Moshe Gammer - Böcker

With the region of the Caucasus with its ongoing, and even deteriorating, crisis and instability and its strategic and economic importance increasingly at the front of the world's attention, this volume presents and discusses some of the complexities and problems arising in the region such as Islamic terrorists and al-Qaida. Scholars from different disciplines who specialise in the Caucasus analyze key topics such as:discussions of grass root perceptionsthe influence of informal power structures on ethnic conflicts in the CaucasusRussian policies towards Islam and their destabilising influence the influence of Islamic revival on the legal and social situationsnationalism and the revival of pre- and sub-national identitiesshifts in identity as reflected in demography reasons for the Chechen victory in the first Chechen warthe involvement of Islamic volunteers in Chechnya. With the situation in Chechnia likely to spread across the entire North Caucasus, this cutting edge work will be of great value in the near future and will interest political scientists and regional experts of Russia, Central Asia, Caucasus, Middle East and Turkey, as well as NGOs, government agencies and think tanks.

With the region of the Caucasus with its ongoing, and even deteriorating, crisis and instability and its strategic and economic importance increasingly at the front of the world's attention, this volume presents and discusses some of the complexities and problems arising in the region such as Islamic terrorists and al-Qaida. Scholars from different disciplines who specialise in the Caucasus analyze key topics such as:discussions of grass root perceptionsthe influence of informal power structures on ethnic conflicts in the CaucasusRussian policies towards Islam and their destabilising influence the influence of Islamic revival on the legal and social situationsnationalism and the revival of pre- and sub-national identitiesshifts in identity as reflected in demography reasons for the Chechen victory in the first Chechen warthe involvement of Islamic volunteers in Chechnya. With the situation in Chechnia likely to spread across the entire North Caucasus, this cutting edge work will be of great value in the near future and will interest political scientists and regional experts of Russia, Central Asia, Caucasus, Middle East and Turkey, as well as NGOs, government agencies and think tanks.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, new states - most of them muslim - emerged in central Asia and the Caucasus. These new states proved to be both oil-rich and central in the strip of conflict and instability that stretches from central Europe to the Far East. This volume draws attention to previously neglected issues which could result in conflict:* the water problem and negotiation in central Asia* the issues of 'Southern Azerbaijan', Ajaria and Javakheti * the many problems of multi-ethnic Daghestan* two attempts at unity in the Northern Caucasus.The book also re-examines some of the established truths regarding the states around the Caspian Sea, and re-evaluates:* the validity of the term 'Caspian region' and the question of who should be included in this new region* the general belief that the Caspian region will be a geopolitical centre of the 21st century* the axiom that the dissolution of the USSR has reopened the 'Great Game'.Moreover, The Caspian Region thoughtfully re-examines the questions of democracy; of fundamentalist Islam and of the complex, ambivalent relationship between Islam and nationalism in the region.

The Caspian Region, Volume 2 - together with Volume 1 - offers new issues and approaches to give readers a fuller understanding of this part of the world, as well as correcting some erroneous notions.

This volume is limited to contributions by Professor Kedourie's previous students. It reveals the far-reaching range of his interests and the immense expanse of his horizons. The first part deals with philosophy, political thought and ideology and the second with history and politics.

The studies in this volume originated from an international conference on 'Community, Identity and the State' held at Tel Aviv University in 2001. The first two chapters examine whether modernisation, Westernisation and democratisation are identical, and whether democracy is connected to a certain, specific type of social structure. The third examines similarities in the political, economic and social development of 'Second World' and 'Third World' countries, while the fourth discusses the relationship between criminal and 'normal' structures in Russian society. Subsequent chapters focus on nationalism, using case studies from Argentina, Syria and Morocco, on the 'Ulama and national movements in the Middle East, on Islamic nationalism in Iran and on the discourse between pan-Africanism and Islam. The final two chapters examine the effects on tribal politics of the exploitation of oil in Abu Dhabi, and the problems of the Kurds in northern Iraq.

Much has been written about the Muslim Murid movement and its leader Shamil, who resisted the Tsarist Russian expansion into Chechan and Daghestan for more than quarter of a century. This study, based on research in multilingual archives, offers a fresh insight into this controversial subject.

The studies in this volume originated from an international conference on 'Community, Identity and the State' held at Tel Aviv University in 2001. The first two chapters examine whether modernisation, Westernisation and democratisation are identical, and whether democracy is connected to a certain, specific type of social structure. The third examines similarities in the political, economic and social development of 'Second World' and 'Third World' countries, while the fourth discusses the relationship between criminal and 'normal' structures in Russian society. Subsequent chapters focus on nationalism, using case studies from Argentina, Syria and Morocco, on the 'Ulama and national movements in the Middle East, on Islamic nationalism in Iran and on the discourse between pan-Africanism and Islam. The final two chapters examine the effects on tribal politics of the exploitation of oil in Abu Dhabi, and the problems of the Kurds in northern Iraq.