The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East or Constitutional Law

The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East

Author: Olivier Roy

In this book, Olivier Roy, Europe's leading scholar of political Islam, argues that the consequences of the "war on terror" have artificially conflated conflicts in the Middle East in such a way that they appear to be the expression of a widespread "Muslim anger" against the West. But in reality, there are no us and them. Instead, the West faces an array of "reverse alliances" that operate according to their own logic and dynamics.

The West supports General Musharraf in Pakistan, yet his military intelligence services are in league with the Taliban; in Iraq, the United States shores up a government that is closely linked to its archenemy, Iran; Iraqi Kurds, allies of the Americans, give sanctuary to the PKK, an adversary of a fellow NATO member, Turkey; while the Saudis support the Iraqi Sunnis who are, in turn, fighting Coalition forces. As if these issues were not complicated enough, the ever-worsening Shia-Sunni divide now threatens to disrupt any future strategic planning the West might attempt in the Middle East.

Roy unravels the complexity of these conflicts in order to better understand the political discontent that sustains them. He also emphasizes that the war on terror should not be regarded merely as a geopolitical blunder committed by a fringe group of neoconservatives. It is instead a problematic outgrowth of our deeply rooted Western perceptions of the Middle East, including the belief that Islam, rather than politics, is the overarching factor in these conflicts, thus explaining the West's support for either would-be secular democrats or (more or less) benign dictators. Roy's conclusion argues that the West has no alternative but to engage in a dialogue with the political forces that truly matter-namely the Islamo-nationalists of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The New York Times - Dexter Filkins

At only 167 pages, Roy's book provides a concise and penetrating summation of the current scene; it's a fine primer for anyone trying to get a sense of just how chaotic the Middle East is. But if you are looking for a way out of the quagmire, or even ways to manage the various catastrophes, you will not find much here. Roy impressively delineates the challenges, but doesn't say much about solving them.

Table of Contents:

Contents:
Introduction: The War on Terror: between Fourth World War and Optical Illusion
I. Who is the Enemy? Where is the Enemy?
The obsession with Iraq
An illusion: the weight of lobbies in the decision to invade Iraq
The project to reform the greater Middle East
The failure of the top-down democratization policy
The return to a policy of containment or the eradication of Islamism

II. The Middle East: Atomization of Conflicts and New Fault Lines
The three traumas of the Arab Middle East
The political imaginaire in crisis: between nationalism, clannism, and supranationalism
From pan-Arabism to forms of pan-Islamism
A tectonic upheaval: Shiites against Sunnis

III. Iran, Between the Bomb and Bombardment
The Ahmadinejad phenomenon, parentheses or continuity?
An American bombardment?

IV. And meanwhile, Al Qaeda

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Constitutional Law: Individual Rights E&E, 4E

Author: Aspen Law Business

Part of a two-volume set, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Individual Rights continues to be a favorite with its tried-and-true E&E pedagogy. It is a problem-oriented guide designed and organized to complement major Constitutional Law casebooks. It takes students through the principal doctrines of constitutional law covered in a typical course, focusing on the constitutional provisions that protect citizens, specifically Takings and Contracts clauses, Due Process, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, and Equal Protection.

This edition retains the great features that have always made it a dependable source for students. The text is:

straightforward in nature, though not overly simplistic

presented in a format that is unique and time-tested. Its E&E pedagogy combines textual material with well-written and comprehensive examples, explanations, and questions to test studentsї comprehension of the material and provide practice in applying legal principles to fact patterns. The questions, which develop a variety of issues in one fact situation, are similar to those on a law school or bar examination

a problem-oriented guide that takes students through the principal doctrines of constitutional law that are covered in a typical course

designed to make students think, with depth and perception, about the larger issues of constitutional law

part of a two-volume set that includes a corresponding treatment of National Power and Federalism. Together, these volumes present a foundation in the doctrines and methods of constitutional law and constitutional argument

organized in easily digestible sections. It explains legal concepts and principles, followed by examplesand analysis that illustrate how to apply these concepts and principles in hypothetical situations

strong in authorship, as the authors have more than 50 years of combined experience in the area of constitutional law

The Fourth Edition also includes an abundance of updated & timely information, including:

all relevant Supreme Court decisions that were announced since publication of the Third Edition. Representative new case coverage includes:—Tenn. v. Lane (congruence and proportionality under the Fourteenth Amendment)—Goodridge v. Dept.of Public Health (Massachusetts decision on gay marriage)—Kelo v. City of New London, Conn. (Fifth Amendment Takings Clause decision regarding public use)—League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (political gerrymandering)—McConnell v. Federal Election Comm'n (First amendment limits on soft money contributions)—City of San Diego v. Roe (free speech rights of public employees)—McCreary County v. ACLU (display of Ten Commandments in state courthouse)—Van Orden v. Perry (display of Ten Commandments on state capitol grounds)—Van Orden v. Perry (government benefits and Free Exercise)

refreshed and updated examples and explanations to put the material in context for your students