1. PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

A. Books

Geoffrey Aronson & Mohammad Muslih, Palestinian Refugees, Arab Host Countries, and the Right of Return (June, 2005). 175 pages. HB: $49.95. ISBN 1-58826-318-5
For more info: http://www.rienner.com.

Avi Jorisch, Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hizballah's al-Manar Television (Washington Institute, 2004). ISBN: 0-944029-88-4, 106 pages, $24.95.  To order: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=66.

 George Perkovich, Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Joseph Cirincione, Rose Gottemoeller and Jon Wolfsthal, Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security (Carnegie Endowment, March 2005).  Read online: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=16593.  

 David L. Phillips, Unsilencing the Past: Track Two Diplomacy and Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation (New York: Berghahn Books, February 2005).  160 pages, index. HB: $39.95. ISBN 1-84545-007-8. An account of the efforts to bring together two nations amidst a conflict that has lasted for nearly one century. For more info: http://www.berghahnbooks.com.

B. Journals, Newsletters. Papers

Insight Turkey October-December 2004, Volume 6, Number 4, is now available at: http://www.insightturkey.com.

International Studies Journal (ISJ) in Iran has released Issue 3 of the current volume.  The following 3 articles are in Persian language, and pertain to the Middle East: Mehdi Zakerian, "Assessing the Motivations and Stimulants to Find a New Alternative Instead of the Name of Persian Gulf,"  Mohammad-Reza Tajick, "Strategic Management in IRAN Today: A Pathological Consideration, and Hajar Sia-Rostami, "Prosecution of Saddam Hussein and the Position of Islamic Republic of Iran."  For a subscription, email Dr. Mehdi Zakerian at mzakerian@yahoo.com.

Istanbul, the History Foundation's quarterly journal on culture and city life in Istanbul, is now out. The journal focuses on cultural activities and sheds light on different issues and aspects of the city. To contact the editor, Ozgur Tek, e-mail: otek@tarihvakfi.org.tr. For more information on the History Foundation: http://www.tarihvakfi.org.tr/english/.  

Today's Nuclear Equation is an electronic journal published by the US State Department in March 2005.  This edition of Foreign Policy Agenda examines the elements in today's nuclear equation. For table of contents:  http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/0305/ijpe/ijpe0305.htm  For full 40 pages of text: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/0305/ijpe/ijpe0305.pdf.

Toplumsal Tarih (Social History), the monthly history and culture journal of the History Foundation, has its latest issue out. The journal includes both popular and academic articles extending from prehistoric times to the present, with an emphasis on the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic. For more information on the History Foundation: http://www.tarihvakfi.org.tr/english/.

 
Philip H. Gordon and Kenneth M. Pollack, "America's Refusal to Engage Iran a Dead End," Chicago Tribune, December 15, 2004. http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/gordon/20041215.htm.  

Porter J. Goss, "Global Intelligence Challenges 2005: Meeting Long-Term Challenges with a Long-Term Strategy: Testimony of Director of Central Intelligence Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence," February 16, 2005. http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2004/Goss_testimony_02162005.html.

Peter Khalil, "Don't Ignore Sunni Triangle," The Australian, January 31, 2005. http://www.brook.edu/views/op-ed/fellows/khalil20050131.htm.

Matthew Levitt, "Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri Assassinated," TWI News Update, February 14, 2005. http://washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=192.

Matthew Levitt, "Hizballah finances: funding the Party of God" an analysis of Near East Policy from the Scholars and Associates of the Washington Institute, March 1, 2005.
To read go to: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2266

Matthew Levitt, "Palestinian Authority Minister of Economy tied to Hamas?" The Washington Institute's special report on the Arab-Israeli peace process, March 4, 2005. To read go to: www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2269.

Reuven Paz, "Arab Volunteers Killed in Iraq: an Analysis," The Project for the Reasearch of Islamist Movements (PRISM) Occasional Papers, Vol. 3, No. 1 (March, 2005). http://www.e-prism.org.

Alfred B. Prados and Jeremy M. Sharp, "Syria: Political Conditions and Relations with the United States after the Iraq War," Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, January 10, 2005, 30 pages. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl32727.pdf.

Barry Rubin, "Arafat's Poisoned Legacy." National Interest Issue #79, spring 2005. pp. 53-61. For information: http://www.nationalinterest.org/ME2/default.asp.  

Barry Rubin, "External Influences on Israel's 2003 Election," Israel Affairs, Vol.10, No.4 (Summer 2004), pp.205-216. To read online, go to: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13537121.asp. Click on: Table of Contents for Vol. 10, and then click on the issue itself.

Barry Rubin, "Palestinian Politics Put to the Test," MIDSTREAM, Volume LI, No. 2, March/April 2005, pp. 2-5.  To order: http://www.midstreamthf.com/.

Barry Rubin, "Reality Bites: The Impending Logic of Withdrawal from Iraq." The Washington Quarterly. To read, go to: http://www.twq.com/05spring/docs/05spring_rubin.pdf.

