Publications

This section highlights books, monographs and articles relating to regional cooperation in the Middle East. Publishers and authors are encouraged to submit material for review.

Abdo Baalkini, Guilain Denoeux and Robert Springborg
Legislative Politics in the Arab World
(Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999), 277 Pages, US$59.95 (cloth), US$22.50 (paper)

This book analyzes the role, form, and function of legislatures in the Arab world. More specifically, it focuses on a variety of parliamentary institutions to gauge the trajectory of democratization in Arab countries and to highlight legislatures’ roles in that process. The parliamentary systems of six nations – Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen and Egypt – are explored in detail in order to ground the theoretical particulars of the book in actual political circumstances.

The authors’ central argument is that, for all the setbacks in the democratization process, Arab legislatures are playing an increasingly significant role in Middle Eastern politics. Even when subsumed under an authoritative executive, parliaments and electoral politics can ill-afford to be ignored by leaders since they can, among other things, legitimize and vivify executive rule. On a deeper level, the authors see the concerns of the legislatures as having shifted from the ideological to the procedural, reflecting a new, negotiated struggle toward more open political systems. The book also charts the historical lineage of Arab legislatures – from ascension, to decline, to the present resurgence – to give the reader a broad understanding of parliamentary development in the Arab world.

These institutions face a number of challenges. One is the continued existence of "red lines" – political subjects that are considered sacrosanct and beyond debate. Often these are security or foreign policy matters, such as Moroccan claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara. A more immediate obstacle for Arab parliaments is the paltry allocation of physical and human resources to the legislatures themselves. Yemen represents an extreme case with its parliament lacking such necessities as committee room space, support staff, and even working office equipment. The authors evaluate such shortcomings as hampering the legislatures’ ability to become autonomous.

The book concludes that legislatures will continue to play a stabilizing, yet active, role in the Arab world’s democratization. The authors specify that monarchies such as Morocco and Jordan may be more able to accommodate political demands arising from party pluralism because royal legitimacy does not depend on election results or the support of a majority party. (Daniel Klass)

Minorities and the State in the Arab World
Ofra Bengio and Gabriel Ben-Dor, editors
(Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999), 244 pages, US$49.95 (cloth)

This collection of essays, edited by Ofra Bengio of the Moshe Dayan Center and Tel Aviv University and Gabriel Ben-Dor of the University of Haifa, seeks to illuminate the roles played by minorities in the Arab state. It suggests that democracy and the development of civil society in the Middle East require an open and honest discussion on the issue of minorities in order to advance the political development of the region.

A loose definition of "minority" is employed to include political, ethnic, religious and national groups that are either a numerical minority or are under-represented in the political structure. The Palestinians resident in Jordan, although representing over half of the nation’s population, exist as a distinct political minority and are treated as such, as are religious majorities such as the Shi’a of Iraq and Bahrain which are dominated by Sunni governments. Falling outside of this pattern are the ‘Alawis of Syria who represent a relatively small percentage of the population but have nevertheless risen from their former status as a minority group with a separatist ideology to their current status as the ruling power in Syria.

Each essay briefly discusses the recent political history of the country at hand, drawing particularly on the role played by minorities in the political development and evolution of each nation. Analysis focuses on the degree of social, economic and political integration that has occurred, as well as that which can be expected to occur based on the attitudes prevalent on each side of the divide and the nature of that division. The case of Sudan, for example, poses an immense challenge in that the Christians of the south and the Muslim Arabs of the north lack a common religion, ethnicity, culture, or language, whereas the Muslims and Copts of Egypt, while divided along religions lines, share a common ethnicity, language and national identity, thereby allowing for a reasonable level of integration into the mainstream of Egyptian society.

This volume is a valuable contribution to the study of minorities in the Arab state. It offers a concise, yet thorough summary of minority participation in the political sphere, focusing on the prospects for integration and reconciliation of minority groups as the political evolution of the Arab world moves forward. (Eileen Hren)

Arab-Iranian Relations
Khair el-Din Haseeb, editor
(Beirut: Centre for Arab Unity Studies, 1998), 564 pages, US$59.50

This edited volume includes the papers presented by Arab and Iranian scholars at a seminar held in Qatar in 1995 on the topic of Arab-Iranian relations. That seminar was organized by the Centre for Arab Unity Studies in Beirut whose director-general edited this publication. The broad range of subject areas addressed includes economic and political relations between Arabs and Iranians, images of the other in the media and schoolbooks, border and territorial disputes, comparisons of civil society, and Arab-Iranian perspectives on the Kurdish and Palestine questions.

As the editor notes in the book’s foreword, this book helps to fill a significant gap in scholarship, since it was discovered prior to the seminar that few titles existed on the contemporary relations of the two sides. One Arab and one Iranian writer address each subject area to provide frank and substantive analyses of both differences and commonalities. The framework for the seminar was important in shaping these perspectives by presenting the meeting as a future-oriented dialogue, at an unofficial level, for people in their individual capacities rather than as two delegations facing each other to defend official positions.

Both Arab and Iranian authors cite the 1979 Iranian revolution, the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, the role of outside powers, differing threat perceptions in the Gulf, the influence of the oil economy in the region, contrasts between Shi’a and Sunni Islam, and other factors as causing divisions between the two sides. Many also suggest that these divisions can be narrowed in the future through increased mutual understanding and dialogue. The many constructive, candid, and insightful perspectives found in this book make it a useful and unique resource on this under-studied topic. (Tim Werner)

The book is distributed in the UK by the British Academic Press and in North America by St. Martin’s Press.

