Larry Diamond (Stanford): Why Are There No Arab Democracies? From Al-Ahram, where we are in 2010: Collapsing Arab states may well be a pattern in the future if the key fault lines between and within these states are not boldly addressed. A review of The Crisis of Islamic Civilization by Ali Allawi. Where's our Mandela?: Singular, inspiring and resolute leadership is above all what the Arab and Islamic world needs. Issandr El Amrani calls for an end to all the calls for a "new Marshall Plan". An interview with Eugene Rogan on books on the Arabs. Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab, author of Contemporary Arab Thought: Cultural Critique in Comparative Perspective, on the malaise in the post-1967 Arab world. From Al-Masry Al-Youm, an interview with Jeffrey Herf, author of Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World. The first chapter from The Middle East For Dummies by Craig Davis. A review of Forces of Fortune: The Rise of the New Muslim Middle Class and What It Will Mean for Our World by Vali Nasr (and more). From The New Yorker, an article on Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Can an oil-rich nation come to the rescue of a world desperate to find low-carbon energy solutions to combat a rapidly warming planet? The Dead Sea may soon shrink to a lifeless pond as Middle East political strife blocks vital measures needed to halt its decay. Is the term “Persian Gulf” a form of Iranian cartographic imperialism over Arabic-speaking countries? O camel! my camel!: Why the Arab world is re-embracing the poetry of the desert. Arabs are funny: A popular stand-up comedy festival in Jordan proves it.
