The modern Middle East

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James L. Gelvin

Beginning in December 2010 popular revolt swept through the Middle East, shocking the world and ushering in a period of unprecedented unrest. Protestors took to the streets to demand greater freedom, democracy, human rights, social justice, and regime change. What caused these uprisings? What is their significance? And what are their likely consequences? In a question-and-answer format, this book explores all aspects of the revolutionary protests that have rocked the Middle East. The author, a historian begins with an overview: What sparked the Arab uprisings? Where did the demands for democracy and human rights come from? How appropriate is the phrase "Arab Spring"? before turning to specific countries around the region. He looks at such topics as the role of youth, labor, and religious groups in Tunisia and Egypt and discusses why the military turned against rulers in both countries. Exploring the uprisings in Libya and Yemen, he explains why these two states are considered "weak," why that status is important for understanding the upheavals there, and why outside powers intervened in Libya but not in Yemen. Next, he compares two cases that defied expectations: Algeria, which experts assumed would experience a major upheaval after Egypt's, and Syria, which experts failed to foresee. He then looks at the monarchies of Morocco, Jordan, and the Gulf, exploring the commonalities and differences of protest movements in each. The final chapter discusses the implications of the uprisings. What do they mean for the United States? For Iran? Has al-Qaeda been strengthened or weakened? What effects have the uprisings had on the Israel-Palestine conflict? What conclusions might we draw from the uprisings so far?

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Chris Cook and John Paxton

In compiling this volume the editors have aimed to gather together, in one volume, as many of the important political facts as possible for a critical period of European history. In addition this book has also been designed as a companion volume to the existing European Political Facts 1918-1973 and to the forthcoming European Political Facts 1789 - 1848. Once again the editors have taken all the countries of Europe, from Portugal and Spain to Tsarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Throughout the aim has been to provide comparable material, even though this has not always been easy to achieve, most particularly in the earlier part of this period, when reliable sources were extremely limited. For simplicity, the editors have adopted the use of the Gregorian calendar in this work.

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Laurence W. Levine with Kathleen Quinn

"Inside Argentina From Peron to Menem: 1950-2000 From an American Point of View is an eyewitness narrative of the perilous journey taken by modern Argentina in its search for economic and political stability. It is the fascinating, untold story of the key role played by U.S.-Argentine relations in forging Argentina's destiny."--BOOK JACKET.

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Eric Foner

A critical biography of the Revolutionary pamphleteer, exploring the origins, expression, and impact of his ideas and the place of his radical ideology in the eighteenth-century world.