Recent publications on Iraq

Recent publications on Iraq include:

• Faleh A. Jabar reflects on the history of the Iraq war and examines the viability of the current strategy in “Iraq Four Years after the U.S.-Led Invasion” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Policy Outlook no. 37, July 2007).
• If the United States seeks to quell the civil war in Iraq, re-occupation may be the answer, argues Jeffrey Stacey in "Re-Occupy Iraq" (National Interest, July/August 2007).
• In "Kurdistanoff," Henri J. Barkey contends that when it comes to Iraq's Kurds, the United States needs to make a deal with Turkey or face the consequences later (National Interest, July/August 2007).
• Security forces in Iraqi Kurdistan routinely torture and deny basic due-process rights to detainees, according to a Human Rights Watch report ("Caught in the Whirlwind: Torture and Denial of Due Process by the Kurdistan Security Forces," July 3, 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• The British experience in Basra, far from being a model to be replicated in the rest of Iraq as some have argued, is an example of what to avoid, concludes a new International Crisis Group ("Where is Iraq Headed? Lessons from Basra," Middle East Report no. 67, June 25, 2007).
• A Human Rights Watch briefing paper argues that the judgment in the trial of Saddam Hussein reflected serious factual and legal errors by the Iraqi High Tribunal ("The Poisoned Chalice: A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper on the Decision of the Iraqi Hight Tribunal in the Dujail Case," Briefing Paper no. 1, June 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• In Suicide Bombers in Iraq, Mohammed M. Hafez explores the disproportionate impact of suicide attacks in Iraq, suggesting that they are not only dragging Iraq into a merciless civil war but are also emboldening insurgents in Afghanistan, Algeria, and Somalia (United States Institute of Peace, June 2007).
• While violence in Iraq dominates the media, beneath the surface there is a vibrant culture struggling to reassert itself, contends Nimrod Raphaeli in "Culture in Post-Saddam Iraq" (Middle East Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 3, Summer 2007).
• Iraq cannot depend on its neighbors to address problems that are primarily internal and Washington must avoid the temptation to link the Iraq crisis with other regional issues, conclude contributors to "With Neighbors Like These: Iraq and the Arab States on its Borders" (David Pollock, ed., Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Focus no. 70).

Several recent publications address the crisis in Palestine:

• Although the obstacles to international intervention in Gaza remain formidable, the United States and the international community can encourage Egyptian and other Arab and Muslim mediators, as well as engage Israel regarding a possible international force, argues Scott Lasensky in "International Intervention in Gaza: Options and Obstacles" (United States Institute of Peace Briefing, June 2007).
• With Hamas's takeover of Gaza, the commonly accepted rules of the game for Palestinian politics have been lost, making it almost impossible to hold new elections or to restore social peace (International Institute for Strategic Studies, "Hamas Coup in Gaza," Strategic Comments, vol. 13, no. 5, June 2007).
• The international community should stop pretending there is a viable peace process leading to a two-state solution, contends Nathan Brown in “The Peace Process Has No Clothes” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Web Commentary, June 14, 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• Palestinian armed groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have shown insufficient regard for civilian lives, finds a recent Human Rights Watch report ("Indiscriminate Fire: Palestinian Rocket Attacks on Israel and Israeli Artillery Shelling in the Gaza Strip," June 2007).

New publications on Lebanon include:

• The decision by the U.N. Security Council to set up an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri has dramatically raised tensions in Lebanon, according to Paul Salem in “Lebanon Resists Security Threats but Must Revive National Unity Government” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Web Commentary, June 26, 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• A year after the 2006 summer war, Lebanon finds itself in a state of quasi-paralysis as a result of the drawn-out political standoff that has pitted the opposition against the government in a bid to overthrow the latter and re-draw Lebanon's political map, argues Oussama Safa in “Lebanon's Future at a Crossroads” (Arab Reform Initiative, Arab Reform Brief no. 15, June 2007).

