Arabian Boundaries
Saudi Arabia: land of oil, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism and a crucial American ally. John Bradley provides intimate insight from the heart of this secretive Islamic kingdom's urban centres to its most remote mountainous terrain, revealing regional, religious and tribal rivalries. A highly informed, temperate, and understanding account of a country that is an enigma' - The New York Times 'A thoughtful, incisive portrait of a fractured nation.' - Newsweek International'
The United States and Syria, 1989-2014
by Ibraheem Saeed Al-Baidhani
The Saudi royal family and Aramco leadership are, and almost always have been, motivated by ambitions of long-term strength and profit. They use Islamic law, traditional ideology, and harsh justice to maintain stability and their own power, but underneath the thobes and abayas and behind the religious fanaticism and illiberalism lies a most sophisticated and ruthless business enterprise. Today, that corporation is poised to pull off the biggest IPO in history. Over more than a century, fed by...
Strengthening Statehood Capabilities for Successful Transitions in the Middle East/North Africa Region
by Dr. Mohammed El-Katiri
Unresolved territorial disputes have historically raised tensions between nations, often leading to regional destabilization and international repercussions. The issue of the three occupied UAE islands in the Persian Gulf - the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa - deserves particular attention because it threatens to undermine regional security and has potential global implications. Given the commanding position of the islands over the major shipping lanes of the Gulf and their strategic loca...
ASIL: Photographic Studies of the Purebred Arabian Horse
by Tariq Dajani
There's something instantly recognizable about the photography of Tariq Dajani. It's a combination of what he photographs and his curiosity in seeking a personal connection with this subject, captured using modern photographic methods which nonetheless invoke something of the Old Masters of painting. With Asil: Photographic Studies of the Purebred Arabian Horse, Dajani presents a series of beautifully observed and mastered photographs. These poetic portraits contain an elusive quality that draw...
The Persian Gulf state of Qatar has fewer than 2 million inhabitants, virtually no potable water, and has been an independent nation only since 1971. Yet its enormous oil and gas wealth has permitted the ruling al Thani family to exert a disproportionately large influence on regional and even international politics. Qatar is, as Mehran Kamrava explains in this knowledgeable and incisive account of the emirate, a "tiny giant": although severely lacking in most measures of state power, it is highl...
The poetry of pre-Islamic Arabia is a neglected tessera in the mosaic of Late Antiquity. It is the only literary corpus of that time that embodies the voices of the Arabs, and is, thus, a critical complementary resource for understanding the history not only of Arabian poetry, but also of Arabian ethos and ideology. Yet, as such, it remains little exploited for reasons large among which loom the 'question of authenticity', belief in the myth of 'the empty Hijaz', and indefensible assumptions of...
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 15 1985 (Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, #15)
The rediscovery of Assyria in the 1840s transformed Western views on the origins of civilisation. The excavation of Nineveh proved that even the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians together did not constitute the ancient world. These peoples had nothing to do with the beginnings of civilisation on Earth. It was in Mesopotamia that humanity took the first steps on its path towards the society we know today. The Sumerians inaugurated civilisation itself, but it was the Babylonians and then the Assyrians...
Salman's Legacy
King Salman of Saudi Arabia began his rule in 2015 confronted with a series of unprecedented challenges. The dilemmas he has faced are new and significant, from leadership shuffles and falling oil prices to regional and international upheaval. Salman's Legacy interrogates this era and assesses its multiple social, political, regional and international challenges. Whether Salman's policies have saved the kingdom from serious upheaval is yet to be seen, but no doubt a new kingdom is emerging. T...