Five years’ progress in Iraq

General

The Communist States and the West. Edited by Adam Bromke and Philip Uren. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. x + 242. Index. 42s.

Central Asia

The Formation of the Soviet Central Asian Republics. A Study in Soviet Nationalities Policy 1917–36. By R. Vaidyanath. New Delhi People's Publishing House, 1967. Pp. xiii + 297. Maps. Index. Rs.30.

Beyond the Urals. Economic Developments in Soviet Asia. By Violet Conolly. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xx + 420. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 75s.

South Asia

The Political System of Pakistan. By Khalid B. Sayeed. Boston, Houghton MifBin Company, 1967. Pp. 321. Bibliog. Index. No price.

India and Ceylon. Unity and Diversity. Edited by Philip Mason. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xi + 311. Maps. Index. 55s.

The Hindu Family in its Urban Setting. By Aileen D. Ross. Toronto University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 325. Bibliog. Index. 18s.

Under the Bo Tree. Studies in caste, kinship, and marriage in the interior of Ceylon. By N. Yalman. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1967. Pp. xii+406. Maps. Bibliog. Index. $8.50. 68s.

Morals and Merit. A Study of Values and Social Controls in South Asian Societies. By Christoph von Fürer‐Haimendorf. London, Weidenfeld and Nicol‐son, 1967. Pp. xii + 239. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

South‐West Asia

The Evolution of Oil Concessions in the Middle East and North Africa. By Henry Cattan. New York, Oceana Publications, Inc., 1967. Pp. xvi + 173. Maps. Index. $7.50.

Politics and the Military in Jordan. A Study of the Arab Legion 1921–57. By P. J. Vatikiotis. London, Frank Cass, 1967. Pp. xvi +169. Map. Index. 30s.

Modern Egypt. By Tom Little. London, Ernest Benn, 1967. Pp. xiii + 281. Map. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

South‐East Asia

The Southeast Asian City. A Social Geography of the Primate Cities of Southeast Asia. By T. G. McGhee. London, G. Bell and Sons, 1967. Pp. 204. Sketch‐maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 30s.

The Southeast Asian World. By Keith Buchanan. London, G. Bell and Sons, 1967. Pp. 176. Sketch‐maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 27s. 6d.

Government and Politics in Malaysia. By R. S. Milne. Boston, Houghton Mifflin; London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 259. Maps. Index. 22s.

Behind the Lines—Hanoi. By Harrison E. Salisbury. London, Secker and Warburg, 1967. Pp. 243. Maps. Illus. 30s.

Malaya: The Communist Insurgent War, 1948–1960. By Edgar O'Ballance. London, Faber, 1966. Pp. 188. Map. Index. 30s.

Hell in a Very Small Place. The Siege of Dien Bien Phu. By Bernard B. Fall. London, Pall Mall Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 515. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 55s.

Far East

China. Ageless Land and Countless People. By Chiao‐Min Hsieh. London, D. van Nostrand Co. Inc., 1967. Pp. vi+138. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 14s.

China. Emerging World Power. By Victor P. Petrov. London, D. van Nostrand Co. Inc., 1967. Pp. vi + 138. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 14s.

China After Mao. With Selected Documents. By Doak A. Barnett. Princeton University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. vii+287. Cloth cover, 48s. Paper cover, 16s.

Defeat in the East. The Mark of Mao Tse‐tung on War. By Michael Elliott‐Bateman. London, Oxford University Press. Pp. 270. 40s.

Liang Ch'i‐ch'ao and the Mind of Modern China. By Joseph R. Levenson. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, 1967. Pp. 256. Appendix. Bibliography. Index. $1.50 (paperback).

Chinese Looking Glass. By Dennis Bloodworth. London, Seeker and Warburg, 1967. Pp. 379. Index. Bibliog. 36s.

Biography and Autobiography

Four Lamas of Dolpo. Tibetan Biographies. Edited and translated by D. L. Snell‐grove. Oxford, Bruno Cassirer, 1967. Pp. ix + 302. Maps. Illus. Index. 84s.