Recent publications address reform-related developments in other Arab countries:

• Although the Middle East is frequently portrayed as a collection of authoritarian states, the region is in fact engaged in a profound and tumultuous process of political change, contends Jeremy Jones in Negotiating Change: The New Politics of the Middle East (London, New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007).
• Although the potential exists for Kuwait to move toward a constitutional monarchy, this possibility remains remote and the progress to date could be reversed if the ruling family suspends the constitution and parliament, as it has done in the past, argues Paul Salem in “Kuwait: Politics in a Participatory Emirate” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Middle East Center Paper no. 3, June 2007).
• In “Women in Islamist Movements: Toward an Islamist Model of Women's Activism,” Marina Ottaway and Omayma Abdellatif suggest that the growing involvement of Arab women in Islamist political movements has enhanced their awareness of women's rights and is leading to a new activism inspired by Islamic principles rather than Western models (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Carnegie Middle East Center Paper no. 2, June 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• Moroccan authorities have come to rely on a stealthy system of judicial and financial controls to keep enterprising journalists in check, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in a new report (Joel Campagna and Kamel Labidi, “The Moroccan Façade: Politicized Court Cases, Media Law, Harassment Undermine a Nation's Press Gains,” July 3, 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• Despite some recent optimism and new talks starting on June 18, the conflict in Western Sahara —with its heavy continuing costs for all the parties—will not be resolved without a fundamental change in the UN Security Council's approach, warns an International Crisis Group report “Western Sahara: The Cost of Conflict” (Middle East/North Africa Report no. 65, June 11, 2007). Click here for a summary in Arabic.
• In “Algeria: A Future Hijacked by Corruption,” Djilali Hadjadj examines the history of corruption in Algeria since independence and the development of mafia systems that have sustained it (Mediterranean Politics, vol. 12, no. 2, July 2007, 263-77).
• Egypt still represents the best chance for U.S. democracy promotion in the Arab world in the near future, argue Nathan Brown, Michele Dunne, and Amr Hamzawy in “Egypt—Don't Give up on Democracy Promotion” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Policy Brief no. 52, July 2007). Click here for Arabic.
• Syrian national identity should be reconfigured based on an all-encompassing principle that considers Arabism as a cornerstone of the democratic Syrian national identity, argues Yasseen Haj-Saleh in “Political Reform and the Reconfiguration of National Identity in Syria” (Arab Reform Initiative, Arab Reform Brief no. 14, June 22, 2007).
• Despite modest economic reforms, Syria's heavily regulated economy and declining oil revenues make the country vulnerable to future shocks, argues Nimrod Raphaeli in “Syria's Fragile Economy” (Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 11, no. 2, June 2007, 34-51).
• In "Comparing Three Muslim Brotherhoods: Syria, Jordan, Egypt," Barry Rubin argues that the banner of the Islamist revolution in the Middle East has largely passed to groups sponsored by or derived from the Muslim Brotherhood (Middle East Review of International Affairs, vol. 11, no. 2, 107-116).
• The summer 2007 issue of the Middle East Report includes analysis on the war economy in Iraq, migrant workers in Dubai, and Lebanese reconstruction.

Two recent publications discuss educational reform in the Arab world:

• Despite the popularity of American-style universities in the Arab world, such institutions do not meet many of the standards of universities and colleges in the United States, especially in areas such as faculty empowerment and focus on the student, argue Shafeeq Ghabra and Margreet Arnold in "Studying the American Way: An Assessment of American-Style Higher Education in Arab Countries" (Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Focus no. 71, June 2007).

• Qatar has attracted branch campuses of some of the best universities in the world, but to support both its economic and social development, the country needs much stronger results from its elementary and secondary education system, concludes Rand Corporation's Education for a New Era: Design and Implementation of K-12 Education Reform in Qatar (2007).

Recent publications address U.S. policy in the Middle East:

• In "Engaging Political Islam to Promote Democracy," Shadi Hamid calls for a new U.S. policy for the Middle East that unequivocally gives democratic reform priority over stability. He argues that to be credible, this policy must recognize and engage mainstream Islamist parties (Progressive Policy Institute, Policy Report, June 2007).
• The notion that democracy promotion plays a dominant role in Bush policy is a myth, argues Thomas Carothers in "The Democracy Crusade Myth" (National Interest, July/August 2007, 8-12).
• Rejecting the simple assumption that there is a zero-sum trade off between traditional security objectives and democracy promotion, Francis Fukuyama and Michael McFaul advocate continued U.S. efforts to promote democracy, proposing the concept of dual-track diplomacy these goals simultaneously (“Should Democracy be Promoted or Demoted?” The Stanley Foundation, June 2007).