Is Iraq "artificial," on the verge of disintegrating? All too often, the answers to this question ignore Iraq's own history. In fact, the literature on indigenous attempts at dismembering Iraq is surprisingly patchy, especially with regard to the oil-rich south. This book presents, for the first time, an actual case of southern Iraqi separatism: a daring bid to turn Basra into a pro-British mercantile mini-state. The study uncovers the dynamics and limits of southern separatism, casts new light on the victory of Iraqi nationalism in the south and discusses the challenges of post-2003 regionalism in a federal Iraq.
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2017 The Emergence of the Gulf States covers the history of the Gulf from the 18th century to the late 20th century. Employing a broad perspective, the volume brings together experts in the field to consider the region's political, economic and social development. The contributions address key themes including the impact of early history, religious movements, social structures, identity and language, imperialism, 20th-century economic transformation and relations with the wider Indian Ocean and Arab world. The work as a whole provides a new interpretive approach based on new research coupled with extensive reviews of the relevant literature. It offers a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the area and sets a new standard for the future scholarship and understanding of this vital region.
The First World War in the Middle East is an accessibly written military and social history of the clash of world empires in the Dardanelles, Egypt and Palestine, Mesopotamia, Persia and the Caucasus. Coates Ulrichsen demonstrates how wartime exigencies shaped the parameters of the modern Middle East, and describes and assesses the major campaigns against the Ottoman Empire and Germany involving British and imperial troops from the French and Russian Empires, as well as their Arab and Armenian allies. Also documented are the enormous logistical demands placed on host societies by the Great Powers' conduct of industrialised warfare in hostile terrain. The resulting deepening of imperial penetration, and the extension of state controls across a heterogeneous sprawl of territories, generated a powerful backlash both during and immediately after the war, which played a pivotal role in shaping national identities as the Ottoman Empire was dismembered. This is a multidimensional account of the many seemingly discrete yet interlinked campaigns that resulted in one to one and a half million casualties. It details not just their military outcome but relates them to intelligence-gathering, industrial organisation, authoritarianism and the political economy of empires at war.
This volume examines the various aspects of territorial separatism, focusing on how and why separatist movements arise. Featuring essays by leading scholars from different disciplinary perspectives, the book aims to situate the question of separatism within the broader socio-political context of the international system, arguing that a set of historical events as well as local, regional, and global dynamics have converged to provide the catalysts that often trigger separatist conflicts. In addition, the book marks progress towards a new conceptual framework for the study of territorial separatism, by linking the survival of communities in international politics with the effective control of territory and the consequent creation of new polities. Separatist conflicts challenge conventional wisdom concerning conflict resolution within the context of international relations by unpacking a number of questions with regard to conflict transformation. Through the use of case studies, including Cyprus, the Rakhine state in Myanmar, the Shia separatism in Iraq, the Uighurs in China and the case of East Timor, the volume addresses key issues including the role of democracy, international law, intervention, post-conflict peacebuilding and the creation of new political entities. The book will be of much interest to students of Intra-StateConflict, Conflict Resolution, International Law, Security Studies and International Relations.
In this book, Raihan Ismail examines the attitudes of the Saudi "ulama" towards various Shia sects and communities by analyzing their sermons, lectures, publications and religious rulings. She explores what the motivating factors are behind the divisive sectarian rhetoric that the 'ulama' employ.
Book Description: Publication Date: August 30, 2011. "Turkey, Islam, Nationalism, and Modernity" reveals the historical dynamics propelling two centuries of Ottoman and Turkish history. As mounting threats to imperial survival necessitated dynamic responses, ethnolinguistic and religious identities inspired alternative strategies for engaging with modernity. A radical, secularizing current of change competed with a conservative, Islamically committed current. Crises sharpened the differentiation of the two streams, forcing choices between them. The radical current began with the formation of reformist governmental elites and expanded with the advent of 'print capitalism', symbolized by the privately owned, Ottoman-language newspapers. The radicals engineered the 1908 Young Turk revolution, ruled empire and republic until 1950, made secularism a lasting 'belief system', and still retain powerful positions. The conservative current gained impetus from three history-making Islamic renewal movements, those of Mevlana Halid, Said Nursi, and Fethullah Gulen. Powerful under the empire, Islamic conservatives did not regain control of government until the 1980s. By then they, too, had their own influential media. Findley's reassessment of political, economic, social and cultural history reveals the dialectical interaction between radical and conservative currents of change, which alternately clashed and converged to shape late Ottoman and republican Turkish history.
Despite the worldwide dramatic spread of religious-based discriminations, persecutions, and conflicts, both official data and academic literature have underestimated their role as a root cause of contemporary migrations. This multidisciplinary study aims to overcome this gap. Through an unprecedented collection of theoretical analysis and original empirical evidence, the book provides unique data and insights on the role of religion in the trajectories of asylum seekers and migrants – from the analysis of the religious geography of sending countries to the role of spirituality as a factor of resilience and adaptation. By enhancing both academic and political debate on these issues, the book offers the possibility of regaining awareness of the close link between religious freedom and the quality of democracy. Contributors include: Paolo Gomarasca, Monica Martinelli, Monica Spatti, Andrea Santini, Andrea Plebani, Paolo Maggiolini, Riccardo Redaelli, Alessia Melcangi, Giancarlo Rovati, Annavittoria Sarli, Giulia Mezzetti, Lucia Boccacin, Linda Lombi, Donatella Bramanti, Stefania Meda, Giovanna Rossi, Beatrice Nicolini, Cristina Giuliani, Camillo Regalia, Giovanni Giulio Valtolina, Paola Barachetti, Maddalena Colombo, Rosangela Lodigiani, Mariagrazia Santagati, Fabio Baggio, Vera Lomazzi, Paolo Bonetti, Laura Zanfrini, Mario Antonelli, Luca Bressan, Alessandro Bergamaschi, Catherine Blaya, Núria Llevot-Calvet, Olga Bernad-Cavero, and Jordi Garreta-Bochaca.
Patriotic Ayatollahs -- Contents -- Preface -- List of Abbreviations -- A Note on Arabic Transliteration -- Map of Iraq -- Introduction: The Making and Unmaking of Iraq -- 1. The Ayatollahs and the Struggle to Maintain Legitimacy in the New Public Sphere -- 2. Sistani, Guardian of the Democratic Process -- 3. Sistani, a Guide Only -- 4. Quietists Turned Activists? -- 5. Local and Regional Sectarian Narratives -- Conclusion: Rethinking Religion and Politics -- Notes -- References -- Index
Top scholars of the Middle East set out the history and future of elections in eight Middle East countries. Examining issues associated with elections, the transition of governance, and the ways in which technology shapes popular participation in politics and elections, they discuss the future of governance and democratic transition in the region.
An examination of how the logistical demands of the British military campaigns in Palestine and Mesopotamia led to a more intrusive and authoritarian form of imperial control in 1917-18. This early example of Western military intervention in the Middle East provoked a localized backlash in 1919-20 whose effects continue to be felt today.
