Global Politics: The Middle East Remains the Darkest Place in 2015

Over the past four years,political changes in the Middle East have always appeared to be unexpected and dazzling.Anti-governmentArab Springmovements against strongman politics broke out in 2011;political Islam gained power through elections in Tunisia and Egypt in2012;an Egyptian military coup occurred in 2013;and in 2014 theIslamic Statesprung up in Iraq and Syria.All these seemingly irrational episodes in fact share an inherent logical relationship.Looking ahead to2015,there is no end in sight to the military conflicts currently rife in the Middle East.This includes civil wars such as those in Iraq,Syria,and Libya,and the Yemen and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.There is no hope for     

The Middle East: Learning from the Past

The effort to bring peace to the Middle East has been an almost century long process. Legions of soldiers, politicians, and diplomats have attempted the political equivalent of transmuting dross into gold. They have failed; none more comprehensively than President Bill Clinton and his Middle East interlocutors. Despite personal energy, intelligence, and creativity, U.S. efforts failed. After a stretch of benign/malign neglect, Washington again is venturing into the swamp by sponsoring renewed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. There are learnable lessons from what has been (mis)managed in the past. The question remains whether the United States will take counsel from them.     

美国中东政策的困境

布什政府发动伊拉克战争、推行大中东民主计划、对中东和平进程的忽视和错误处置等一系列错误政策,使原本异常复杂的中东局势变得更加难以驾驭。老问题没解决,又增添了伊朗核问题的挑战。美国力图摆脱中东政策失误导致的困境,将不仅是布什政府,而且是后布什政府所面临的一项主要的外交和战略问题。     

中东中世纪伊斯兰城市形态解读

中东中世纪伊斯兰城市形态在一定程度上反映了当时的社会结构。城市分为公共领域和私人领域,它们的布局和功能存在明显的差异。聚礼清真寺、宗教学校、公共浴池和巴扎属于公共领域;环绕在城市中心区周围的居民区是私人领域。清真寺、巴扎与商队旅馆、城墙、城堡与王宫、居民区、住房为城市形态的六大组成要素,各具特色与作用。由于在伊斯兰城市社会中宗教制度具有不可替代的作用,所以伊斯兰城市形态的形成与伊斯兰教密不可分;同时,在前工业技术条件下,城市规划也是从生产商品的人口较少和交通运输工具为畜类的前提出发的;另外,阿拉伯人征服地区的早期城市文明也对伊斯兰城市形态有影响。     

英国的中东研究

“英国中东研究协会”(BRISME)①是英国著名的中东研究机构。该机构于1973年成立,麾下汇集了来自世界各地的教师、研究员、外事人员、记者及其他从事中东研究等人士。它的联谊机构主要有欧洲中东研究学会(EURAMES)及北美中东研究学会(MESA)。“英国中东研究协会”的刊物为《英国中东研究杂志》(British Jour-nal of Eastern Studies),每年出版两次,内容包括学术文章及书评。该协会每年的学术活动主要有两项:学术讲评和研讨会。无论从战略意义、经济意义,还是从政治意义和文化意义上讲,中东都是不容忽视的力量,英国政界及商界必须紧…