Morley and India 1906–1910. By Stanley A. Wolpert. University of California Press, 1967. Pp. 299. Bibliog. Index. 56s. $6.95.

British Baptist Missionaries in India 1793–1837: The History of Serampore and its Missions. By E. Daniel Potts. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 276. Bibliog. Index. 57s. 6d.

The Rebellious Rani. By Sir John Smyth, V.C., M.C. London, Frederick Muller, 1966. Pp. ii + 223. Bibliog. Index. 35s.

Orphan with a Hoop. The Life of Emile Bustani. By Desmond Stewart. London, Chapman and Hall, 1967. Pp. 218. Index. 50s.

A Bedouin Boyhood. By Isaak Diqs. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 176. 21s.

Li Ta‐Chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism. By Maurice Meisner. Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xvii + 326. Bibliog. Index. 40s.

The Japanese Miracle Men. By Ralph Hewins. London, Secker and Warburg, 1967. Pp. 476. Illus. 70s.

Culture and Civilization

Shilappadikaram (The Ankle Bracelet). By Prince Ilangô Adigal. Translated by Alain Daniélou. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. x + 210. 25s.

The Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayaam. A new translation with critical commentaries. By Robert Graves and Omar Ali‐Shah. London, Cassell, 1967. Pp. 86. Bibliog. 21s.

Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsün Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. Translated by Burton Watson. New York, London, Columbia University Press, 1967. Pp. 135. Index. 72s.

China's First Unifier. A study of the Ch'in Dynasty as seen in the life of Li Ssu. By Derk Bodde. London, Oxford University Press; Hong Kong University Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 270. Bibliog. Index. 60s.

An Anthology of Chinese Verse. Han Wei Chin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Translated by J. D. Frodsham, with the assistance of Ch'eng Hsi. London, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xxxix+ 198. 35s.

A Collection of Chinese Lyrics. By A. Ayling and D. Mackintosh. London, Rout‐ledge and Kegan Paul, 1965. Pp. xv + 254. Index. 42s.

A Little Primer of Tu Fu. By David Hawkes. London, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 243. Index. 55s.

The Tenth Man. By Wei Wu Wei. Hong Kong University Press; Oxford University Press, 1966. Pp. xii + 234. Colophen. Index. 27s.

A Short History of Chinese Art. By Michael Sullivan. London, Faber, 1967. Pp. 279. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 42s.

The Indianization of China—and of South‐east Asia. By H. G. Quaritch Wales. London, Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1967. Pp. 156. Maps. Illus. Index. 63s.

History

Tibet. A Political History. By Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1967. Pp. xii + 369. Map. Bibliog. Index. 72s.

Tibet. Considerations on Inner Asian History. By Nirmal Chandra Sinha. Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, Calcutta, 1967. Pp. 70. Rs.10.00.

The First Afghan War, 1838–1842. By J. A. Norris. London, Cambridge University Press, 1967. Pp. xvi + 500. Map. Bibliog. Index. 80s.

The Lost Centuries. From the Muslim Empires to the Renaissance of Europe 1145–1453. By Sir John Glubb. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1967. Pp. 511. Maps. Bibliog. Index. 45s.

Throne and Mandarins. China's Search for a Policy during the Sino‐French Controversy 1880–1885. By Lloyd E. Eastman. Harvard University Press; Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiii + 254. Bibliog. Index. 48s.

Sino‐Russian Relations in the 17th Century. By Vincent Ch'en. The Hague, Mar‐tinus Nijhoff, 1966. Pp. x +147. Bibliog. Index. 17 guilders.

Religion and Philosophy

The Islamic Law of Nations. Shaybani's Siyar. Translated by Majid Khadduri. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland; London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xviii + 311. Bibliog. Index. 64s.

A Pilgrimage to Lalish. By C. J. Edmonds. London, Royal Asiatic Society, 1967 (Prize Publication Fund Vol. XXI). Pp. xii + 88. Map. Illus. 35s.

Shinto. At the Fountainhead of Japan. By Jean Herbert. London, Allen and Unwin, 1967. Pp. 622. Map. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 70s.

Religion in Japanese History. By Joseph M. Kitagawa. New York and London, Columbia University Press, 1966. Pp. x + 475. Bibliog. Index. 72s.