Talking with the Enemy:
Negotiation and Threat Perception in South Africa and Israel/Palestine
(Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1999), 192 pages, US$55.00 (cloth)

In this study of the South African and Israeli-Palestinian peace processes, Daniel Lieberfeld of Bowdoin College presents an analysis of the factors that brought the main parties to the negotiating table and those that kept them there. He also compares the case studies and draws conclusions for application in other peace processes.

Lieberfeld critiques the common claim that willingness to negotiate can be explained adequately in terms of power relationships, national interests, and timing – what some term a conflict’s "ripeness for resolution." While the South African and Israeli-Palestinian contexts certainly included these elements, he identifies other important factors that led to negotiations. Lieberfeld believes the decision to negotiate in both cases was precipitated by a set of similar perceptual and political shifts: the failure of coercive options, an untenable status quo, a change in leadership, the relative ease of initiating negotiations, and the recognition that there was no other party with which to negotiate.

In both settings, Lieberfeld believes the recognition by each side (South African government/African National Congress and the Israeli government/Palestine Liberation Organization, respectively) of the other’s legitimacy made political accommodation possible and necessary. The stalemate and continued high price of hostilities also made the status quo untenable for all sides. In addition, changes in political leadership provided opportunities for new approaches: "Direct negotiation with the ANC and PLO followed within a year of leadership change in South Africa and Israel." The combination of these and other factors, which Lieberfeld describes, eventually created a climate for taking steps toward settling the conflicts.

The author concludes his analysis by recognizing the important differences between the two conflicts and the continued need for conflict resolution work: "The conflict in South Africa has been transformed so that it continues to evolve by primarily nonviolent means. That the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not yet been transformed to the same degree is a function of imbalances of power and skewed interdependence." Still, he notes, the Oslo Accords were an important turning point that "accorded mutual legitimacy to opposing national movements and their aspirations for identity, security, and autonomy."

Lieberfeld’s analysis offers a comparative framework with which to better understand both conflicts and his insights may also be useful for evaluating the initial stages of other peace processes. (Rex van der Riet and Tim Werner)

Turning Water into Politics:
The Water Issue in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
Alwyn R. Rouyer
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000), 285 pages, US$59.95 (cloth)

In this book, Alwyn R. Rouyer, a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Idaho, gives an objective and descriptive analysis of the water issue in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. While examining the historical, environmental, economic and legal dimensions of the water issue, Mr. Rouyer stresses the study of policy rather than international power politics. He describes the issue through mostly Israeli domestic politics rather than Middle Eastern international relations.

The author first focuses on describing the physical environment and climate, available water resources, and water consumption of both the Israelis and Palestinians. An emphasis is on the catastrophic potential of the water issue if a sustainable agreement is not achieved. Rouyer details the history of restrictive water policies and Israel’s justification for these policies. Among others, the author points out two main principles needing to be addressed. In order to utilize fully the available resources, an equal and reasonable agreement to share the resources, as well as equality based cooperation, need to be achieved.

After an agreement is reached, Rouyer contends that a joint infrastructure should be established, allowing economic and technical measures to be implemented. Economically, he states that there must be only one water policy and subsequently, one agricultural policy for the region. To reallocate the water issue away from the agricultural sector, subsidized water prices should be eradicated, causing the cost to rise to the marginal cost of supply. The author describes other cost-effective solutions, involving engineering projects to add fresh water to the region.

Without these or other solutions agreed upon and then implemented equitably, the author forecasts that peace will never be achieved between the Israelis and Palestinians. (Andrea Lorenz)

The Enemy Has a Face: The Seeds of Peace Experience
John Wallach
(Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2000), 119 pages, US$24.95 (cloth), US$12.95 (paper)

In this book, John Wallach, the founder and president of the Seeds of Peace International Camp, analyzes the internal dynamics and implications of this camp, which brings together Arab and Israeli youth every summer. The Seeds of Peace International Camp has been held annually in the US state of Maine since 1993.

Wallach describes the experiences of the youth through extensive interviews both at different stages of the camp as well as in their post-camp interaction. He explains how the camp helps Arabs and Israelis build sustainable friendships and, in the process, assists them in breaking down stereotypes and prejudices, in addition to comprehending their different histories. Wallach argues that the coexistence of youth in the context of Seeds of Peace plays a major role in shifting their perceptions of themselves and the "enemy" toward a violence-free approach to conflict resolution.

The overall program of the camp resembles many other summer camps. It differs in one important aspect, however, with its inclusion of daily coexistence sessions. During these sessions, Israelis and Arabs share their feelings and beliefs – under the supervision of trained facilitators – about specific issues in the conflict such as Jerusalem, bombing attacks, and settlements. Wallach explains that the youth initially clash and scream but eventually learn how to acknowledge each other’s pain and fears. Most importantly, the youth come to realize the legitimacy of the different "truths" of their reality.

Wallach concludes his book by stressing two distinguishing aspects of Seeds of Peace. First, Seeds of Peace alumni continue their commitment to the camp’s ethos after they return to their countries. The youth educate their own families and communities about their experiences as well as maintain their friendships by corresponding with each other via e-mail and regular mail. The second aspect that Wallach emphasizes is the universal relevance of Seeds of Peace, which has developed successful theories and models of practice for conflict resolution at the grassroots level.

The Enemy Has a Face is an excellent introduction to reconciliation efforts between Arab and Israeli youth. (Isra’ Muzaffar and Taly Lind)