The conclusion of World War I and the subsequent breakup of the Ottoman Empire led to theindependence of a number of Arab nations and resulted in a Western scramble for roles ofcontrol and influence over them. It was not until after World War I that Syria and the United States had a formal diplomatic relationship - prior to then the only Americans who had developed a relationship with the nation were missionaries, particularly those involved with the Syrian Protestant Colle...

In the aftermath of World War I Syria paved a path towards democracy. Initially as part of the French mandate in the Middle East and latterly as an independent republic, Syria put in place the instruments of democratic government that it was hoped would lead to a stable future. This book tells the story of Syria's formative years, using previously-unseen material from the personal papers of Ahmad Sharabati, a prominent nationalist who served in different capacities during colonial times an...

The Islamic State movement (ISIS/ISIL/IS) burst onto the world stage in 2014. From its heartland in Syria, where it arose from the chaos of the Syrian Revolt, the organisation has expanded in ideology and membership and now poses a significant threat to the region, if not to the wider world. Moubayed, a Beirut-based journalist who has been analysing Syria and the region for 20 years, has unrivalled access to the movement and its participants. His book is the first inside account of an orga...

Syria has led the Arab World in many ways for the past 100 years. It was the headquarters of the Arab nationalist movement in the 1910s and among the region's earliest and most vibrant democracies in 1918. Legislation giving women the vote was introduced to the Syrian parliament before a similar measure passed in the US in 1920.Syrians lost their independence to the French in 1920 in the Battle of Maysaloun--and Moubayed tells the story of a young Syrian woman who ripped off her ve...

While recent scholarship has focused on wartime Syria, this book is dedicated to heads of state in the immediate post-Ottoman era until the end of the French Mandate in 1946.Here, renowned Syrian historian, Sami Moubayed, examines Syria's first eleven heads of state who led the country between 1918 and 1946. With a chapter dedicated to each leader, Moubayed sheds light on the political culture of the time and traces the trajectory of how Syria was governed through colonialism, mona...

Demystifies the area's culture, politics, and religionsExplore Middle Eastern history from ancient to modern timesLooking to better understand the Middle East? This plain-English guide explains the importance of the region, especially in light of recent events. You'll meet its people and their leaders, discover the differences and similarities between Arab and Western mindsets, and examine the wars and conflicts - including the Israeli-Palestinian turmoil - that led up to t...

Understand the Middle East (since 1945)is an essential guide to one of the world's most turbulent regions. It examines the origins and development of the events which have dominated the headlines for the last six decades. Covering everything from religion and politics in the aftermath of the Second World War to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, war in Iraq and the terrorism of the present day it will change the way you think about the region.NOT GOT MUCH TIME?One, five and ...

With Britain leaving the EU, now is the time for an obituary for the EU as an institution. In this short, rigorously argued book, updated after Brexit, John R. Gillingham tells the history of an idea that has soured and withered away.He reveals the failures from its postwar origins to set out what the EU was; the role that Delors played in creating the neoliberal monster it is today, and the contemporary - crises; refugees, Brexit, the Euro - that the current institution fails to d...

This is the autobiography of Abdul Salam Zaeef, a senior former member of the Taliban. His memoirs, translated from Pashto, are more than just a personal account of his extraordinary life. My Life with the Taliban offers a counter-narrative to the standard accounts of Afghanistan since 1979. Zaeef describes growing up in rural poverty in Kandahar province. Both of his parents died at an early age, and the Russian invasion of 1979 forced him to flee to Pakistan. He started fighting...

Though more than sixty years have passed since the signing of the proclamation of the State of Israel, the impact of that epochal event continues to shape the political policies and public opinion of not only the Middle East but much of the world. The consequent conflict between Arabs and Israelis for sovereignty over the land of Palestine has been one of the most bloody, intractable, and drawn-out of modern times. It continues today in cycles of aggressive violence followed by temporary, ...

Pakistan and the United States have been locked in a deadly embrace for decades. Successive American presidents from both parties have pursued narrow short-term interests in the South Asian nation, and many of the resulting policies proved counterproductive in the long term, contributing to political instability and a radicalized public. This background has helped set the stage for the global jihad confronting much of the world today.In Deadly Embrace, Bruce Riedel explores...

Acclaimed Israeli intelligence analyst Avi Melamed has spent more than thirty years interpreting Middle East affairs. His long-awaited Inside the Middle East challenges widely-accepted perceptions and provides a gripping and uniquely enlightening guide to make sense of the events unfolding in the region-to answer how the Arab world got to this point, what is currently happening, what the ramifications will be, how they will affect Israel, and what actions must immediately be under...