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Egyptian agriculture is uniquely dependent on water. The improvement of irrigation systems is therefore crucial. This text evaluates the ambitious Irrigation Improvement Project (IIP) and should be of interest to those concerned with issues of water and development in the Middle East.

Literary fiction has always provided an outlet for social and political critique. This book charts the rise of postcolonial literature written by women from the Maghreb, and provides an analysis of three of the region's prominent contemporary authors such as Assia Djeba (Algeria), Leila Abouzeid (Morocco) and Souad Guellouz (Tunisia).

The role of the Kurds in Turkey has long been a controversial issue, although discussion has generally been focused around the political and cultural rights and activities of the Kurds. This book aims to bring a fresh approach to this contentious subject by shifting attention to the changing popular image of the Kurds in Turkish cities.

The relationship between Islam and the West has frequently been subject to misunderstanding and mistrust. The West often views the Islamic world - and the Islamic world the West - through a prism of mutual suspicion. This title explores the relationship between the sometimes controversial concept of Orientalism.

Dealing with issues of mobility, cosmopolitanism, and transnational movements, this is essential reading for students and scholars of the history, culture and society of the Tuareg, of nomadic peoples, and of North Africa more widely.

Seeks to understand how the 'Other' is viewed in Arab culture, and vice versa. This work examines how Turks, Europeans, Christians and Iranians have been represented in the arts, opinions and cultures of the Arab world. Conversely, it also explores the intellectual representation of 'The Arab' in other cultures.

When Basher al-Asad became President of Syria in June 2000, he had a tough act to follow. A quiet, unassuming opthalmologist, trained in Britain, young Asad was successor to his dynamic, wily father Hafiz. This work is about Basher al-Asad. It assesses the durability of Hafiz's legacy, including the influence of the old power-brokers.

In the 1920s Turkey and Iran faced political upheaval as both states attempted to find their routes to modernity. This study observes this process by examining the measures adopted by the political regimes of the late Ottomans, Ataturk and Reza Shah, as well as by exploring how different social levels contributed to the drive for modernity.

The television industry has metamorphosised from a national and largely-monopolized sector to a commercial and global enterprise. This title shows that making the documentary on the Arab-Israeli struggle turned into a war: a war over competing memories, interpretation, editing, and finally narration.

Answers key questions about the connections between media and political change in the Arab world. Using research into, for example, practices of Internet users, journalists, demonstrators and producers of reality TV, this book explores the interface between public interaction over the airwaves, at the polls and on the streets.

The Jewish quarter of Jerusalem seems like an organic fusion of a modern Israeli city with an ancient Jewish heritage. This book details the aesthetics of the Jewish Quarter, how they were deliberately planned and executed by Israel after it was occupied during the 1967 war. It also examines the politics of the heritage conservation.

The Palestinian refugee issue remains a central component of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This book explores the demographic and developmental challenges which the return of refugees to a future Palestinian state would generate.

The role of Islam in the state has become one of the most contentious issues in modern Middle Eastern society. It holds a central position in every public debate over constitution, law and civil rights, as well as over the very essence of cultural identity. Here Meir Hatina sheds light on the issue of Islam in the state through the prism of Egypt during the twentieth century. He traces the continuity of Egyptian liberalism, from its emergence during the first half of the century through its repression following the July 1952 revolution, to the rise of secular liberalists such as Faraj Fuda in post-revolutionary Egypt. ''Identity Politics'' reveals the assertive nature of the Islamic struggle, the desire to remake the state by fostering a close affinity between faith and power, worship and politics, which holds contemporary resonance for all Middle Eastern states.

Explores the connection between identity and power in Iraq's history, and provides a context for understanding complicated struggles. Drawing on a mixture of 'high' and popular forms of expression, this book identifies the tropes of Iraqi culture, such as symbols of redemptive suffering amongst the Shi'ites, or courage amongst the Bedouins.

Is today's changing media landscape in the Middle East empowering women? This is the first book to address the dynamics of media ecology and women's advancement in the contemporary Middle East.

Since the intervention of the IMF in 1989, the boundaries between the private and public sectors of the Jordanian economy have become blurred. This, the author argues, has significantly reduced the competitiveness of Jordanian firms, and therefore the standing of the country in worldwide economic terms.

For some, the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 was the triumph of a modern, political Islam, heralding Muslim justice and economic prosperity. This book reveals the intellectual and political trajectory of a Muslim thinker and his attempts to reconcile Islam with reform and democracy.

The Kurds live under the jurisdiction of four sovereign states, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria, which deny their national identity and suppress its political and cultural manifestations. This work looks at Kurdish nationalism in the wider perspective of stateless nations.

Leading to the overthrow of the Qajar regime and replacement by Reza Shah, World War I was pivotal in the history of modern Iran. This book tells the story of modern Iran's formation and explores the key role that World War I played in it.

A study of Kurdish identity and ethnicity that sets out the historic struggle of the Kurds in Turkey, Iran and Iraq, and shows that even without an independent Kurdish state (Kurdistan) measures of Kurish self-government are possible, based on a broad understanding of what Kurdish nationhood means.

One in every six Israeli citizens is a Palestinian Arab. Whilst much has been written about the struggles of Palestinians in the West Bank and on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Israelis have often been overlooked. This text charts the history of Palestinian civil society, as well as the repression they have faced from the Israeli state.