Travel

Tracks of an Intruder. By Gordon Young. London, Souvenir Press, 1967. Pp. 191. Illus. 25s.

Turkey. A Traveller's Guide and History. By Gwyn Williams. London, Faber, 1967. Pp. 318. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 50s.

Castles and Churches of the Crusading Kingdom. By T. S. R. Boase, with colour photographs by Richard Cleave. London, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xiv + 121. Maps. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 75s.

Sail and Sweep in China. The History and Development of the Chinese Junk. By G. R. G. Worcester. London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1966. Pp. xv + 146. Map. Illus. Index. 28s. 6d.     

Le théologien et le somnambule: un épisode récent de l'histoire almoravide en Mauritanie

In 2012, images of a mystical mermaid known locally as Mami Wata circulated on the Internet and via people's mobile phones, sparking rumours that Chinese labourers had captured her as they were installing underwater fibreoptic cables. Appearing as a grotesque sea-creature with a gnarled, shrivelled body, this new image of Mami Wata challenges older, popular depictions of her as a beautiful maiden. Further, in her deformed body, Mami Wata reveals new tensions arising from promises of wealth and modernisation promoted by both Chinese and Congolese governments. Accounts of rumours/urban legends and metaphors of contagion animate larger contemporary discussions concerning development projects, “otherness” and the influence of the Internet and mobile phone technology on production of popular African culture. The female siren, Mami Wata, is a recurring motif in Kinshasa's collective urban imaginary. Historically she has been an expression of modernity and hybridity through visual representation in popular painting, sculpture and television serials. Now Mami Wata appears in the digital world. In this article, in addition to analysing the ways in which contemporary technology mediates this archetypal figure, I draw on notions of otherness, recent historical, political and economic changes in the Democratic Republic of Congo to analyse the ways they inform the particular shape and meaning that Mami Wata takes when transformed into the digital domain.     

Hezbollah and the Axis of Refusal: Hamas,Iran and Syria

Hezbollah has acquired a dual and contradictory reputation: as a legitimate political actor in Lebanon and as a terrorist organisation in the USA and Israel. This duality can be explained if we understand that Hezbollah is a nationalist entity that defines itself primarily within the Lebanese polity, as well as an anti-imperialist party intent on countering the regional hegemony of Israel and the USA. Forming alliances with Hamas, Iran and Syria, Hezbollah has become part of a ‘rejectionist’ axis that seeks to oppose perceived imperialism in the Middle East; this stance has become increasingly entrenched in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Characterisations that focus on Hezbollah as a military opponent confirm the organisation's perceived need for a rejectionist stance. International acceptance of Hezbollah as a legitimate political actor within the Lebanese polity, on the other hand, would help to bring the basis of the rejectionist axis into question.     

The European Trips-Plus Model and The Arab World: From Co-Operation to Association— A New Era in the Global IPRS Regime?

The advocation of stronger and higher levels of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) protection has been on the rise in recent years, particularly since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. Although its establishment signalled the beginning of a new phase in the protection of IPRs internationally, no more than a decade later, it is seen that such a regime is still undergoing a number of significant changes. In this regard, the rise of bilateralism and the retreat of multilateralism resulted in the so-called ‹TRIPS-Plus’ recipe in which developing countries are increasingly giving way to the demands of the industrialised countries through incorporating higher levels of IPRs protection domestically. Although the USA has often been viewed as the primary advocator and enforcer of the TRIPS-Plus recipe globally, this article shows that in fact the European Union (EU) advocated the TRIPS-Plus recipe long before the USA. Thus, this article discusses the case of the European TRIPS-Plus model with the Arab World as a clear demonstration of such a trend. Developing and Arab countries are now faced with two determined superpowers acting at both the unilateral and bilateral levels to achieve their desired higher standards of IPRs protection worldwide. This will further erode the flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement, and will entail grave repercussions for both the developing and Arab countries. LLM, PhD, Lecturer in Law, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), UK. The author may be contacted at mel-said@uclan.ac.uk     

Substituting piracy with a pay-what-you-want option: does it make sense?

