A: Reviews: general

REVEALING THE HOLY LAND: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF PALESTINE. By Kathleen Stewart Howe. Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, 1997. 144pp. $US 60 (hb), $US 29.95 (pb).

THE EMERGENCE OF THE ‘ABBASID AUTOCRACY: THE ‘ABBASID ARMY, KHURASAN AND ADHARBAYJAN. By Fukuzo Amabe, Kyoto University Press, 1995 xi + 322pp.

THE BUKHARANS: A DYNASTIC, DIPLOMATIC AND COMMERCIAL HISTORY, 1550–1702. By Audrey Burton. Richmond, Surrey, UK; Curzon Press, 1997; xxxvii + 664pp. ISBN 0 7007 0417 5. £65.00 (hb).

THE REVOLUTION OF 1908 IN TURKEY. By Aykut Kansu (No. 58 in Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia). Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1997. 341 pp.

THE MIDDLE EAST IN GLOBAL CHANGE: THE POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF INTERDEPENDENCE VERSUS FRAGMENTATION. Edited by Laura Guazzone. Basingstoke and London, Macmillan Press Ltd and Instituto Affari Inter‐nazionali, 1997, xiv + 285 pp., 8 maps, £45 (hb).

THE QUEST FOR HEGEMONY IN THE ARAB WORLD. THE STRUGGLE OVER THE BAGHDAD PACT. By Elie Podeh. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1995

ISTITUZIONI DEL MONDO MUSULMANO. Giorgio Vercellin. (Biblioteca Studio, n. 27). Torino, Einaudi, 1996. 419 pp.+ vxx. 36,000 It lire.

THE FORBIDDEN MODERN: CIVILIZATION AND VEILING. By N?lüfer göle. (Critical Perspectives on Women and Gender). Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press, 1996. 173 pp. $15.95.

WITHIN THE CIRCLE: PARENTS AND CHILDREN IN AN ARAB VILLAGE. By Andrea B. Rough. The History and Society of the Modern Middle East Series. New York, Columbia University Press, 1997. 263pp.

OVERCOMING TRADITION AND MODERNITY: THE SEARCH FOR ISLAMIC AUTHENTICITY. By Robert D. Lee. Oxford, Westview Press, 1997. 216pp.

ARABIC TODAY: A STUDENT, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL COURSE IN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ARABIC. By John Mace. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1996. 287 pp. £19.95. 1‐hour audio cassette to accompany the book £5.99.

THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC MARKET OF CAIRO: GENDER, CLASS AND EDUCATION. By Niloofar Haeri. London, Kegan Paul International, 1996, xviii + 272pp.

THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (1799–1882). By P. C. Sadgrove. Reading, Ithaca Press, 1996. ix + 214pp.

PALESTINIAN IDENTITY, THE CONSTRUCTION OF MODERN NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS. By Rashid Khalidi, New York, Columbia University Press, 1997. 304 pp. $34.00/£22.95.

RELIGION, DEMOCRACY AND ISRAELI SOCIETY. By Charles Liebman. Reading, Harwood Academic Publishers, 1997. 115 pp. £13.00.

TO RULE JERUSALEM. By R. Friedland and R. Hecht. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996. 554pp.

IRANIAN INTELLECTUALS AND THE WEST: THE TORMENTED TRIUMPH OF NATIVISM. By Mehrzad Boroujerdi. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1996. 256 pp., incl appendix, glossary, bibliography and index.

DISCOVERING THE QUR'AN: A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH TO A VEILED TEXT. By Neal Robinson. London: SCM Press, 1996. 332pp., £16.95 (pb).

THE BOOK IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE WRITTEN WORD AND COMMUNICATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Edited by George N. Atiyeh. Albany State University of New York Press, 1995. xviii 305pp.

RIVERS OF DISCORD: INTERNATIONAL WATER DISPUTES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. By Greg Shapland. London, Hurst & Company, 1997. 183 pp. 6 maps 5 tables, (hb) £37.50.

MOSHE SHARETT: BIOGRAPHY OF A POLITICAL MODERATE. By Gabriel Sheffer. New York, Oxford University Press, 1996. 1065 pp. £65.

CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE EAST (Volumes 1 and 2). Edited by Augustus Richard Norton. Leiden: E.J. Brill 1995–1996 Vol lx + 328pp, Vol 2 xvi + 353pp     

Australia,New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Forum: a critical review

The relationship between the Pacific islands and the region’s ‘bigger brothers’ – Australia and New Zealand – is often seen in two-dimensional terms with the latter appearing to act in concert and in terms characterised by underlying neo-colonial attitudes and a determination to dominate the regional agenda. Given that both are former colonial powers with considerable political and economic resources and are the major aid donors in the region as well as being members of the powerful geopolitical entity known as ‘the West’, it is not difficult to sustain an image of neo-colonial dominance. But to do so also requires casting Pacific island countries in a certain role, not only lacking agency but also cohering around a common identity and set of interests. This article examines key aspects of regional relations as played out through the region’s premier organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum, and assesses the extent to which a simple political divide between Australia and New Zealand on the one hand, and the island states on the other, can be maintained.     

Schools and Terrorism: Global Trends,Impacts, and Lessons for Resilience

This study characterizes trends in the frequency and characteristics of terrorist attacks in child-serving educational institutions around the world, examining the specific vulnerabilies of children and schools with regard to terrorist violence, as well as the various impacts that violence has on children, communities, and societies. Following the analysis of available data on terrorist attacks against educational institutions, vulnerabilities, and impacts, the study concludes with a discussion of what still needs to be understood in the intersection of child vulnerability and terrorism, and provides recommendations for improving resilience to terrorist attacks against child-serving educational institutions.     

Gender,quality of life,and growth in Asia 1970-90

This paper examines the gender distribution of the benefits of economic growth in several Asian economies from 1970–90. Using Borda rank ordering, we compare the progress made in these countries towards closing the gender gap in well-being. In addition to commonly-used indicators, trends in the ratio of females to males in the population are examined. We explore determinants of changes in this ratio, using regression analysis. The results indicate that gender equity in quality-of-life ratings is highest in those Asian economies that grew the slowest over the period in question. Further, the data indicate that economic growth does not have a significant effect on the female-to-male population ratios for this set of countries. Variables that affect women's bargaining power do, however, have a positive effect on relative female life chances, as does spending on public education.     

Changing How the System Responds to Status Offenders: Connecticut's Families with Service Needs Initiative

Concerned by the number of status offenders in secure detention and the processing of noncriminal behavior through the juvenile and family courts, Connecticut began efforts to reform their approach to troubled and troublesome youth in 2005 (Weithorn, 2005). Between 2005 and 2007, Connecticut enacted a series of legislative changes to both improve services for troubled youth and Families with Service Needs (FWSN), and achieve systematic reforms for processing status offenses. At a systems level, the reforms sought to divert non‐criminal behaviors from formal court processing and prevent secure confinement for status offenders who violated court orders related to their behavior. Connecticut's attempt at second‐order, or system change, is the focus of this outcome evaluation.