BLOG APPROACHING THE MENA REGION: BOOK REVIEWS, ANALYSIS AND MORE
Abbas Amanat is an authority in the field of Iranian historiography. A Professor at Yale University, his published work is as extensive as his experience, having been the editor-in-chief of the Iranian Studies journal. Amanat’s latest book, “Iran: A Modern History”, will certainly contribute to cement his already outstanding reputation. The 900-page long book will Continue Reading
“Some changes are for good/ And this I know for sure”. At least, this is what Dionne Warwick used to sing back in the 1970s. We don’t know if Brian Hook thought the change was for good when in March 2018 US President Donald Trump decided to dismiss Rex Tillerson, who had been the US Continue Reading
After the publication of the final results of the Israeli parliamentary elections, Benjamin Netanyahu, the incumbent, emerges as the winner of the April 9 polls. The Prime Minister, who is going to be indicted for different corruption charges by the Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, put himself at the center of the electoral campaign. The Continue Reading
Feb. 1, 2019, marked the 40th anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Khomeini to Iran after 15 years of exile. During the four decades that have passed since Khomeini’s comeback, numerous have been the analysts and political leaders that have forecasted the imminent doom of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In his latest book, “Iran Rising: Continue Reading
Exactly forty years ago, on March 14, 1979, the American feminist Kate Millet and her partner, the Canadian journalist Sophie Keir, did not know yet that they were about to be deported from Iran. They would be aware of this the following day, when the deputy prime minister of the Iranian interim government, Abbas Amir-Entezam, Continue Reading
The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo published an article in the November/December issue of the influential journal Foreign Affairs. In his piece (which can be consulted here, in the website of the US Department of State), Pompeo deals with the US policy vis-a-vis Iran. The US top diplomat does not introduce any major argument in his limited Continue Reading
The Yemen War has been receiving more attention than usual during October 2018. The assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul has much to do with this. Somehow, many of those who had been quiet for years are starting to realize how the Desert Kingdom infringes human rights Continue Reading
Late September is the time of the year in which world leaders converge in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. It is customary that political leaders use their time on the podium to deal with a range of topics marking the international agenda. However, that is not the case of Benjamin Netanyahu, Continue Reading
Palestinian history is the story of Palestinians. This is the deep conviction that motivated Ramzy Baroud to write “The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story” (Pluto Press, 2018). Baroud’s work is without a doubt an extraordinary exercise in people’s history, as Professor Ilan Pappé stresses in the foreword of the book. At the same time, however, Continue Reading
Iran’s former justice minister, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, was quoted in late October 2016 as saying; “These last years, the quantity of executions has not been effective. As a result, there must be a revision of the death penalty law”. It was not the first time an important member of the Iranian bureaucracy expressed this same opinion. However, a senior Continue Reading