Conflict and crisis in the post-cold war world

The transformation of Palestine into Israel, and the Palestinians' resistance to it, is the subject of this book. After a brief account of earlier times, James Ciment gives a clear and dispassionate reading of the historical forces and events of the 19th and 20th centuries, from the decline of the Ottomans to the current "peace process," that have resulted in the divided and often violent Palestine/Israel of today. He outlines demographic, social, economic and political profiles of the two communities; traces the evolution of their values and institutions, separately and together, over the last century; and examines the character and motivation of their leaders and the nature of their present-day politics. Finally, he considers their choices for the future. The author shows why compromise is especially difficult in this conflict, and why compromise is the only means by which the irreducible issues at its heart may be addressed. Even here, the author points out, there are choices to be made; no consequence need be inevitable.

The end of the Cold War has exposed, or re-exposed, to general view many ongoing regional ethnic, territorial and religious conflicts that had been obscured, suppressed or subordinated to the great international power struggle. One of the most ancient of these conflicts is the struggle of the Kurdish people for national autonomy or independence. Surveying the history of this conflict (with particular emphasis on the twentieth century), examining the cultures of the Kurds and of their antagonists, analyzing the byzantine political infighting and maneuvering of Kurdish leaders as well as the generally self-serving interventions by outside powers, James Ciment lucidly assesses the state of Kurdish affairs in each of the three states in which most Kurds live, and the possible course of future events. Organized for ease of access, yet lively and readable, The Kurds: State and Minority in Turkey, Iraq and Iran is a splendid and compelling work for students and other readers who need a clear and understandable introduction to a very complex subject.

Algeria is a nation at war with itself. Civil strife has engulfed the country since early 1992, when a secular military government called off a national election after its Islamic opponents won the first round. Since then the militant Islamic opposition has employed suicide bombings, assassinations and death threats to make the country ungovernable. The most secularized of nations in the region, Algeria would not seem to have been the most vulnerable to disorder involving Muslim fundamentalists and Islamists. However, as in other postcolonial societies, the lack of democracy since independence has nurtured the growth of religious populism as the only available form of political resistance to corrupt government authority. Algeria: The Fundamentalist Challenge lucidly untangles the roots of this conflict in the colonial era and after, and examines it in the context of local, regional and international politics. It is written for students and other readers who need a clear introduction to one of the more significant struggles of our era.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Cold War may have been fought with confrontations, blustering and threats, but in the Third World, it was all too hot. Two African battlegrounds, Angola and Mozambique, were liberated from their colonial rulers only in 1975 after lengthy wars and were immediately and cruelly plunged back into foreign-sponsored proxy wars and internal conflict. Cold War politics alone, of course, are not responsible for the maelstrom that has engulfed Angola and Mozambique. Both countries have had the unfortunate distinction of having three post-World War II international conflicts fought out on their soil: the struggle of Third World peoples against Western (in this case, Portuguese) colonialism, the East-West confrontation between superpowers; and the fight against apartheid in, the regional domination by, white South Africa. Potentially rich and productive (Angola particularly is blessed with natural resources, including minerals and oil), with plenty of arable land despite climatic extremes, both countries have suffered years of terror, leaving hundreds of thousands dead from battle, famine and disease, comprehensive social, economic and physical devastation and a horrific legacy of land mines everywhere. Angola and Mozambique: Postcolonial Wars in Southern Africa is the story of these interrelated struggles. It establishes the historical, political, social and cultural context, explains issues, identifies players and assesses prospects for the future.