Based on his own field research and the ethnographic reports of other scholars, anthropologist Salzman presents an analysis of Middle Eastern culture that goes a long way toward explaining the gulf between Western and Middle Eastern cultural perspectives

The region of the Middle East has been called the cradle of mankind. This volume studies historical, cultural, religious, social and political legacies, which play a central role in obstructing intercultural dialogue in the Middle East. The region became home to numerous cultures, religions and ethnicities with long experience of living together in a multicultural environment and has an immense impact on the entire human civilization as first human civilizations were born there. Today, more than 50% of world population follow Abrahamic religions (e.g. Christianity, Islam, Judaism), which have their roots in the Middle East. This book focuses on multiple topics related to the Middle East, including ancient history, the religion and mythology of the Ancient Near Eastern regions, Arabic, Persian and Islamic studies, Persian, Turkish and Arab literature, as well as modern Middle Eastern issues related to politics, security, society and the economy.

After years of relative neglect, culture is finally receiving due recognition as a key factor in the evolution and resolution of conflicts. Unfortunately, however, when theorists and practitioners of conflict resolution speak of culture, they often understand and use it in a bewildering and unhelpful variety of ways. With sophistication and lucidity, "Culture and Conflict Resolution" exposes these shortcomings and proposes an alternative conception in which culture is seen as dynamic and derivative of individual experience. The book explores divergent theories of social conflict and differing strategies that shape the conduct of diplomacy, and examines the role that culture has (and has not) played in conflict resolution. The author is as forceful in critiquing those who would dismiss or diminish culture s relevance as he is trenchant in advocating conflict resolution approaches that make the most productive use of a coherent concept of culture. In a lively style, Avruch challenges both scholars and practitioners not only to develop a clearer understanding of what culture is, but also to take that understanding and incorporate it into more effective conflict resolution processes."

fills a gap in the market on conflict resolution in the Arab world examines conflict management in the Arab world through comparative case study analysis will be of much interest to students of conflict resolution, Middle Eastern politics, peace and conflict studies, security studies and IR

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 “[A] sweeping and authoritative history" (The New York Times Book Review), Black Wave is an unprecedented and ambitious examination of how the modern Middle East unraveled and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979. Kim Ghattas seamlessly weaves together history, geopolitics, and culture to deliver a gripping read of the largely unexplored story of the rivalry between between Saudi Arabia and Iran, born from the sparks of the 1979 Iranian revolution and fueled by American policy. With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to Iran’s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, the assassination of countless intellectuals, the birth of groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the rise of ISIS. Ghattas introduces us to a riveting cast of characters whose lives were upended by the geopolitical drama over four decades: from the Pakistani television anchor who defied her country’s dictator, to the Egyptian novelist thrown in jail for indecent writings all the way to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Black Wave is both an intimate and sweeping history of the region and will significantly alter perceptions of the Middle East.

Machine generated contents note:1.Introduction: culture and politics in Palestine/Israel /Tamir Sorek --2.Dancing with tears in our eyes: political hipsters, alternative culture and binational urbanism in Israel/Palestine /Daniel Monterescu --3.Face control: everynight selection and "the other" /Avihu Shoshana --4.The impossible quest of Nasreen Qadri to claim colonial privilege in Israel /Nadeem Karkabi --5.Mediterraneanism in conflict: development and settlement of Palestinian refugees and Jewish immigrants in Gaza and Yamit /Alona Nitzan-Shiftan --6.Songs of subordinate integration: music education and the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel during the Mapai era /Arnon Yehuda Degani --7.Self-categorization, intersectionality and creative freedom in the cultural industries: Palestinian women filmmakers in Israel /Noa Lavie --8.Religious symbolism and politics: hijab and resistance in Palestine /Lana Shehadeh --9.Anniversaries of `first' settlement and the politics of Zionist commemoration /Liora R. Halperin.

The authors of Culture, Conflict and Counterinsurgency contend that an enduring victory can still be achieved in Afghanistan. However, to secure it we must better understand the cultural foundations of the continuing conflicts that rage across Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, and shift our strategy from an attritional engagement to a smarter war plan that embraces these cultural dimensions. They examine the nexus of culture, conflict, and strategic intervention, and attempt to establish if culture is important in a national security and foreign policy context, and to explore how cultural phenomena and information can best be used by the military. In the process they address just how intimate cultural knowledge needs to be to counter an insurgency effectively. Finally, they establish exactly how good we've been at building and utilizing cultural understanding in Afghanistan, what the operational impact of that understanding has been, and where we must improve to maximize our use of cultural knowledge in preparing for and engaging in future conflicts.