Politics and Economics of the Middle East

Several Turkish domestic and foreign policy issues have significant relevance for U.S. interests, and Congress plays an active role in shaping and overseeing U.S. relations with Turkey. This book provides background information on Turkey and discusses possible policy options for Members of Congress and the Obama Administration. U.S. relations with Turkey—a longtime North Atlantic Treaty…

Since the Cold War era, when the United States began heavily investing in Turkey‘s military and defense operations, the United States and Turkey have enjoyed a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship. Because of Turkey‘s geographic location, political stability, and recent economic success, the country has served as a strategic ally in U.S. foreign policy. This…

This encyclopedia presents important research on the Middle East. Some of the topics discussed herein include Iran’s ballistic missile and space launch programs; Iran sanctions; politics, governance, and human rights in Iraq; the Israel-Hezbollah conflict; reform, security and U.S. policies of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, The…

In 2014, Congress for the first time provided the President with authority and funds to overtly train and lethally equip vetted members of the Syrian opposition for select purposes. These purposes include supporting U.S. efforts to combat the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria and setting the conditions for a negotiated settlement to…

In Orientalism and the Myth of the Arab Mind, Nissim Rejwan deftly surveys, analyses, criticizes and dismisses the primarily Western Orientalists’ insistence on dwelling on the so-called “Arab mind”. In an attempt to amplify this idea, he cites a number of points made by scholars and observers who wrote on both sides of the subject:…

Iran’s foreign policy is the product of many, and sometimes competing, factors: the ideology of Iran’s Islamic revolution; Iranian leadership’s perception of threats to the regime and to the country; long-standing Iranian national interests; and the interaction of the Iranian regime’s various factions and constituencies. This book begins with an examination of Iran’s policy motivators…

Bahrain is a longtime ally that is pivotal to maintaining Persian Gulf security. Kuwait remains pivotal to U.S. efforts to secure the Persian Gulf region because of its consistent cooperation with U.S. strategy and operations in the region and its proximity to both Iran and Iraq. Qatar, a small peninsular country in the Persian Gulf,…

This book sheds light on diverse aspects of a country thus far renowned for its various forms of instability and turmoil by portraying it from very different angles. It begins by underscoring how the instructors’ emotional intelligence is paramount for maintaining student satisfaction and retention in a market as competitive as that of Lebanon. It…