The respective policies of the governments of Iran and Pakistan pose serious challenges to US interests in the Middle East, Asia and beyond. These two regional powers, with a combined population of ar
The world is currently witnessing an 'Arctic Scramble'-as the major powers compete to demarcate and occupy Arctic territory. The region is known to be home to large gas and oil reserves, and its posit
In the century after 1530 the Habsburgs of Spain and the Ottoman Turks fought a maritime war that seemed destined to lead nowhere. Lasting peace was as unlikely as final triumph, in part because the p
The resonant ruins of Pompeii are perhaps the most direct route back to the living, breathing world of the ancient Romans. Two million visitors annually now walk the paved streets which re-emerged, mi
The so-called ‘Cedar Revolution’ in Lebanon, triggered by the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, brought to an end three decades of Syrian military presence in t
The figure of the shaman has always been a prominent motif within the Islamic world, particularly in relation to the mystical domain of Sufism. Here, Thierry Zarcone and Angela Hobart offer a vigorous
With full-frontal genitalia, erections, even actual sex featuring increasingly in films, this explicitness in presentation has caused critical consternation and accusations that such film narratives a
Music is a complex and multi-faceted art form. Yet too often it is regarded as discrete and self-contained. The chapters in this groundbreaking book explore different aspects of how music may shape so
Historians since Herodotus and Thucydides have claimed that the year 483 BCE marked a turning point in the history of Athens. For it was then that Themistocles mobilized the revenues from the city’s h
Public relations and journalism have had a difficult relationship for over a century, characterised by mutual dependence and – often – mutual distrust. The two professions have vied with each other fo
Since its doomed maiden voyage in April 1912, the Titanic has become a monumental icon of the twentieth century and has inspired a wealth of interpretations across literature, art and media. This book
Fashion reveals not only who we are, but whom we aspire to be. From 1775 to 1925, artists in Europe were especially attuned to the gaps between appearance and reality, participating in and often criti
Saudi Arabia, with its US alliance and abundance of oil dollars, has a very different economic story to that of Iran, which despite enormous natural gas reserves, has been hit hard by economic, trade,
India's endemic gender-based violence has received increased international scrutiny and provoked waves of domestic protest and activism. In recent years, related studies on India and South Asia have p
Who analyses children's screen content and media use in Arab countries, and with what results? Children, defined internationally as under-18s, account for some 40 per cent of Arab populations and the
During the Arab uprisings of early 2011, which saw the overthrow of Zine el-Abadine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the role of digital media and social networking tools was widely repo
In the depths of the Cold War and in the wake of Britain's announcement of its intention to withdraw 'East of Suez' by the end of 1971, Britain was faced with the stark reality of a Marxist rebellion
People in Western societies have long been interested in their dreams and what they mean. However, few non-Muslims in the West are likely to seek interpretation of those dreams to help them make life-
The traumas of conflict and war in postcolonial Africa have been widely documented, but less well-known are their artistic representations. A number of recent films, novels and other art forms have so
Gender equality is a modern ideal, which has only recently, with the expansion of human rights and feminist discourses, become inherent to generally accepted conceptions of justice. In Islam, as in ot
From false idols and graven images to the tombs of kings and the shrines of capitalism, the targeted destruction of cities, sacred sites and artefacts for religious, political or nationalistic reasons
As the only oil producer with sufficient spare capacity to shape the world economy, Saudi Arabia is one of the most significant states in twenty-first century geopolitics. Despite the enormous potenti
What is the nature of tolerance? Can it be engendered by religion? And how might different cultural traditions, whether religious or secular, assist in promulgating the vital principle of humanistic d
Babylon: for eons its very name has been a byword for luxury and wickedness. 'By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept', wrote the psalmist, 'as we remembered Zion'. One of the greatest cities of
Drawing has been growing in recognition and stature within contemporary fine art since the mid-1970s. Simultaneously, feminist activism has been widespread, leading to the increased prominence of wome
The Nazi Holocaust is one of the most momentous events in human history. Yet, it remains on many levels a baffling and unfathomable mystery. By shunning simplistic ‘explanations’ Ronnie Landau has set
During the apartheid era, the British government faced an uneasy dilemma: while repudiating apartheid laws it maintained an ambiguous stance towards the South African government. This is the first boo
Having monopolized Central Asian politics and culture for over a century, the Timurid ruling elite was forced from its ancestral homeland in Transoxiana at the turn of the sixteenth century by an inva
The Safavid era is of special significance in the history of Iran. Under the Safavids - between the sixteenth and the mid-eighteenth century - Iran was transformed and a state emerged which was the fo
The network of freemasons and Masonic lodges in the Middle East is an opaque and mysterious one, and is all too often seen-within the area-as a vanguard for Western purposes of regional domination. Bu
Ugliness is very much alive in the history of art. From ritual invocations of mythic monsters to the scare tactics of the early twentieth-century avant-garde, from the cabinet of curiosities to the id
How does our colonial past echo through today's global politics? How have former empire-builders sought vindication or atonement, and formerly colonised states reversal or retribution? This ground-bre
Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasing Hitler's Germany has been widely condemned. However, historians (and politicians) have been divided about the viability of alternative courses of action.Andre
Gandhi's nationalism seems simple and straightforward: he wanted an independent Indian nation state and freedom from British colonial rule. But in reality his nationalism rested on complex and sophist
Africa is huge, internationally vital, potentially rich and powerful yet mired in failure – political, economic, social and even cultural. Yet the story of contemporary Africa is not just one of globa
Gardens of the Gods reveals the symbolic language of garden design, exploring the gardens of China with their moon gates and immortal rocks, the Zen gardens of Japan, and the paradise gardens of Islam
The GCC, made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, is one of the most resilient sub-regional organizations in the world, and the most successful in the one in the Arab world.
Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been the subject of extensive international peacebuilding and statebuilding efforts coordinated by Western donor states and internat
