The Middle East And South Asia 2017 2018

This volume is designed to place in context the passionate controversies and emotional attachments of the two billion people who live, study, work, love, and die in the Middle East and South Asia. Understanding these regions means more than annually-updated details of the governments, politics, cultures, and economies of the twenty-four nations and assorted territories. Special chapters address significant issues of continuing international importance, including access to water, the role of oil, and the 2011 Arab spring. Both regions, after all, contain types of people misunderstood and often intensely disliked by others. Where religion intrudes on politics—the Afghan Taliban oppose educating girls, Hindu fanatics rampage in India, Iranian militiamen shoot demonstrators, Islamic extremists impose sharia, and Jewish Ultra-Orthodox send women to the back of the bus—readers bombarded with superficial news bites and slanted reporting might never sense the other accomplishments of these same societies. Islamic charities and societies bring relief to the impoverished, Israel’s scholars win Nobel prizes, and most Indians cherish long-standing religious toleration. The author of this volume attempts to let the reader draw conclusions from the evidence.

More than a quarter of the world’s population live in the Middle East and South Asia, yet our knowledge and understanding of the region is often limited to news updates about the latest conflicts and crises. This 53rd edition of the annually updated volume of the World Today Series provides important insights that take the reader beyond the headlines. It offers detailed and up-to-date information about the politics, economies and societies of the twenty-four states that make up the region. Contemporary events are placed in their historical context, through an examination of major civilizations and key historical events. This volume introduces major themes that have shaped the region, including the struggles of ordinary people to achieve democratic rights; the role of oil in shaping society; burgeoning environmental threats; and the rise and fall of the Islamic State caliphate. While there is reason for optimism in regards to the Middle East and South Asia, this is tempered by the very real challenges that confront the region. The general reader will gain an understanding of these challenges and opportunities through an exploration of current and past developments.

This annually updated volume of the World Today Series is designed to place in context the passionate controversies and emotional attachments of the two billion people who live, study, work, and die in the Middle East and South Asia. Despite room for optimism in some areas, many parts of the Middle East and South Asia continue to face extraordinary challenges and difficult outlooks. Much of this has to do with conflict across the region, which extends well beyond atrocities perpetrated by the Islamic State and the Assad regime in Syria.This volume depicts a region where hundreds of millions seek dignity as humans and respect from their governments. This volume helps the general reader understand recent and past developments from these countries.

The World Today Series: The Middle East and South Asia. More than a quarter of the world’s population live in the Middle East and South Asia, yet our knowledge and understanding of the region is often limited to news updates about the latest conflicts and crises. This edition of the annually updated volume of the World Today Series provides important insights that take the reader beyond the headlines. It offers detailed and up-to-date information about the politics, economies and societies of the twenty-four states that make up the region. Contemporary events are placed in their historical context, through an examination of major civilizations and key historical events. This volume introduces major themes that have shaped the region, including the struggles of ordinary people to achieve democratic rights; the role of oil in shaping society; burgeoning environmental threats; and the rise and fall of the Islamic State caliphate. While there is reason for optimism in regards to the Middle East and South Asia, this is tempered by the very real challenges that confront the region. The general reader will gain an understanding of these challenges and opportunities through an exploration of current and past developments.

Kaye (RAND) has written a thorough, thoughtful analysis of track two diplomacy in the two most difficult areas to practice this craft: South Asia and the Middle East. She includes descriptions and comments on a number of such efforts in both regions, which will be invaluable to both scholar and professional negotiators. Her discussion of the roles for track two talks--socializing elites, making others' ideas one's own, and turning ideas into policies--would be useful in any negotiation course. With respect to work in the two regions, Kaye speaks insightfully of projects under way: their potential, constraints, and the role of the regional environment. Her suggestion that each region may learn from the tribulation of the other is arguably thoughtful. Her suggestions for improvement--expand the types of participants, create institutional support and mentors, and localize the dialogues--deserve further study.

The essays in this collection examine issues of gender, family, and law in the Middle East and South Asia. In particular, the authors address the impact of colonialism on law, family, and gender relations; the role of religious politics in writing family law and the implications for gender relations; and the tension between international standards emerging from UN conferences and conventions and various nationalist projects. Employing the frame of globalization, the authors highlight how local and global forces interact and influence the experience and actions of people who engage with the law. By virtue of a "south-south" comparison of two quite similar and culturally linked regions, contributors avoid positing "the West" as a modern telos. Drawing upon the fields of anthropology, history, sociology, and law, this volume offers a wide-ranging exploration of the complicated history of jurisprudence with regard to family and gender.

Updated annually, East & Southeast Asia provides just enough historical background on the evolution of Modern East & Southeast Asia to help students gain a thorough understanding—in one semester—of contemporary developments in this vital region. Broad introductory regional and comparative chapters are followed by distinct sections on each country in the region. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors, and students. Now in its 50th edition, the content is thorough yet perfect for a one-semester introductory course or general library reference. Available in both print and e-book formats and priced low to fit student and library budgets.

Papers presented at the Workshop: Comparing Urban Landscapes, held at Lahore in April 2004.