Tamara Cofman Wittes, "Promoting Democracy in the Arab World: The Challenge of Joint Action," The International Spectator, December 2004. http://www.brook.edu/views/articles/fellows/wittes20041231.htm.

"Israel's Core Security Requirements for a Two-State Solution," Saban Center Analysis Paper, No. 3, January 2005. http://www.brook.edu/fp/saban/analysis/yanai20050101.htm.

2. WEBSITES/GROUPS ONLINE  

A. General:

Middle East Transparent is a Paris based website which includes Arabic, English & French publications. Access its homepage at: http://metransparent.com.  Tarek Heggy, its prime contributor, has articles in English, French, and Arabic, as well as an interview with Heggy at: http://metransparent.com/authors/english/heggy_english.htm.  

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution publishes the Monthly Digest of Policy Analysis. To read: http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/sabancenter_hp.htm.

The Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM) announces its new website, which contains a unique database on countries south and east of the Mediterranean: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestinian Territories, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Three major dimensions of migration are covered: demographic and economic; legal; political and social. The website also offers original research reports and training materials.  http://www.carim.org/.  

Policy planning papers on Iran, Iraq, Saudi, etc. are now available online at http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/analysis/20050325roadahead.htm.

B. Afghanistan:

"Security with a Human Face: Challenges and Responsibilities in Afghanistan," a National Human Development Report for Afghanistan, led by Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh of Columbia and Sciences-Po, has just been released. Download full report from: http://www.undp.org.af/#.

C. Iran:

Hossein Derakhshan writes in his blog about the recent developments regarding Iranian journalists and internet activists.  http://hoder.com/weblog/archives/013647.shtml.

D. Iraq:

See "Strategic Implications of Intercommunal Warfare in Iraq" and other related articles on the US Army web site: http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume3/march_2005/3_05_2.html.  

For a good working bibliography about the war in Iraq -- much of it online & compiled by the bibliographer of the Air University Library -- go to: http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/iraqi/conflict.htm  

E. Turkey:

The Middle East Media Research Institute's (MEMRI) announces its new Turkish Media Project. which will monitor and translate the country's printed media, sermons from Turkish mosques and school textbooks. Soon there will be a page on MEMRI's website dedicated to translations from the Turkish language. For info: memri@memri.org or visit the website at http://memri.org      

3. FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO E-MAIL PUBLICATIONS

The BESA Perspectives series is an occasional paper series on Israel and the Middle East, sent out by email.  To subscribe free-of-charge, send your first and last name to besa.center@mail.biu.ac.il.  

A new mailing list has been launched to promote exchange between academics, researchers, practitioners, or anyone else interested in the past (and present) of cities in the Balkan region. Information posted will include: calls for applications/papers, articles, new publications, book reviews, online resources, questions regarding research, and other kinds of announcements. The list will be moderated, yet contributions encouraged to ensure a vivid exchange. To subscribe, send a blank email to: balkancities-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

4. FUNDING/GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS/WRITING AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin, is now accepting applications for travel grants to assist faculty members at universities and colleges in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas to conduct research on the Middle East using the resources available at the UT.  Grants of up to $750 are available. Recipients will be appointed Visiting Scholars during their stay at UT-Austin and will have access to facilities as well as training in the use of the UT Middle East Network Information Center. To apply: send a letter describing proposed research, expected dates of visit, and CV including a list of courses you teach, to: Ian Manners, Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station F9400, Austin, Texas 78712-0527, imanners@uts.cc.utexas.edu.  Former mini grant recipients are not eligible. Deadline:  May 13, 2005. http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/.

The Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin's Working Group 'Modernity and Islam' invites scholars to apply for three postdoctoral fellowships in 2005-2006, on Circulating Genres: Literature, History and the Politics of Translation. Germany's Federal Ministry for Education and Research is funding the fellowships, which run from October 1, 2005 to July 31 2006. The applicant's doctorate should have been completed no earlier than 1997. To apply, send: CV, a 2 to 4-page project sketch, a sample of scholarly work (maximum 20 pages from an article, conference paper, or dissertation chapter) and two names of potential referees (no letter of recommendation required), by April 30, 2005. Send to khalil@wiko-berlin.de.  For info: http://www.wiko-berlin.de/Information/eakmi_i.htm

5. RESEARCH QUERIES-PLEASE HELP 

Seeking a good and reliable overview of the real state of the art of Iranian nuclear and Vectorial programs.  Anyone with information, please contact Olga Mattera-Argentieri at: silverss@tin.it.  

Turkish Studies Journal (TSJ), published by the GLORIA Center through Taylor & Francis, requests your assistance. Please let us know about: forthcoming conferences relevant to the journal, websites and discussion groups we could approach to publicize the journal, organizations we should target with information on the journal, associations to whose members we could offer a subscription to the journal as part of their membership. We also welcome offers to be readers for the Journal. On these matters, please write Elisheva Brown at: elishevabrown@yahoo.com.

