Gulf Order, 1968-1971 6. The Chaotic Interregnum: America Cries Enough, 1972-1991 7. Pax Americana - Bellum Americanum, 1991-present. Conclusion Jeffrey R. Macris is a Permanent Military Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he teaches Middle Eastern history and military history. A resident of the Persian Gulf for nearly three years, he has worked with military officers from most of the Arab states of the Gulf. Reviews and further information on the title and the author can be found on the books website at: www.thepoliticsandsecurityofthegulf.com \"This comprehensive work presents and in-depth analysis of how British since the 19 th century, and more recently the United States, have influenced and shaped the politics and security of the Persian Gulf region… This is a truly remarkable book of major importance that crosses several disciplines. It is a must-read for those interested in Middle East history, strategic studies, military history, and American British diplomatic history.\" – Dr. Shaheen Ayubi, professor of Political Science, Rutgers University \"A superb political-military study of the Persian Gulf region that provides a sophisticated analysis of British interests, past and present, and how the United States inherited its current security role driven largely by Britain's withdrawal \"East of Suez\" and U.S. Cold War fears. It is a legacy, as Dr. Macris cogently points out in his conclusion, that the United States will continue to find difficult to discharge in the 21st century as guardian of global public goods.\" -- Frank L. Jones, Professor of Security Studies, U.S. Army War College “Jeffrey Macris, has written a first-rate, timely and much-needed account of the handover of responsibility for the security of the Gulf from Britain to the United States during the past four decades. Let us hope that American and British policymakers will read it in order to avoid the mistakes of the past.” -- Dr. Saul Kelly, Defence Studies Department, King's College, London, UK Joint Services Command and Staff College “Prof. Macris's work is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the critically important Gulf region. His extensive research provides the reader with a well-written, balanced view of the roles of both of London and Washington in this area of the world.” -- Miriam Joyce, Ph.D., Professor of History, Purdue University Calumet More reviews and further information on the title and the author can be found on the books website at: www.thepoliticsandsecurityofthegulf.com

In the run-up to war in Iraq, the Bush administration assured the world that America's interest was in liberation-especially for women. The first book to examine how Iraqi women have fared since the invasion,What Kind of Liberation?reports from the heart of the war zone with dire news of scarce resources, growing unemployment, violence, and seclusion. Moreover, the book exposes the gap between rhetoric that placed women center stage and the present reality of their diminishing roles in the \"new Iraq.\" Based on interviews with Iraqi women's rights activists, international policy makers, and NGO workers and illustrated with photographs taken by Iraqi women,What Kind of Liberation?speaks through an astonishing array of voices. Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt correct the widespread view that the country's violence, sectarianism, and systematic erosion of women's rights come from something inherent in Muslim, Middle Eastern, or Iraqi culture. They also demonstrate how in spite of competing political agendas, Iraqi women activists are resolutely pressing to be part of the political transition, reconstruction, and shaping of the new Iraq.

Based on archival material and interviews, the paper argues that the autonomy of Hong Kong's institutions of higher education has varied since 1911, with the colonial state initially exercising tight control and relaxing it especially as the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong approached. China has sought to reassert control especially since 2014 in what continues to be contested space.