Rather than tolerating piracy or increasing sanctions, an artist can release his product directly to consumers by allowing them to download it under a ‘pay-what-you-want’ online strategy. We show analytically that this strategy can (1) be more profitable than a strategy with perfect or imperfect intellectual property rights enforcement for the artist and (2) change the organization and allocation of added value between artists and publishers along the supply chain. This higher profit result is achieved through an increased demand for live performance and positive voluntary contributions of downloaders directly pocketed by the artist. Indeed, a ‘pay-what-you-want’ strategy allows artists to reduce piracy without using sanctions while benefiting from a strategic negotiation ‘weapon’ in the relationship with record labels. Moreover, consumers draw procedural utility from the way the product is delivered. Counter-intuitively, rather than advocating for elimination of conventional releases at posted prices, pay-what-you-want strategies may need them to remain successful. A brief case study of Radiohead’s experiment and anecdotal evidence are developed to support these theoretical insights. Some implications regarding the re-organization of the supply chain and property rights regime are drawn.     

Book reviews: Central Asia

The Suez Canal in World Affairs. By Hugh J. Schonfield. Constellation Books. Pp. 174, illustrated. 15s.

Crusader Castles. By Robin Fedden. A brief study of the Military Architecture of the Crusades. London : Art and Technics. 1950. Pp. 96. 15s.

Mamluk Costume. By L. A. Mayer. Geneva : Albert Kundig. Pp. 120 with 20 Plates. 1952.

An English‐Turkish Dictionary. By Fahir Iz and H. C. Hony. Clarendon Press. Pp. xii+510. 1952. 42s.

Sultan's Pleasure, and Other Turkish Recipes. By Robin Howe and Pauline Espir. P. Garnett. Pp. 152. 1952. 10s. 6d.

Omar Khayyam. A New Version based upon Recent Discoveries. By Professor Arthur J. Arberry. John Murray. Pp. 159. 15s.

Avicenna : Scientist and Philosopher. Ed. by G. M. Wickens. Luzac and Co. Pp. 128. 1952. 15s.

Afghanistan. Crocevia dell’ Asia. Antonio Vallardi Editore. Second Edition.

Secret Tibet. By Fosco Maraini, translated by Eric Mosbacker and with an introductory letter by Bernard Berensen. 60 illustrations from photographs by the author. Hutchinson. Pp. 251. 1952. 30s.

Hong Kong. By Harold Ingrams. Stationery Office. Pp. xii +307 and Map. 1952–27s. 6d.

Windows for the Crown Prince. By Elizabeth Gray Vining.

Konmara Pia Zat. By U Pok Ni. Vol. I : Introduction and Translation. By Hla Pe. Luzac. 6? × 9 3/4?. Pp. viii + 162. 37s. 6d.

Ceylon. By Sydney D. Bailey. Hutchinson's University Library. Pp. 168. 1952. 8s. 6d.

Outlines of Muhammadan Law. By Asaf A. A. Fyzee. Oxford University Press. Pp. xvi+443. 1949. Rs. 16.     

Comparison of four DNA extraction methods to extract DNA from cigarette butts collected in Lebanon

Cigarette butts collected from crime scenes represent valuable sources of DNA. However the extraction of the genetic material may deem challenging especially when different contaminants may compromise the integrity, quality, and quantity of DNA obtained. This study aims at comparing four extraction methods (Chelex-100, soaking + Chelex-100, Chelex-100?+?PK, and DNA IQ? System) with the intention of identifying the one with maximal recovery rate and profiling success. DNA was extracted using aforementioned four methods from 70 cigarette butts collected from sites across Lebanon. DNA was quantified by qPCR using TaqMan Quantifiler Kit on an Applied Biosystems 7300 SDS instrument and genotypes were obtained using the PowerPlex® 21 kit on an Applied Biosystems 3130 Genetic Analyser. The findings of this work showed that DNA extraction with Chelex-100?+?PK is preferred to the other three methods when seeking both, a high yield and the generation of maximal numbers of full profiles. The Chelex-100?+?PK method is simple, cost effective, and therefore suitable for routine cigarette butts case studies.