A. Reviews: general

THE CIVILIZATIONS OF ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST BEFORE THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE. By JAROSLAV KREJCI. Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1990. 348 pp. .£37.50 (hb).

THE ORIGINS OF ARAB NATIONALISM. Edited by RASHID KHALIDI, LISA ANDERSON, MUHAMMAD MUSLIH, and REEVA S. SIMON. 288 pp. + glossary, bibliography, index. New York, Columbia University Press, 1991.

THE ARAB STATE. Edited by GIACOMO LUCIANI. London, Routledge, 1990. 454 pp., bibliography, index, tables.

STATE, POWER, AND POLITICS IN THE MAKING OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST. By ROGER OWEN. London, Routledge, 1992. xiv, 302 pp. £40.00 (hb), £12.99 (pb).

L'ÉCHEC DE L'ISLAM POLITIQUE. By OLIVIER ROY. Paris, Editions du Seuil, 1992. 247pp.

MOSCOW AND THE MIDDLE EAST. By ROBERT O. FREEDMAN. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991. xii, 426 pp. $59.50 (hb), $16.95 (pb).

EURO‐ARAB RELATIONS: A STUDY IN COLLECTIVE DIPLOMACY. By HAIFAA A. JAWAD. Reading, Garnet Publishing, 1992. viii, 302 pp. £25.00

OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS: GULF WARS 1980–91. By JOHN CREIGHTON. London, Echoes, 1992. viii, 156 pp. £35.00.

ALL THAT REMAINS: THE PALESTINIAN VILLAGES OCCUPIED AND DEPOPULATED BY ISRAEL IN 1948. Edited by WALID KHALIDI. Washington, D.C., The Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992. li, 636 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. $59.00 (hb).

PALESTINE REBORN. By WALID KHALIDI. London, I.B. Tauris, 1992. xxi, 234pp. £35.00(hb), £14.95 (pb).

WILDFIRE: GRASSROOTS REVOLT IN ISRAEL IN THE POST‐SOCIALIST ERA. By SAM N. LEHMAN‐WILZIG. New York, State University of New York Press, 1992. x, 198 pp. $12.95 (pb).

MODERN ALGERIA. By CHARLES‐ROBERT AGERON. London, Hurst, 1991. x, 166 pp. £16.50 (hb).

L'ALGERIE PAR SES ISLAMISTES. By M. AL‐AHNAF, BERNARD BOTIVEAU and FRANCK FREGOSI. Paris, Karthala, 1991. 328 pp.

TUNISIA: RURAL LABOUR AND STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION. By SAMIR RADWAN, JAMAL VALI and AJIT GHOSE. London, Routledge, 1991. xii, 122 pp, £30.00 (hb).

SUDAN AFTER NIMEIRI. Edited by PETER WOODWARD. (Routledge/ SOAS Contemporary Politics and Culture in the Middle East series.) London, Routledge, 1991, xii, 223pp. £35(hb).

TRADE AND EMPIRE IN MUSCAT AND ZANZIBAR: ROOTS OF BRITISH DOMINATION. By M[OHMED] REDA BHACKER. (Exeter Arabic & Islamic series.) London & New York, Routledge, 1992. 278pp. £40.00

THE KURDS: A CONTEMPORARY OVERVIEW. Edited by PHILIP K. KREYENBROEK AND STEFAN SPERL. London, Routledge, 1991. xii, 250 pp. £35.00 (hb).

ARABIC ADENI TEXTBOOK. By HABAKA J. FEGHALI. Edited by ALAN S. KAYE. (Arabic dialect series (Yemen).) Wheaton, MD, Dunwoody, 1991. xx, 233 pp.

MOROCCAN ARABIC READER. By HABAKA J. FEGHALI. Notes by Alan S. Kaye. Wheaton, MD, Dunwoody, 1989. xi, 143 pp.     

Decentralization in the Czech Republic: The European Union, Political Parties, and the Creation of Regional Assemblies

This study begins with an exploration of the external (EuropeanUnion) and internal (Czech political parties) forces that shapedthe creation of regional assemblies in the Czech Republic. Theinstitutional and administrative requirements of EU regionalpolicy served as a catalyst for the creation of Czech regionalgovernments. Domestic struggles over decentralization, particularlyamong Czech political parties, are reflected in the number andboundaries of the regions as well as in the slow transfer ofpolicy competences from the national government to regionalgovernments. This study also examines the November 2000 regionalelections and places the results in the context of the 2002parliamentary elections. Party support clustered by region,but the position that parties took on the creation of regionalassemblies did not impact electoral success in the regionalelections, nor did party success or failure in the regionalelections forecast electoral fortunes in the parliamentary elections.The regional and national elections reflected low voter turnout,relatively strong support for the Communist party, and a dramaticrise and fall of party coalitions.     

Predictors of Physical Competence in Adolescent Girls

Physical competence, comprising athletic competence and physical appearance competence, is positively related to feelings of self-worth in adolescent girls. This study compared the relationships of psychological, physiological, and maturational constructs with perceived physical competence in adolescent girls. Perceived physical appearance and perceived athletic competence, peer acceptance, body weight, body mass index (BMI), aerobic fitness (VO₂max), physical activity level, and menarcheal status were assessed. Global self-worth was highly correlated with peer acceptance, perceived physical appearance, and perceived athletic competence in this sample. Regression analyses indicated that peer acceptance was the best predictor of perceived physical competence. Additional predictors of perceived physical appearance and athletic competence are discussed. Results suggest that postmenarcheal and larger girls may be at risk for low perceptions of physical competence. Enhancing competence feelings among adolescent girls may be accomplished by emphasizing friendship and social interaction within physical activity.     

Remembering Attack Ads: An Experimental Investigation of Radio

Political Behavior - This article seeks to advance our understanding of the influence of attack advertising on the public in two ways. First, we examine whether the content of individuals'...     

Measuring Attitudes toward the United States Supreme Court

It is conventional in research on the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court to rely on a survey question asking about confidence in the leaders of the Court to indicate something about the esteem with which that institution is regarded by the American people. The purpose of this article is to investigate the validity of this measure. Based on a nationally representative survey conducted in 2001, we compare confidence with several different measures of Court legitimacy. Our findings indicate that the confidence replies seem to reflect both short-term and long-term judgments about the Court, with the greater influence coming from satisfaction with how the Court is performing at the moment. We suggest a new set of indicators for measuring the legitimacy of the Court and offer some evidence on the structure of the variance in these items.