Although many have tried, the spontaneity of the Arab Spring uprisings and the unpredictability of its diverse geographical outcomes have resisted explanation. For social scientists, part of the challenge has been how to effectively measure and analyze the empirical data, while another obstacle has been a lack of attention to the worldviews, value orientations, and long-term concerns from the people of the Middle East and North Africa. In order to meet these challenges head-on, Mansoor Moaddel and Michele J. Gelfand have assembled an international team of experts to explore and employ a new and diverse set of frameworks in order to explain the dynamics of cross-national variation, values, political engagement, morality, and development in these regions. To this end, the authors address a wide range of questions, such as: To what extent do recent events reflect changes in values among the Middle Eastern publics? Are youth uniformly more supportive of change than the rest of the population? To what extent are changes in values connected to changes in identities? How do we explain the process of change in the long term? As Moaddel and Gelfand remark in their book's introduction, "Our hope is that this collective effort will not only contribute to the development of the social sciences in the Middle East and North Africa, but also to practical political actions and public policies that serve social tolerance and harmony, peace, and economic prosperity for the people of the region."

In The Rebirth of the Middle East,Rosenberg discusses how peace, stability, and prosperity are dependent upon economic and trade relations between Israel and Palestine, as well as other neighboring Arab and Muslim countries. The world is poised to participate in this healing process with funding and training and lacks only the needed conditions to proceed. Rosenberg asserts that this process of stabilization can benefit from a reinvented Marshall Plan, modeled on the 1948 U.S. humanitarian European Recovery Program. In the long run, success will be measured by the creation of a Middle East Economic Community. As you point out, there is an opportunity to define the future of the Middle East in terms of reconciliation and coexistence rather than confrontation and violence. There are no limits to what can be done if the region's energy and talents can be channeled into creating new opportunities and building a land as bountiful and peaceful as it is holy. —Bill Clinton, former President of the United States Praise for Jerry Rosenberg's Nation-Building: A Middle East Recovery Program: To Jerry M. Rosenberg- With much respect for his attempt to organize a great dream. I believe you have addressed yourself to the very foundations which will lie at the heart of the future of the region and I hope indeed that the day is not far off when the plan will be brought to realization. —Shimon Peres, former Prime Minster of Israel [Nation-Building provides] insights into the interplay of underlying variables, encompassing significant regional, global, religious, secular, socio-political, and historical factors, of the permeability of the Middle East. —el-Sayed el-Aswad, Ph.D., The University of Bahrain, Digest of Middle East Studies I hope, by drawing on the Marshall Plan, you are able to formulate a blueprint that can succeed in the Middle East. I further hope that you are able to use the Marshall Plan to illustrate to others how such plans have been successful in the past, and how, despite the daunting odds, such a plan could create economic growth, democracy, and peace in our region. I wish you much success in your important work. —Natan Sharansky, former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel

The American Culture of War presents a sweeping critical examination of every major American war since 1941. Timely, incisive, and comprehensive, it is a unique and invaluable survey of over sixty years of American military history.

In this book, I attempt to show how colonial and postcolonial political forces have endeavoured to reconstruct the national identity of Morocco, on the basis of cultural representations and ideological constructions closely related to nationalist and ethnolinguistic trends. I discuss how the issue of language is at the centre of the current cultural and political debates in Morocco. The present book is an investigation of the ramifications of multilingualism for language choice patterns and attitudes among Moroccans. More importantly, the book assesses the roles played by linguistic and cultural factors in the development and evolution of Moroccan society. It also focuses on the impact of multilingualism on cultural authenticity and national identity. Having been involved in research on language and culture for many years, I am particularly interested in linguistic and cultural assimilation or alienation, and under what conditions it takes place, especially today that more and more Moroccans speak French and are influenced by Western social behaviour more than ever before. In the process, I provide the reader with an updated description of the different facets of language use, language maintenance and shift, and language attitudes, focusing on the linguistic situation whose analysis is often blurred by emotional reactions, ideological discourses, political biases, simplistic assessments, and ethnolinguistic identities.

This annually updated volume of the World Today Series is designed to place in context the passionate controversies and emotional attachments of the two billion people who live, study, work, and die in the Middle East and South Asia. Despite room for optimism in some areas, many parts of the Middle East and South Asia continue to face extraordinary challenges and difficult outlooks. Much of this has to do with conflict across the region, which extends well beyond atrocities perpetrated by the Islamic State and the Assad regime in Syria.This volume depicts a region where hundreds of millions seek dignity as humans and respect from their governments. This volume helps the general reader understand recent and past developments from these countries.

This book explores the concept of cultural chauvinism as the sense of superiority that ethnic or national groups have of themselves relative to others, particularly in the context of international relations. Minabere Ibelema shows the various ways that academics, statesmen, and especially journalists, express their cultural groups’ sense of superiority over others. The analysis pivots around the notion of “Western values” given its centrality in international relations and diplomacy. To the West, this stands for an array of largely positive political and civic values; to a significant portion of the global community, it embodies degeneracies. Ibelema argues that often the most routine expressions go under the radar, even in this age of hypersensitivity. This book throws a unique light on global relations and will be of particular interest to scholars in international relations, communication studies and journalism studies.

In a world witnessing the transformative rise of China, the intricate dynamics of its soft power diplomacy have become a focal point of global attention. As geopolitical landscapes shift, the need to understand how China crafts its foreign policy, especially through the strategic use of soft power, becomes imperative. Soft Power and Diplomatic Strategies in Asia and the Middle East is a crucial resource to unraveling these complexities. The book addresses the post-COVID-19 changes in China's soft power application, providing an in-depth, comparative analysis of its diplomatic endeavors in the Middle East and East Asia. By exploring cultural exchanges, economic collaborations, and religious engagements, the book offers nuanced insights into China's strategies, making it an indispensable tool for academics, policymakers, diplomats, and those intrigued by contemporary geopolitics. This book aims to dissect the multifaceted approaches China employs to achieve its diplomatic objectives. From cultural initiatives to economic partnerships and religious engagements, the book unravels the adaptability and complexity of China's foreign policy mechanisms. Its primary objective is to provide a comparative framework for studying China's soft power diplomacy, filling a notable gap in existing scholarship. The interdisciplinary approach ensures rich, diverse analyses, fostering dialogues across international relations, Asian studies, and political science. By offering new theories, methodologies, and empirical data, the book not only challenges existing notions but also sparks further academic inquiry into the strategic use of soft power in foreign policy.

A revised and updated edition of a popular and widely used text

An accessible overview of the mental health effects of adolescent digital media use, for researchers, policymakers and parents.