Regional / International studies Books

This book explores the function of the "everyday" in the formation, consolidation and performance of national, sub-national and local identities in the former socialist region. Based on extensive original research including fieldwork, the book...

This book examines the development of the Russian economy from tsarist times to the present through the lens of the oil industry. It considers the role of the state, business-state relations, foreign participation, enterprise performance and technology...

Spanning over a period of more than five decades since its inception, Iran's nuclear programme is the most protracted civilian nuclear program in the world and one of the most politicized projects in Iran's history.'Iran and the Nuclear Question' offers...

The traditional view of the Hong Kong colonial economy is that it was dominated by Western companies, notably the great British merchant houses, and that these firms enlisted support from Chinese middlemen - the compradors - who were effectively agents...

This book presents a study of the international dimensions of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan from before its outbreak in October 1947 until the Tashkent Summit in January 1966. By focusing on Kashmir's under-researched transnational...

Promoting China's cultural soft power by disseminating modern Chinese values is one of the policies of President Xi Jinping. Although, it is usually understood as a top-down initiative, implemented willingly or unwillingly by writers, filmmakers,...

The media ecology within which conventional mainstream journalism currently operates has undergone major transformations since the advent of social media. These transformations arise from the disruption brought upon by the emergence of networked,...

Politics in Pakistan has traditionally been understood in the context of civil-military relationship. In May 2013, for the first time in history, Pakistan saw an elected government complete a full term in office and transfer power through the ballot box...

Abū'l-Barakāt is often considered one of the most comprehensive philosophers of the Arabic-Jewish milieu in the medieval age. His extensive and unique philosophical theories, especially his theories in the particular sciences, were seen as a major...

Using a commentary on the influential text, the Mañjuśrī-nāmasaṃgīti, 'The Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī', this book deals with Buddhist tantric meditation practice and its doctrinal context in early-medieval India. The commentary was written by the...

The issue of minority rights is highly contested in both member and candidate states of the European Union. Compared with other policy areas, the Europeanization process in minority rights is much slower and more problematic. Turkey, though, differs from...

Writing in the eighteenth century, the Persian-language litterateurs of late Mughal Delhi were aware that they could no longer take for granted the relations of Persian with Islamic imperial power, relations that had enabled Persian literary life to...

Qur'ānic Studies Today brings together specialists in the field of Islamic studies to provide a range of essays that reflect the depth and breadth of scholarship on the Qur'ān. Combining theoretical and methodological clarity with close readings of...

The popular Hindi film industry is the largest in India and the most conspicuous film industry in the non-Western world. This book analyses the pivotal visual and narrative conventions employed in popular Hindi films through the combined prism of film...

Abū'l-Barakāt is a renowned philosopher of the Arabic-Jewish milieu who composed in his magnum opus the Kitāb al-Mu'tabar, a comprehensive metaphysics which challenged the accepted notions of the traditional metaphysical philosophy. 'Abū'l-Barakāt...

The upheavals of the Arab Spring grabbed the world's immediate attention, and concern quickly grew over their potential aftermath, with the fear that a 'tidal wave' of immigrants and refugees would 'flood' European territory. The Arab Spring has...

Courts were the most important frameworks for the production, performance, and evaluation of literature in medieval Islamic civilization. Patrons vying for prestige attracted to their courts literary people who sought their financial support. The most...

One of the most powerful traditions of the Jewish fascination with language is that of the Name. Indeed, the Jewish mystical tradition would seem a two millennia long meditation on the nature of name in relation to object, and how name mediates between...

Performing a political identity usually involves more than just casting a vote. For Left-wingers in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus - countries that emerged as the only non-socialist constituents of South-eastern Europe after WWII - political preference meant...

Despite its apparently peripheral location in the Qajar Empire, Kirman was frequently found at the centre of developments reshaping Iran in the 19th century. Over the Qajar period the region saw significant changes, as competition between Kirmani...

Addressing the question of the origins of the Zoroastrian religion, this book argues that the intransigent opposition to the cult of the daēvas, the ancient Indo-Iranian gods, is the root of the development of the two central doctrines of Zoroastrianism:...

Ibn al-Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam is a translation of one of the most important works written on Islamic Mysticism.Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) is deemed the greatest mystic of Islam and his mystical philosophy has attracted the attention of both...

Critical approaches to the study of topics related to Persian literature and Iranian culture have evolved in recent decades. The essays included in this volume collectively demonstrate the most recent creative approaches to the study of the Persian...

Up until the advent of Nasser and the 1956 War, a thriving and diverse Jewry lived in Egypt - mainly in the two cities of Alexandria and Cairo, heavily influencing the social and cultural history of the country. Histories of the Jews of Egypt argues that...

