During the Cold War, many believed that the superpowers shared a conception of strategic stability, a coexistence where both sides would compete for global influence but would be deterred from using nuclear weapons. In actuality, both sides understood strategic stability and deterrence quite differently. Today’s international system is further complicated by more nuclear powers, regional rivalries, and nonstate actors who punch above their weight, but the United States and other nuclear po...

How do countries across the Middle East adjust their foreign policy strategies in response to external pressures, regional rivalries, and domestic politics? At a time when the region is undergoing profound transformation, Grand Strategies of Middle East States advances a new framework for understanding why Middle Eastern states respond differently to similar challenges.Ranging from the Arab uprisings and the Abraham Accords to the wars and crises that followed the October ...

Harnessing the power of fandom--from Game of Thrones to The Legend of Zelda--to conquer anxiety, heal from depression, and reclaim balance in mental and emotional health.Modern mythologies are everywhere--from the Avengers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to The Wicked + The Divine. Where once geek culture was niche and hidden, fandom characters and stories have blasted their way into our cineplexes, bookstores, and consoles. They help us...

Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics is an analysis of how ideas, or political ideology, can threaten states and how states react to ideational threats. It examines the threat perception and policies of two Arab Muslim majority states, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in response to the rise and activities of two revolutionary "Islamic states," established in Iran (1979) and Sudan (1989).Using these comparative case studies, the book provides important insight ...

This book seeks to explore the new frontiers in counter-terrorism research, analyses and practice, focusing on the imperative to rehabilitate terrorists.The post-9/11 world is in a very early stage of global rehabilitation both of terrorists and criminals. Nonetheless, some correctional rehabilitation programs have led convicted and suspected terrorists to express remorse, repent, and recant their violent ideologies and re-enter mainstream politics, religion and society. Although o...

What were the reasons behind the terrorist attacks of September 11th? Does the cause of Islamist terrorism relate to the lack of democracy in the Middle East? Through detailed research into the activities of both radical and moderate organizations across the Middle East, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hizbullah, and via interviews with key personnel, Katerina Dalacoura investigates whether repression and political exclusion pushed Islamist entities to adopt terrorist tactics. Sh...

Who are the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizbullah? What do the two movements - one Sunni and one Shi'a - have in common? Despite being classified by a number of countries as 'terrorist' organisations, both are in fact serious political players in the states in which they operate - Egypt and Lebanon. Both have, at various points, advocated pan-Islamism: the unity of Muslims under an Islamic state or caliphate, but, rather than considering them as extremist religious movements, Eva Dingel here st...

The continued prominence of Islam in the struggle for democracy in the Muslim world has confounded Western democracy theorists who largely consider secularism a prerequisite for democratic transitions. Kamran Bokhari and Farid Senzai offer a comprehensive view of the complex nature of contemporary political Islam and its relationship to democracy.

This book is the first systematic assessment of current trends and patterns of militancy in Shii communities in the Middle East and South Asia - specifically in Iran, Iraq, but also in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and BahrainMore than thirty years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, there are signs of a growing assertiveness on the part of Shii actors, at times erupting into political violence. The book addresses two key questions: What trends emerge in t...

The Middle East in the 21st century has witnessed a game-changing rollercoaster ride that has transformed relationships across the boards. Turkey underwent the most dramatic changes of its democratic history, propelling it into the role of major regional actor. The "Arab Spring" cast the region into political and social turmoil. US-led wars devastated the lands and peoples of several countries with widespread, rippling repercussions. And the balance of global power shifted dramatically, br...

In Islamic Exceptionalism, Brookings Institution scholar and acclaimed author Shadi Hamid offers a novel and provocative argument on how Islam is, in fact, "exceptional" in how it relates to politics, with profound implications for how we understand the future of the Middle East. Divides among citizens aren't just about power but are products of fundamental disagreements over the very nature and purpose of the modern nation state—and the vexing problem of religion's role in public...