Sheila Carapico - Arabia Incognita: Dispatches from Yemen and the Gulf

Praise for Arabia Incognita

Sheila Carapico and MERIP reports have been central voices in informing the public about the realities of the Middle East, beyond the glib talking points of politicians and pundits. Yemen is surely the most strategically important country to be so studiedly ignored in the West, and this volume gathering up incisive essays on its contemporary history and politics is essential reading.

JUAN COLE

Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan

Sheila Carapicos masterful compilation of selected Middle East Research and Information Project reports is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the Yemen catastrophe and its Middle East-wide implications. Many are responsible for the disaster, first and foremost Yemens political elites whose promising national dialogue failed. At the same time, abject failures of analysis keep the United States and Saudi Arabia from looking beyond their respective preoccupations with killing terrorists and confronting Iran. Until they do, Arabia will remain Incognita at unacceptable human and strategic cost for all concerned.

CHARLES DUNBAR

US Ambassador to Yemen, 198891

This richly varied compendium of articles by foremost scholars of Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula brings together some of the most incisive, thoughtful, cant-free, and trenchant analysis of this misunderstood region. Perfect for understanding the political economy, geopolitics and social relations of the region, these scholars cut through ideology and myth to provide a lucid picture of how Arabian Peninsula works.

LALEH KHALILI

Professor of Middle East Politics, Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS, University of London

Unfortunately, Yemen remains deeply undercovered and misunderstood, despite the gravity of its recent crises and the deep regional and global implications of its slide into civil war. Thus, a volume like thiscomposed of a diverse array of takes on key issues by some of the most respected experts on the countryrepresents a deeply valuable addition to the literature available on Yemen. It is a must read to understand the larger picture of whats happening in Yemen.

FAREA AL-MUSLIMI

Chairman of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies

Sheila Carapicos Arabia Incognita is essential readingit explores the sinews of power and paranoia that emanate from Saudi Arabia, ensnaring the smaller emirates and creating mayhem in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. Thoughtful and well-informed scholars write with compassion about the Arabian Peninsula, which is well-known only as clich but not considered as a real place, where real people live.

VIJAY PRASHAD

Author of The Death of the Nation and the Future of the Arab Revolution (2016)

An indispensable guide for students, Arabia Incognita combines a thoughtful introduction, well-chosen excerpts from former Middle East Report articles and other relevant sources, as well as incisive cartoons from local newspapers to illuminate how the oil-producing absolute monarchies of the Gulf have sought to control, and now pacify through direct war, the restive, poorer inhabitants of the more populous, politically vibrant southwest corner of the Peninsula. Attending to cold war dynamics, the ongoing effects of US imperialism, and competing regional forms of solidarity, Arabia Incognita is a valuable contribution about a world of which most Americans know little, despite its centrality to US and North Atlantic security interests.

LISA WEDEEN

Mary R. Morton Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory at the University of Chicago

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Copyright 2016 Middle East Research and Information Project

The contributions herein previously appeared in publications of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP): Middle East Report, Middle East Report Online or MERIPs blog.

Political cartoons Samer Mohammed al-Shameeri.

All rights reserved. No part of this book, except brief passages for review purposes, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or exporting from any information storage system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Such permission may be requested via the email or physical address listed at www.justworldbooks.com/contact.

Cover design and typesetting by Diana Ghazzawi for Just World Publishing, LLC.

Publishers Cataloging in Publication

(Provided by Quality Books, Inc.)

Arabia incognita (2016)

Arabia incognita : dispatches from Yemen and the Gulf / Sheila Carapico, editor.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

LCCN 2015953892

ISBN 978-1-68257-003-6

ISBN 978-1-935982-92-0 (EPUB)

ISBN 978-1-935982-93-7 (Mobi)

ISBN 978-1-935982-94-4 (PDF)

1. Middle East--History. I. Carapico, Sheila, editor. II. Title.

DS62.4.A69 2016 956

QBI15-600239

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