Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 UNDERWRITING PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AND THE LIMITS OF ECONOMIC INDUCEMENTS By Scott Lasensky The United States has invested huge amounts of financial capital in the Middle East and has used "check-book" diplomacy as a key instrument for protecting its interests and promoting its policies there. Since 1973, U.S. aid to the Middle East has exceeded $100 billion. Over time, there were different principal reasons for … [Read more...]
Underwriting Peace in the Middle East: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Limits of Economic Inducements
By March 7, 2021
The Terror And the Pity: Yasir Arafat and The Second Loss Of Palestine
By March 6, 2021
Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 THE TERROR AND THE PITY: YASIR ARAFAT AND THE SECOND LOSS OF PALESTINE As has so often happened before, some observers have underestimated Yasir Arafat's ability to survive political or military disasters partly of his own making. Others have overestimated Yasir Arafat's willingness to make peace or his ability to change his positions. This article presents a long-term view of Arafat's leadership and a short-term analysis on the current … [Read more...]
Arafat’s Dueling Dilemmas: Succession and the Peace Process
By March 5, 2021
Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 ARAFAT?S DUELING DILEMMAS: SUCCESSION AND THE PEACE PROCESS By Lenore Martin This article analyzes the intersecting dilemmas involved in the succession to Yasir Arafat. Succession theory explains the first dilemma: Arafat?s refusal to designate his successor for fear of usurpation encourages a succession struggle. The smooth transition of power after Arafat depends on the political legitimacy of his Fatah-controlled regime. The second dilemma: the … [Read more...]
The United States Government: Patron of Islam?
By March 4, 2021
Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 The United States Government: Patron of Islam? By Daniel Pipes and Mimi Stillman The U.S. government has, almost without realizing it, developed a position toward the religion of Islam, not in theological terms but regarding such issues as Islamism and terrorism in the name of Islam. Whether Republican or Democrat, the leaders' statements defend Islam as a moderate and peaceful religion which extremists distort; more surprisingly, they also promote … [Read more...]
Changes and Continuities in Jordanian Foreign Policy
By March 3, 2021
Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 Changes and Continuities in Jordanian Foreign Policy By Brent E. Sasley Studies of Jordanian foreign policy have most often focused on that country?s small size and geographical location--and consequently external and material factors--as constraining and shaping Jordan?s foreign policy. While this approach is certainly valid, it has also led to neglect of the domestic political, economic, or personal components of Jordanian foreign policy.(1) This … [Read more...]
Twins or Enemies: Comparing Nationalist and Islamist Traditions in Turkish Politics
By March 2, 2021
TWINS OR ENEMIES Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 Twins or Enemies: Comparing Nationalist and Islamist Traditions in Turkish Politics By Birol Akgun In the last decade, fragile Turkish democracy has witnessed the rise of the two dynamic movements: Right-wing nationalism and religious revivalism. In a comparative perspective, this paper analyzes and explores underlying causes of increasing electoral support given to the Islamist Refah Party or RP (later succeeded by Fazilet or FP) and the … [Read more...]
Who Is Responsible For the Taliban?
By March 1, 2021
Volume 6, No. 1 - March 2002 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TALIBAN? By Michael Rubin The September 11, 2020 attacks on New York City and Washington refocused sustained American attention on Afghanistan for the first time since the Soviet invasion ended. The origin and rise of the Taliban became a subject of great interest. The U.S.-backed mujahidin from the era of the Soviet occupation and the Taliban, a movement developed a decade later, were fierce rivals. As such, the "blowback" … [Read more...]
