Suchergebnisse

This collection seeks to advance our understanding of intra-Islamic identity conflict during a period of upheaval in the Middle East. Instead of treating distinctions between and within Sunni and Shia Islam as primordial and immutable, it examines how political economy, geopolitics, domestic governance, social media, non- and sub-state groups, and clerical elites have affected the transformation and diffusion of sectarian identities. Particular attention is paid to how conflicts over distribution of political and economic power have taken on a sectarian quality, and how a variety of actors have instrumentalised sectarianism. The volume, covering Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Iran, and Egypt, includes contributors from a broad array of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, and Islamic studies.

Beginning with the 2003 invasion of Iraq and concluding with the Arab uprisings of 2011, Frederic Wehrey investigates the Shi'a-Sunni divide now dominating the Persian Gulf 's political landscape. Focusing on three states affected most by sectarian tensions—Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait—Wehrey identifies the factors that have exacerbated or tempered sectarianism, including domestic political institutions, the media, clerical establishments, and the contagion effect of external events, such as the Iraq civil war and the Arab uprisings.In addition to his analysis, Wehrey builds a historical

In an analysis grounded in the observation that although Iranian power projection is marked by strengths, it also has serious liabilities and limitations, this report surveys the nature of both in four critical areas and offers a new U.S. policy paradigm that seeks to manage the challenges Iran presents through the exploitation of regional barriers to its power and sources of caution in the regime's strategic calculus

This article analyzes Hizbollah's war against Israel in south Lebanon as a psychological contest where public opinion, perception, & persuasion were the real determinants of victory. Hizballah successfully mobilized popular support for its war by communicating nationalist & religious themes to different sectarian groups in Lebanon. At the same time, it used classic guerrilla warfare as a carefully calibrated psychological tool to erode the morale of Israeli forces, their Lebanese allies, & the Israeli public's support for the war. Hizbollah's sophisticated media capability -- particularly combat video footage aired on its satellite TV station & the Internet -- played a critical role in amplifying the effects of its attrition campaign. By orchestrating information-age media & guerrilla tactics, this strategy has important implications for the future of irregular warfare. Adapted from the source document.

Since the Arab Spring, the Arab countries of the Maghreb-Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya - have emerged as a vitally strategic concern for the United States and Europe, given their impact on hydrocarbon security, terrorism and Mediterranean migrant flows. The conservative Islamist trend known as Salafism has emerged as a major socio-political force on this landscape. While much attention has been focused on the disruptive, militant expressions of Salafi ideology like the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, Salafism is actually far more complex and dynamic. Informed by rich, on-the-ground interviews, 'Salafism in the Maghreb' is the definitive yet accessible account of this oft-misunderstood current of Islamism.

The geopolitical significance of the Sahara is becoming painfully clear. Islamist militant groups and transnational criminal networks are operating in the region's most fragile states, exploiting widespread corruption, weak government capacity, crushing poverty, and entrenched social and ethnic tensions. The unrest spills over borders and aggravates protracted regional crises. This insecurity raises urgent concerns for the broader Sahara and the West. Perilous Desert details the sources of instability and what can be done to minimize the threat of simmering conflicts.L

Regional reactions to a nuclear-armed Iran will vary, ranging from accommodation & detente to outright hostility & efforts to acquire a countervailing deterrent. Many states do not perceive a nuclear-armed Iran itself to be the principal threat, but are more concerned with secondary or spillover effects, such as a pre-emptive strike by the United States or Israel, a regional arms race, a nuclear accident or an emboldened Iran that increases its support for terrorism. Given these various threat perceptions, the West should construct a new cooperative security structure that strikes a balance between providing deterrence for allies & creating openings for positive engagement with Iran. Adapted from the source document.

Regional reactions to a nuclear-armed Iran will vary, ranging from accommodation and detente to outright hostility and efforts to acquire a countervailing deterrent. Many states do not perceive a nuclear-armed Iran itself to be the principal threat, but are more concerned with secondary or spillover effects, such as a pre-emptive strike by the United States or Israel, a regional arms race, a nuclear accident or an emboldened Iran that increases its support for terrorism. Given these various threat perceptions, the West should construct a new cooperative security structure that strikes a balance between providing deterrence for allies and creating openings for positive engagement with Iran. (Survival / SWP)

Iran remains among the most poorly understood countries in the world and, for most Americans, terra incognita. A small community of American analysts in the government, academia, and the country's think tanks is, of course, working on Iran, but the overwhelming majority of them have never been to Iran or have visited only briefly. The consequences of this unfamiliarity have been distinctly negative for American policy, pushing most analyses toward a highly reductionist view. This monograph, the result of a workshop and the authors' own experience and analysis, is a concise, accessible handbook

CHAPTER ONE. - Introduction 1. - CHAPTER TWO. - U.S. Interests, Objectives, and Strategies 3. - CHAPTER THREE. - Iran's Interests, Objectives, and Strategies 9. - CHAPTER FOUR. - The Other Actors 29. - CHAPTER FIVE. - U.S. Instruments and Iranian Vulnerabilities 71. - CHAPTER SIX. - Policy Alternatives 93. - CHAPTER SEVEN. - Coping with a Nuclearizing Iran 101

The often tense relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been at the center of many of the major political shifts that have occurred in the Middle East since the fall of Saddam Hussein. This book surveys Saudi-Iranian relations since 2003, focusing on how they have affected and been affected by the major events in the Persian Gulf and the Levant, as well as the implications for U.S. policy in the region