Few deny that in the Muslim world religion and law are intimately linked. However, local legal realities mean that Islamic law is often pushed out of the picture by customary law, which is usually tri
At the height of the Cold War, the John F. Kennedy administration designed an ambitious plan for the Middle East-its aim was to seek rapprochement with Nasser's Egypt in order to keep the Arab world n
The rapid evolution of events in the European, Middle Eastern, and North African spheres has reinvigorated the debate on Euro-Mediterranean relations. Since 1995 these relations have operated under th
Does the internet facilitate social and political change, or even democratization, in the Middle East? Despite existing research on this subject, there is still no consensus on the importance of socia
In a world of increasingly mixed identities, what does it mean to belong? As western democracies increasingly curtail their support for multiculturalism, how can migrants establish belonging as citize
Refuting the assumption that art is a representational practice, Bolt's striking argument engages with the work of Heidegger, Deleuze and Guattari, C.S.Peirce and Judith Butler to argue for a performa
The 'mirror stage' in Lacanian psychoanalytical theory constructs the female body as lacking. However, what happens if you follow Baudrillard's advice to 'swallow the mirror'? Basia Sliwinska's Gender
Kiryat Shmona, located on the Israeli-Lebanese border, often makes the news whenever there is an outbreak of violence between the two countries. Israel's northernmost city, its residents are mostly Mi
The history of Morocco cannot effectively be told without the history of its Jewish inhabitants. Their presence in Northwest Africa pre-dates the rise of Islam and continues to the present day, combin
This book is a welcome and original contribution to the world of ‘Star Trek.’? The book not only sets 'Star Trek' in dialogue with ideas and stories of utopia, community, self-improvement, that are ce
In transcending territorial boundaries, satellite television has the potential to liberate viewers from government controls on national media. Why in the Middle East has this potential liberation yet
The study of native `Marxisms' in Britain throws light on what many historians have referred to as `the enemy within'. In this book, David Burke looks at the activities of the Russian political émigré
Russians in Iran seeks to challenge the traditional narrative regarding Russian involvement Iran and to show that whilst Russia's historical involvement in Iran is longstanding it is nonetheless much
From the 1700s, the declining Ottoman Empire served as a source of inspiration for the westernisation of Russia. Comparisons between European and Ottoman diplomacy, warfare and political organizations
Iran is a country which, despite its extensive coverage in the media, is often regarded as 'mysterious', 'exotic' and 'other-worldly'. This attitude often stems from a focus on the rhetoric of controv
When Barack Obama was elected in 2008, his foreign policy was at first seen to be the antithesis of that of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Eid Mohamed highlights how in the wake of this change of US
The Nahda (lit. 'the Awakening') was one of the most significant cultural movements in modern Arab history. By focusing on the neglected role of women in the intellectual Islamic renaissance of the la
The network of freemasons and Masonic lodges in the Middle East is an opaque and mysterious one, and is all too often seen-within the area-as a vanguard for Western purposes of regional domination. Bu
