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Philanthropy is a vital lens through which to examine the dynamics of the Muslim world. Islamic charities harness enormous material and human resources, as well as organizational capacity. Many in the West view Muslim philanthropic enterprises with considerable skepticism because of accusations of material support for, or condoning of, acts of violence against civilians. Drawing on CSIS's regional and functional expertise, Understanding Islamic Charities explores the variety of roles that Muslim philanthropies play in different countries, their interactions with national and international institutions, and the boundaries and connections between their philanthropic roles and their political impacts.
This report traces the evolution of Hamas's health care services from the movement's origins to its current role as the de facto government of Gaza. The analysis focuses primarily on the impact of Palestinian divisions on the development of Gaza's health sector since Hamas's takeover of Gaza in June 2007, and it examines how regional trends in 2011 have influenced internal Palestinian dynamics that will likely shape Gaza's health care sector and the Palestinian population more broadly in the future. Finally, the report examines the U.S. policy implications of Hamas's successful management of health services in Gaza.
This book is the first study to an offer insight into non-armed, non-insurgent members of ethnic groups that are associated with well-known armed organizations. It analyzes the nature of the relationships between the "quiet" minorities and their "rebel" counterparts and assesses how these intra-ethnic differences and divisions affect the armed resistance movement, negotiation with state authorities, conflict resolution, and political reform. This field-based study of the Karen in Burma also provides theoretical and policy implications for other ethnically polarized countries.
Assesses the state of U.S.-Turkey relations as well as Turkey's relations with its closest neighbors, and offers a way forward for strengthening relations between the United States and Turkey by focusing on strategic issues of mutual concern.
"Far from being solely a terrorist organization, Hamas is a heterogeneous movement that uses both violence and political participation to achieve its main objective, which is to stay in power and preserve its identity. Two opinions about Hamas are prevalent. According to the first opinion, Hamas is a radical, terrorist organization. The policy implication of this opinion is simple: Hamas cannot be reformed and will continue to use violence until it is neutralized. According to the second opinion, Hamas is a social movement that does not necessarily need to use violence. This school of thought sees Hamas as a movement that can learn to refrain from violence. The policy implication of this opi...
This book moves beyond conventional conceptions of space and place to explore how the spatial imagination has informed our postmodern mapping of literature, culture, history, geography and politics. In this volume, scholars from different academic fields contest new territories for critical expression, venturing into a geocritical discussion of notions of identity, borders, territory, cognitive geographies, glocal cultural mobility, gendered spaces, (post)colonial cartographies, and spaces of resistance. These brilliant discussions of the postmodern dialectics of space and place invite a reappraisal of the value of space in our social, political and historical realities, thus extending the g...
The United States has been deeply involved in the Middle East for more than a half century and seized with China's role in the world for a similar period of time. Up to now, the two issues have remained distinct. Increasingly, China's growing thirst for energy has brought it to the Middle East, where governments are curious how the growing superpower might fit into their own strategic understanding of the world. China's increasing role in the Middle East comes at a time when the United States is itself deeply enmeshed in the region, setting up the possibility of competition or even conflict between the two great powers. This volume explores the complex interrelationships among China, the Uni...
"Having observed earlier periods of determined, persistent, creative and wise American diplomacy on the Arab-Israeli conflict, we are left to ponder whether that kind of American leadership and diplomatic wisdom can be recaptured. We also are left to wonder whether the supportive domestic environment in which previous administrations operated will recur, or whether Congressional and public support for Israel has limited administration options and thus changed the very nature of the American role in the peace process. Our overall conclusions in this volume represent a mix of process, politics, and substantive lessons learned, offered in the hope that a better understanding of the past can inf...
This book surveys discourse and opinion in the United States toward the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1991. Contrary to popular myth, it demonstrates that U.S. support for Israel is not based on the pro-Israel lobby, but rather is deeply rooted in American political culture. That support has increased since 9/11. However, the bulk of this increase has been among Republicans, conservatives, evangelicals, and Orthodox Jews. Meanwhile, among Democrats, liberals, the Mainline Protestant Church, and non-Orthodox Jews, criticism of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians has become more vociferous. This book works to explain this paradox.
President Barack Obama’s first trip abroad in his second term took him to Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, where he despondently admitted to those waiting for words of encouragement, “It is a hard slog to work through all of these issues.” Contrast this gloomy assessment with Obama’s optimism on the second day of his first term, when he appointed former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell as his special envoy for Middle East peace, boldly asserting that his administration would “actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” How is it that Obama’s active and aggressive search for progress has become mired in the status quo? Writer a...