MER Article Letters WHAT ABOUT WOMEN? I have your November-December 1990 issue and your special packet, “Crisis in the Gulf.” They are both excellent but they do not have much on one very important area of concern: women. In particular, I would like to see an article on the women of Iraq. In Sisterhood Is Global, Rob (Author not identified) • 3 min read
MER Article Zubaida, Islam, the People and the State Sami Zubaida, Islam, the People and the State: Essays on Political Ideas and Movements in the Middle East (Routledge, 1989). Modem Western literature on political Islam in the Middle East today generally falls into two categories: US-style think tank writing and intellectual proselytism. Think tan Chibli Mallat • 2 min read
MER Article Class Acts in the Middle East Berch Berberoglu, ed., Power and Stability in the Middle East (Zed, 1989). Alan Richards and John Waterbury, A Political Economy of the Middle East: State, Class and Economic Development (Westview, 1990). Karen Pfeifer • 8 min read
MER Article Editor's Bookshelf Feminist analysis has added an important dimension to the peace movement’s understanding of the issues in the Gulf war. Several commentators have noted the gendered character of the metaphors and symbols that the Bush administration has employed in representing the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and the US response, and Joel Beinin • 4 min read
MER Article Document: Report of the UN Mission to Assess Humanitarian Needs in Iraq Conditions in Iraq in the aftermath of the US military assault have been difficult to ascertain. The most authoritative report to date is that of the UN mission led by Undersecretary-General Martti Ahtisaari, which spent March 10-17 in Iraq. The mission, which included representatives of the UN Chil (Author not identified) • 10 min read
MER Article Al Miskin George Bush’s war against Iraq came and went more quickly than most people expected, but its consequences will be with us for years to come. This is true first and foremost for the tens of thousands of Iraqi families who lost loved ones, or saw their homes and livelihoods destroyed, but it is also t Al Miskin • 2 min read
MER Article The Gulf War and India From the beginning, the Gulf crisis aroused a level of interest and concern in India unusual for an international issue not directly involving this country. Much of our oil comes from the Gulf region, and “Gulf money” in the form of remittances from Indians working in Iraq and the Gulf states has be Sumit Sarkar • 3 min read
MER Article Letter from the Curfew Zone “What can we do?” asked Marwan, a service worker at the temporary quarters of the Birzeit University the morning President Bush announced a cessation of hostilities in the Gulf. “Whatever happens, it’s always on the head of the Palestinians.” He turned back to his own Herculean task -- attempting Penny Johnson • 5 min read
MER Article The Bourgeoisie and the Baath For more than a quarter of a century, Syria has been ruled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party, which claims to be leading the country not only to unity and freedom but also to socialism. In the early years of its rule, the Baath made great efforts to develop central Volker Perthes • 19 min read
MER Article Yemen: Unification and the Gulf War On May 22, 1990, the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (the PDRY, or South Yemen) and the Yemen Arab Republic (the YAR, or North Yemen) joined to become the Republic of Yemen. “A Tale of Two Families” reflects the malaise in North Yemen on the eve of unification; the situation in the south, sinc Sheila Carapico • 4 min read
MER Article A Tale of Two Families Virtually every aspect of life in North Yemen has changed dramatically since 1977, including those aspects of Yemeni society which represent continuity with the past: tribalism, rural life and use of qat. [1] The driving force for change has been economic. By 1975, Yemen was caught up in the dramati Cynthia Myntti, Sheila Carapico • 13 min read
MER Article Iraqi Contractors: Clients, Loyal Supporters or Interlopers The contracting sector has consistently been the preserve of Iraq’s private sector and has provided an important source of state patronage. The Iraqi Union of Contractors, founded in 1988, was the only independent corporate association in the country. In contrast to labor, professional, student and business associations, it was Kiren Aziz Chaudhry • 2 min read
