MER Article Risking the Strait Men who had never wanted anything very much saw the flare of want in the eyes of the migrants. And the men of the towns and of the soft suburban country gathered to defend themselves; and they reassured themselves that they were good and the invaders bad, as a man Gregory White • 12 min read
MER Article Turkey and the European Union There are three kinds of people in Turkey who most look forward to the country’s membership of the European Union. The first group, most obviously, comprises big businesses -- “Istanbul” capital as opposed to small and medium domestic market-oriented Anatolian capital. The other two groups are rathe Ronnie Margulies • 3 min read
MER Article Points of Difference, Cases for Cooperation In discussions between American and European scholars about Western policies towards the Middle East -- an issue of increasing importance for trans-Atlantic relations -- Europeans are often asked to explain why their policymakers and pundits criticize US Middle East policies instead of accepting a f Volker Perthes • 9 min read
MER Article No Debate In 1990, an umbrella organization was created to promote Middle East studies in Europe. The European Association for Middle East Studies (EURAMES) has modest goals and virtually no budget. It has published a directory of Middle East scholars in Europe (with EU funds) and has initiated triennial conf Eugene Rogan • 8 min read
An Interview with Mark Duffield Mark Duffield visited Croatia and Bosnia between January 9 and 22, 1994, as part of a study of complex political emergencies. Joe Stork spoke with him on January 28, 1994. In your field report you refer to the failure to provide protection as representing a political failure of historic consequence Joe Stork • 8 min read
Bosnia and the Future of Military Humanitarianism Mark Duffield was in Bosnia and Croatia from January 9 to January 22, 1994 as part of a larger study of complex emergencies. The following is condensed from his “first impression” field report. The war in former Yugoslavia has displaced over 4 million people. Nearly 3 million of these are in Bosnia Mark Duffield • 6 min read
MER Article Regionalism and Geopolitics in the Maghrib In February 1993, the Arab Maghrib Union (AMU) marked its fourth anniversary. Despite the great hopes that were vested in this regional economic organization, it has not thrived. [1] There have been five summit meetings since the Treaty of Marrakesh was signed to great fanfare, but the heads of stat Robert Mortimer • 8 min read
MER Article "Images from Elsewhere" “You chase colonialism out the door, it comes back through the sky,” observed the Algerian Press Service several years ago, alluding to the phenomenon of satellite broadcasting that has literally brought European television into the living rooms of North Africa. [1] More than 95 percent of urban hou Miriam Rosen • 7 min read
MER Article Constructing Europe's New Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall was joyfully welcomed not only by the German people but by the other peoples of the continent: With the abrupt end to the joke about Real Socialism, Europe seemed to be moving forward toward a period of freedom, directed by principles of greater tolerance, compassion and Juan Goytisolo • 7 min read
MER Article "By Compass and Sword!" It is hard not to be impressed by the changes that took place in the world during the second half of the fifteenth century. Bartolomeu Diaz rounded the southern cape of Africa in 1488; Columbus completed his first voyage to the Caribbean in 1492; Vasco da Gama arrived in India Resat Kasaba • 13 min read
MER Article The Europe of Columbus and Bayazid From the perspective of Sultan Bayazid II, the Ottoman ruler in Istanbul, Columbus’ expeditions may have been a distant diversion. In fact, they belonged to a set of profound changes in relations between Islamic and Christian territories on a world scale. For the 500 years before 1492, the fortunes Charles Tilly • 8 min read
MER Article From the Editors (September/October 1992) Our intent with this issue is simple enough: to redirect attention from the westward reverberations of European “discoveries” across the Atlantic to their eastward impact in the Mediterranean and the mainly Muslim domains of Arabs and Turks. In the opening essay Charles Tilly reminds us that the integration of what The Editors • 2 min read
