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With Hezbollah's entry into the Lebanese government in 2009 and recent forceful intervention in the Syrian civil war, the potent Shi‘i political and military organization continues to play an enormous role in the Middle East. Policymakers in the United States and Israel usually denounce it as a dangerous terrorist group and refuse to engage with it, yet even its adversaries need to contend with its durability and resilient popular support. Although Hezbollah’s popularity has declined in many quarters of the Arab world, the Shi‘i group—a hybrid of militia, political party, and social services and public works provider—remains the most powerful player in Lebanon. Augustus Richard Norton’s Hezbollah stands as the most lucid, informed, and balanced analysis of the group yet written. This edition, with a new prologue and expanded afterword, analyzes recent momentous events—including Hezbollah’s political performance in Lebanon, inconsistent responses to the Arab Spring, and recent military support of the al-Asad regime in Syria. Hezbollah is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East.
Most policymakers in the United States and Israel have it wrong: Hezbollah isn't a simple terrorist organization--nor is it likely to disappear any time soon. Following Israel's war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, the Shi'i group--a hybrid of militia, political party, and social services and public works provider--remains very popular in the Middle East. After Lebanon tottered close to disaster, Hezbollah and its allies gained renewed political power in Beirut. The most lucid, informed, and balanced analysis of the group yet written, Hezbollah is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East. A new afterword brings readers up to date on Hezbollah's most recent actions.
A balanced, topical account of the PLO and its statelike relationships with several key nations in the global arena. The eight essayists examine the incentives prompting the organization to seek ties with various states as well as the benefits derived from these international bonds. The nations involved include Russia, China, Iran, many Latin American countries, and the Arab world.
Analyzes the role of Islam in Middle Eastern society and politics, addresses the differences between the Sunni and Shi'i sects, and discusses why an "Islamic revolution" occurred only in Iran
"The volume edited by Mark Tessler addresses a set of critical issues confronting all social scientists whose field of inquiry is extra-American. . . . Tessler and his contributors succeed admirably in their goal." —American Historical Review How should scholars construct knowledge about politics, economics, and international relations in major world regions? According to the contributors to this lively volume, the conflicting approaches of regional specialists and discipline-oriented social scientists must be combined to provide a firm foundation for studying the contemporary politics of the Middle East. Contributors are Lisa Anderson, Anne Banda, Laurie A. Brand, Laura Zittrain Eisenberg, John P. Entelis, Clement M. Henry, Magda Kandil, Baghat Korany, Jodi Nachtwey, Augustus Richard Norton, and Mark Tessler.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE BOSTON GLOBE, BOOKLIST, AND KIRKUS REVIEWS • From acclaimed historian Richard Norton Smith comes the definitive life of an American icon: Nelson Rockefeller—one of the most complex and compelling figures of the twentieth century. Fourteen years in the making, this magisterial biography of the original Rockefeller Republican draws on thousands of newly available documents and over two hundred interviews, including Rockefeller’s own unpublished reminiscences. Grandson of oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, Nelson coveted the White House from childhood. “When you think of what I had,” he once remarked, “what else was there to aspire to?”...
By compiling letters, memoirs, stories, and historic accounts by such authors as Philip Caputo, Asa Baber, Tim O'Brien, and others, the editors offer an in-depth look at the war and the men who fought it
This third volume in the outstanding series makes important new contributions to our understanding of the process whereby individuals and groups attribute meanings to the political structures and communities they create or inherit. Avoiding simplistic distinctions between religion and politics, each of these essays suggests more satisfactory ways of approaching the complex nature of these dynamic phenomena. They explore the role of traditional religious values, symbols, affiliations, and/or leaders in dealing with contemporary sociopolitical realities, analyzing the way in which religious traditions help shape the understanding and meaning of contemporary political realities and how they are reinterpreted and used to accomplish political and religious goals.
The Arab world is experiencing a variety of factors - internal and external - that are leading to change. This work examines such factors that are shaping political liberalisation and democratisation in the Arab context, as well as the role played by particular social groups.