Exploring the Palestinian Student Movement from an historical and sociological perspective, this book demonstrates how Palestinian national identity has been built in the absence of national institutions, whilst emphasizing the role of higher...

Moral Rationalism and Sharī'a is the first attempt at outlining the scope for a theological reading of Sharī'a, based on a critical examination of why 'Adliyya theological ethics have not significantly impacted Shī'ī readings of Sharī'a. Within Shī'ī...

Ibn al-'Arabī (d. 1240) was one of the towering figures of Islamic intellectual history, and among Sufis still bears the title of al-shaykh al-akbar, or "the greatest master." Ibn al-'Arabī and Islamic Intellectual Culture traces the history of the...

Scholars of religion and policy makers may be surprised at the changes occurring on the second largest island of the world that straddles one of the most Christianised and least Christianised areas of the world. This book provides an accurate and deeper...

Israel-Palestine in the Print News Media: Contending Discourses is concerned with conceptions of language, knowledge, and thought about political conflict in the Middle East in two national news media communities: the United States and the United Kingdom...

Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative analyzes how early Muslim historians merged the pre-Islamic histories of the Arab and Iranian peoples into a didactic narrative culminating with the Arab conquest of Iran.　 This book provides an...

This book examines the various stages of China's development, in the economic, social, and political fields, relating theories and models of development to what is actually occurring in China, and discussing how China's development is likely to progress...

Offering a detailed analysis of the structure of authority in Islamic law, this book focuses on the figure of Yahyā b. Sharaf al-Nawawī, who is regarded as the chief contributor to the legal tradition known as the Shāfi'ī madhhab in traditional Muslim...

The Partition of India in 1947 involved the division of two provinces, Bengal and the Punjab, based on district-wise Hindu or Muslim majorities. The Partition displaced between 10 and 12 million people along religious lines. This book provides a...

This book presents detailed case studies of lived religion in the Himalaya to offer intra-regional perspectives on the ways in which lived religions are being re-configured or re-imagined in modernity. Presenting new research and perspectives on the...

This book focuses on the production of adult videos in Japan, outlining and examining the industrial dynamics of the industry, its strategies, technological capabilities and organisational structure. It discusses the socialisation of those who...

Ethics in Islam provides the first major treatment of al-Tawhīdī's ethics, political thought, and social idealism, investigating the complex influences that shaped this thought and especially his concept of friendship, which is analysed in the unique...

Marriage is central to Indonesia's social fabric and critical in defining socially legitimate relationships. This book offers a rich anthropological account of Muslim Indonesian women's experiences of courtship, love, marital discord and separation,...

Examining the development of Israel's policy toward the Palestinian refugee issue, this book spans the period following the first Arab-Israeli War until the mid-1950s, when the basic principles of Israel's policy were finalized.Israel and the Palestinian...

Angels are a basic tenet of belief in Islam, appearing in various types and genres of text, from eschatology to law and theology to devotional material. This book presents the first comprehensive study of angels in Islam, through an analysis of a...

This book describes the geotechnical aspects for correcting the geometry of Mexico City´s Metropolitan Cathedral and of the adjoining Sagrario Church. It describes the main aspects of geotechnical conditions in the city and of the most important hazards...

This book examines how China's new generation of avant-garde writers and artists are pushing the boundaries of vernacular culture, creatively appropriating artistic and literary languages from global cultures to reflect on reform-era China's...

Despite attempts to redress the balance, international relations (IR) as a discipline is still dominated by Western theories. The contributors in this book explore the challenges of constructing an alternative, with a dialogue between global...

Exploring the fascinating history behind Iranian-Jewish immigration to Israel, this book offers a rare and untold history of one of Israel's Middle Eastern Jewish populations.Over the 20th century, thousands among Iran's Jewish community left their...

This book explores middle power engagement in peace processes through the cases of Australian, Japanese and Norwegian engagement in Myanmar's peace process, a core event in Myanmar's contemporary recent political history.The book asks to what extent, and...

This book showcases the diverse literary traditions from India's Northeast and their shared connections and lineages. It critically analyses a selection of literary works from authors and poets from this region and the hegemonies of language, ethnicity...

The book is a comprehensive study on human rights in Kashmir in relation to the dynamics of Indo-Pakistani policies, providing a structured and interdisciplinary approach to the subject.Whilst surveying some of the most appalling case studies of human...

This book provides analysis of the legal status of territories of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, considering potential opportunities for Kashmir conflict resolution.Containing a detailed survey of relevant legislation and international...