6. SCHOLAR'S AND AUTHOR'S ALERTS (writers report on their books, articles, and activities)

Matthew Levitt,  "Hezbollah Finances: Funding the Party of God," in Terrorism Financing and State Responses in Comparative Perspective (Forthcoming in 2006). This paper was contributed to the project "Terrorism Financing and State Responses in Comparative Perspective," sponsored by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. This paper and others will be published in a forthcoming volume edited by Jeanne Giraldo and Harold Trinkunas. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC06.php?CID=772.

Nitza Nachmias and Rami Goldstein Eds. The Politics of Forced Migration: A Conceptual, Operational and Legal Analysis, (Baltimore: Publish America, December 2004). Forward by: Roberta Cohen. Synopsis: The displacement of large numbers of people in many parts of the globe, as a consequence of the widespread political instability, and the resulting new tensions and insecurity that constitute a hard reality of the world at the outset of the 21st century, does not receive the attention it deserves by scholars and practitioners. This collection of essays, contributes significantly to rectify this situation and to an understanding of this human tragedy of our times.  

Rifat Bali, Umit Kivang'a Cevap Birikim Dergisinin Yay}nlamayi Reddettigi Makalenin Oykusu. ISBN 975-270-509-X.  The book concerns the story of an article, which was submitted to and refused publication by the Birikim journal. The article in question was a response to a certain Umit Kivanc, who attacked the author, claiming he was biased towards Israel. To order: http://www.sahaf-turkuaz.com.           

Yildiray Erdener, 101 Turkish Idiomatic Expressions (Dunwoody Press). The book presents a sample of culturally rich Turkish idioms, embedded in literary contexts.  It  serves not only to teach language  but is a  window into contemporary Turkish literature and culture.  In the book, the literal meaning of the idiom is presented, followed by its figurative meaning.  The book includes comic illustrations of the literal  meanings of the idioms. For each idiom there are excerpts from major Turkish literary works, which illustrate how  the idiom has been used in written language. A brief introduction to each literary passage is included, setting the context for the quotation, as well as a list of vocabulary. To see the Dunwoody Press catalog: http://www.dunwoodypress.com.  To contact the author: y.erdener@mail.utexas.edu.  

Hillel Frisch, "Fuzzy Nationalism: The Case of Jordan," Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Winter 2002, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 86-103. This article analyzes the discourse and production of official national identity formation in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan under both King Hussein and his son Abdullah. The monarchy deliberately promotes a fuzzy identity containing state-nationalist, pan-Arab and Islamic elements rather than being limited to an exclusively state nationalist perspective. Theoretically, the article shows that national identity is not only constructed but often deliberately “constructable” and malleable according to changing political goals and circumstances. To contact the author: hfrisch@mail.biu.ac.il.   

David Rodman, Defense and Diplomacy in Israel’s National Security Experience: Tactics, Partnerships, and Motives (Sussex Academic Press, March 2005.  This book defines the central concepts of Israel’s national security doctrine and explains how these concepts have influenced the war-fighting experience of the Israel Defense Forces. Special attention is also paid to Israel’s relationships with the United States, Turkey, and India as they relate to the Jewish state’s national security; the motives behind Israeli foreign and arms exports policies; and whether Israel’s national security doctrine ought to include a capability to threaten the existence of hostile Arab (and Islamic) governments. For more info: http://www.sussex-academic.co.uk/titles/MiddleEast/Rodman.asp.    

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, LECTURES [This only lists new entries. For additional items, see MERIA News past issues on our homepage. We welcome submissions of events.]

May 6-8, 2005. Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. The 23rd Annual Conference of the Center for Iranian Research and Analysis (CIRA) to be held at Widener University is calling for papers and participation. The theme is: Post Khatami Iran. Papers, panels, and roundtable submissions from observers, commentators, and experts on broad theoretical, empirical, and normative aspects of Iranian society are invited.  Specifically seeking economists, historians, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, legal analysts, healthcare experts, literary scholars, demographers, journalists, and graduate students. Comparative papers on Central Asia, the Middle East, and South/Central Asia are also welcome. For details, email Dr. Hamid Zangeneh: hxz0001@widener.edu.  

May 29-31, 2005. Tucson, Arizona, USA. Association for Israel Studies (AIS) announces its annual meeting. Information on registration and hotel reservations available at: http://www.aisisraelstudies.org/.  Special early registration rates available. Conference accommodations: Marriott University Park Hotel, 880 E. 2nd Street, Tucson, AZ 85719, Tel: (520)-792-4100, Fax: (520)-903-9906 (ask for special AIS rates). 

September 9-10, 2005. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. US-Iran Relations Conference: Regional and Global Dynamics, to be held at the U. of Utah (Middle East & Central Asia Conference Committee) and cosponsored by Middle East Technical University (METU-Ankara, Department of International Relations), and World Security Network, is calling for papers. New deadline: April 25, 2005. Participants with distinguished papers may be asked to contribute to a potential book project on the same theme. To submit paper proposal, send name, institutional affiliation, email address, postal address and telephones, paper title, one-page max proposal synopsis and one-page CV to: USIRANconference@aol.com. For info. on registration and fees: http://www.utah.edu/meca.