Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
Demystifying Syria - cover

Demystifying Syria

Fred H. Lawson

Publisher: Saqi Books

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

Demystifying Syria offers an extraordinary insight into the shifting relations between the Ba'th party and the armed forces, civil law, social structure, burgeoning private enterprise, internal political opposition, the European Union and its relation to Syria. This book goes beyond the headlines to offer a detailed portrait of the political, economic, social and diplomatic dynami that shape this pivotal and fiercely independent Middle Eastern state.
Contributors include Bassem Haddad, Souhail Belhadj, Baudoin Dupret, Zouhair Ghazzal, Thomas Pierret, Salwa Ismail, Joshua Landis and Joe Pace.
'Demonstrates how US intervention in the region weakened the position of the Syrian opposition … shows Syrian studies in the best possible light, edited to a high level and recommended to everyone interested in the complexities - rather than the mysteries - of contemporary Syria.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'This compelling book offers the reader much food for thought on a country that certainly defies any attempt to be encapsulated in unidirectional and straightforward definitions.' International Spectator
Available since: 02/13/2012.
Print length: 224 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • When Money Talks - The High Price of "Free" Speech and the Selling of Democracy - cover

    When Money Talks - The High...

    Derek Cressman, Thom Hartmann

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Special-interest money is destroying our democratic process. But now that the Citizens United decision has thrown out campaign spending limits as abridgments of free speech, Americans want to know what they can do about it. Derek Cressman gives us the tools, both intellectual and tactical, to fight back. There's nothing inherently unconstitutional in limiting the amount of speech, Cressman insists. We do it all the time—for example, cities control when and where demonstrations can take place or how long people can speak at council meetings. Moreover, he argues that while you choose to patronize Fox News, MSNBC, the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal, political advertising is forced upon you. It's not really free speech at all—it's paid speech. It's not at all what the Founders had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment.Cressman examines how courts have foiled attempts to limit campaign spending, details what a constitutional amendment limiting paid speech should say, and reveals an overlooked political tool concerned citizens can use to help gain the amendment's passage. Seven times before in our history we have approved constitutional amendments to overturn wrongheaded rulings by the Supreme Court—there's no reason we can't do it again.
    Show book
  • States Beyond Borders: A Comparative Study of Central American Sending States and their Emigrant Policy (1998–2021) - cover

    States Beyond Borders: A...

    Isabel Rosales Sandoval

    • 0
    • 1
    • 0
    The study of migration in political science, and particularly in international relations, has tended to focus on the study of immigration. However, sending states are increasingly institutionalizing their policies and programs to include emigrants living outside the national territory. 
    
    In her monograph, Isabel Rosales Sandoval focuses on the factors that influence the implementation of the policies that sending states have adopted to reach out to their citizens abroad. Specifically, she investigates why and how sending states implement transnational emigrant policies. 
    
    Her comparative study of three Central American sending states—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—identifies four policy categories that these states have developed: 1) recognizing the emigrant community through the creation of institutions; 2) cultivating loyalties in the emigrant community through symbolic policies; 3) extending emigrant rights; and 4) extracting resources by incorporating migrants into the national economy. 
    
    However, the motivation for the policies does not exactly correspond to the assumptions and typologies of existing theories on the subject, which tend to focus on international factors. The argument the author presents is that the characteristics of these three cases are better explained by domestic political factors. These are: 1) the importance of the size and potential impact of the emigrant communities; 2) party system competitiveness; and 3) the sending states’ institutional capacity to implement policies.
    Show book
  • My (Our) President Has Balls! - An Examination of the Cultural Divide in America Today - cover

    My (Our) President Has Balls! -...

    Frank Mascetti

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    My (Our) President Has Balls takes a deep look at the cultural divide in America today, breaking down that divide into nearly twenty categories and encouraging readers to do their part to fix what’s been broken.  While there have been countless books released by politicians, past presidents, news personnel, and Washington insiders, Frank Mascetti addresses America’s cultural divide as an extremely passionate “outsider” who is raising two minors. Expressing concern about where America is headed as a nation and what is being left behind for future generations, Mascetti breaks down America’s great divide into specific categories with which readers immediately can identify. These categories include things like The Trump Complex, What American Doesn’t Want These Things, Political Incorrectness, Inside the Mind of a Hater, and so many more.  Rather than placing blame on past administrations, Mascetti takes a hard look at America’s overall culture today—from schools to teachers to social media—and how many aspects are in desperate need of a makeover. Whether readers are Democrats, Republican, or Independent, My (Our) President Has Balls is sure to enlighten and provide fresh perspective on the State of the Union, encouraging all Americans to start thinking about how political opposites can meet in the middle and begin to pull America out of crisis mode.
    Show book
  • Seven Keys to Texas - cover

    Seven Keys to Texas

    T. R. Fehrenbach

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The author of Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans explores the state’s unique mindset and culture.   Author T. R. Fehrenbach defines Texas as “a state of mind.” In The Seven Keys to Texas, he provides us with a seven-part framework for understanding this unique and ever-important state: its people, frontiers, land, economy, society, politics, and the change that has taken place and continues as Texas grows and develops. A must read for those who want to better understand Texas or create a vision for its future. 
    Show book
  • The Art of Insight - How to Have More Aha! Moments - cover

    The Art of Insight - How to Have...

    Malcolm Constable, Charles Kiefer

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    A practical guide to fostering innovative insights and solutions for yourself and your organization—including online skill-building exercises. 
     
    We have all experienced it: the jolt of an insight arriving like a thunderclap, unexpectedly and without warning. But what if insights could be accessed more reliably? Drawing on years of research, reflection, and experiences with colleagues, friends, and clients, Charles Kiefer and Malcolm Constable present a thorough, pragmatic approach for dependably generating fresh thoughts and perspectives.  
     
    The Art of Insight features helpful exercises both in the book and online. Readers will develop their own personal approach to cultivating insights, allowing them to solve long-standing problems with confidence and ease. 
     
    “Creating insights isn't a magical process—this book provides a practical framework for generating insights for yourself and your organization. We've used many of these techniques with our innovation teams and they work.” —Wayne Delker, Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Vice President, The Clorox Company
    Show book
  • It's Time to Fight Dirty - How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics - cover

    It's Time to Fight Dirty - How...

    David Farris

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The American electoral system is clearly falling apart—as evidenced by the 2016 presidential election. In It's Time to Fight Dirty, David Faris offers accessible, actionable strategies for American institutional reform which don't require a constitutional amendment, and would have a lasting impact on our future. 
    With equal amounts of playful irreverence and persuasive reasoning, Faris describes how the Constitution's deep democratic flaws constantly put progressives at a disadvantage, and lays out strategies for "fighting dirty" though obstructionism and procedural warfare: establishing statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico; breaking California into several states; creating a larger House of Representatives; passing a new voting rights act; and expanding the Supreme Court. 
    The Constitution may be the world's most difficult document to amend, but David Faris argues that many of America's democratic failures can be fixed within its rigid confines—and, at a time when the stakes have never been higher, he outlines a path for long-term, progressive change in the United States.
    Show book