Connections between Brazil and the Middle East have a long history, but the importance of these interactions has been heightened in recent years by the rise of Brazil as a champion of the global south, mass mobilizations in the Arab world and South America, and the cultural renaissance of Afro-descendant Muslims and Arab ethnic identities in the Americas. This groundbreaking collection traces the links between these two regions, describes the emergence of new South-South solidarities, and offers new methodologies for the study of transnationalism, global culture, and international relations.

With its new political and cultural affiliations with the Middle East and the renewed visibility of the country's millions of practicing Muslims and those with Middle Eastern roots, Brazil may offer valuable lessons for countries transformed by the "Arab Spring." This groundbreaking collection reveals the historical links between these two world regions, describes the emergence of new South-South solidarities, and offers new methodologies for the study of transnationalism, global culture, and international relations.

The Middle East has undergone enormous change since 9/11, from the invasion and occupation of Iraq to the events of the ′Arab Spring′. An Introduction to Middle East Politics engages with questions of democratisation and political reform in the region. It covers: Historical Legacies; The Ottoman Empire, WWI, colonialism and the Cold War; nationalism and Islamist politics Authoritarianism in Egypt, Algeria and Syria; political changes in Iran; the politics of oil in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States; Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab States Intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq The recent uprisings in the Arab World, human rights, social movements and social media Each chapter opens with helpful learning objectives and concludes with study questions. Annotated bibliographies aid further reading, whilst the companion website provides links to additional material. This book will prove a fascinating read for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Middle East Politics and related courses across Politics and International Relations.

Brazil is at crossroads, emerging slowly from a historic recession that was preceded by a huge economic boom. Reasons for the historic bust following a boom are manifold. Policy mistakes were an important contributory factor, and included the pursuit of countercyclical policies, introduced to deal with the effects of the global financial crisis, beyond the point where they were helpful. More fundamentally, it reflects longstanding structural weaknesses plaguing the economy, that also help explain Brazil’s uninspiring growth performance over the past four decades.

About the separate trajectories of the Levant, the Gulf, Egypt and the Maghreb after the Arab Spring uprisings

This volume surveys the interplay between state and non-state actors in Latin American foreign policies and attitudes towards the Middle East in the twenty-first century. How will domestic instability and international tensions affect the choices and behavior of Latin American countries towards the Arab world? The chapters here offer insight into this and similar questions, as well as a comparative value in analyzing countries beyond those specifically discussed. Common topics in policy making are considered–namely, Israel and Palestine, Iran, the Gulf countries, and the Arab "Spring”–as authors from distinct disciplines examine the crucial relation between ends and means on the one hand, and foreign policy actions and context on the other.

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.