The Middle East & South Asia
By: Malcolm B. Russell
Edition: 49th edition.
Series: The World today series; World today series
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Lanham, MD
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
ISBN-13: 9781475818789
Subjects: History; Politics and government
Other titles: Middle East and South Asia; Middle East & South Asia 2015-2016
Description: This volume is designed to place in context the passionate controversies and emotional attachments of the two billion people who live, study, work, love, and die in the Middle East and South Asia. Understanding these regions means more than annually-updated details of the governments, politics, cultures, and economies of the twenty-four nations and assorted territories. Special chapters address significant issues of continuing international importance, including access to water, the role of oil, and the 2011 Arab spring. Both regions, after all, contain types of people misunderstood and often intensely disliked by others. Where religion intrudes on politics--the Afghan Taliban oppose educating girls, Hindu fanatics rampage in India, Iranian militiamen shoot demonstrators, Islamic extremists impose sharia, and Jewish Ultra-Orthodox send women to the back of the bus--readers bombarded with superficial news bites and slanted reporting might never sense the other accomplishments of these same societies. Islamic charities and societies bring relief to the impoverished, Israel's scholars win Nobel prizes, and most Indians cherish long-standing religious toleration. The author of this volume attempts to let the reader draw conclusions from the evidence.--Publisher website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-287).
Table of contents: title: The Arab Spring : birth of a new era?; title: When will the taps go dry?; title: Black gold : the impact of oil; title: Historical background; title: Nations of the Middle East; title: Nations of South Asia.