Editor's Summary: This article analyzes recent changes in Greek-Turkish relations, characterized by the emergence of a positive atmosphere in the bilateral relations of two countries historically associated with an enduring conflict. It considers the roots of these changes, especially the effects of the Cold War's end and the problem of strategic disorientation embodied by the Imia-Kardak crisis of 1996. The article concludes with an effort to provide a constructivist analysis of the … [Read more...]
Diplomacy and Force in the Middle East Crisis: Israeli Crisis Management Strategies, September-December 2000
By March 7, 2021
Editor's Summary: This article examines key elements of the upheaval challenging the Israeli-Palestinian peace process starting in September 2000 and then assesses the crisis management strategies used by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in the crisis's first three months. It concludes that the government's crisis management, even according to its own framework, did not succeed. Two months after U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the failure of the July … [Read more...]
The Mixed Impact of Feminist Struggles in Egypt During the 1990s
By March 6, 2021
Editor's Summary: The women's movement in Egypt made gains in the late twentieth century but there were also many areas of scant progress or stagnation. Among the controversial issues have been the legal framework of women's rights, marriage and divorce laws, female genital mutilation, and issues of dress and modesty. The state's efforts to control women's groups have produced both a certain degree of official sponsorship along with aspects of control and … [Read more...]
Israel’s Beleaguered Defense Industry
By March 5, 2021
Editor's Summary: The Israeli defense industry was formed to meet urgent security needs but ceased to be the main supplier for the Israeli armed forces. It became the world's fifth-largest arms' exporter, competing successfully against leading Western companies, but at the same time is on the verge of collapse. A highly capable industry, which has been regarded as a model of Israeli technological achievements and self-reliance, it is also a sector riven with structural discrepancies … [Read more...]
The Military in Contemporary Middle East Politics
By March 4, 2021
Editor's Summary: In recent decades, coup activity by Middle Eastern militaries has fallen sharply. While armies remain important and powerful in regional states, governments (often led by former officers) have learned how to control their armed forces. To some extent, however, this has produced a situation in which the effectiveness of Arab and Iranian military establishments has declined due to the restrictions placed on them by governments. This article analyzes the current … [Read more...]
Russia’s Military Involvement in the Middle East
By March 3, 2021
Editor's Summary:Â Russia's emergence after the collapse of the USSR brought an evolution in Moscow's policy regarding Middle East arms supplies. The country's financial needs became a more important factor in decisions to sell military equipment. At the same time, the arms industry emerged as a semi-independent lobby in promoting such sales. This article evaluates Russia's arms development and supply relationships with different countries in the region, including the … [Read more...]
The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran: An Assessment
By March 2, 2021
Editor's Summary: Iran has been engaged in a major military buildup but has carefully chosen where and how to spend its resources. For Iran, obtaining missiles and Weapons of Mass Destruction is a way of projecting its power while making up for its weaknesses in the conventional arsenal. Self-reliance and deterrence are two major goals of Iranian decisionmakers. The armed forces are also divided along institutional lines in a way intended to maximize military backing for the regime. This … [Read more...]
The Syrian Army: Between the Domestic and the External Fronts
By March 1, 2021
On the evening of June 10, 2000, Syria's citizens were told that Hafiz al-Asad, who had been their leader for 30 years, had passed away. Asad was the president of the Syrian Republic, secretary-general of the ruling Ba`th Party, and head of the National Progressive Front (the formal framework for any permitted political activity in Syria, which includes the Ba`th party and six other small parties). But among the plethora of titles he carried and functions he fulfilled, Asad was also … [Read more...]
