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From the author of the bestselling State of the World Atlas, here is an essential tool for understanding the Middle East and its pivotal role in global politics.
As Western powers attempt to redraw the map of the region, Dan Smith uses his forensic skills to unravel the history of this arena of confrontation and instability, from the Ottoman Empire to the present day. With customarily acute analysis, he highlights key issues and maps their global implications to explain why the Middle East has become, and will remain, the focal point for foreign policy.
The atlas covers a wide range of topics, including: • imperial legacies • ethnic and religious differences • US presence and policies • Arab-Israeli wars • Israel and Palestine • Iran and Iraq • military spending • the Kurds • Libya and the USA • oil and water
is Secretary General of International Alert and former Director of the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). In 2002 he was awarded an OBE. He is also author of The State of the World Atlas and The Atlas of War and Peace. See: www.dansmithsblog.com
A reference work of excellent quality and as up to the minute as is possible in a printed publication. Packed with information, it is presented exceptionally well...an excellent introduction but also holds much useful information for those with prior knowledge. Dan Smith has achieved clarity about a situation which is so complex that many others would not want to tackle it. This is a must have and must read for anyone who wants to be informed (rather than shaped by propaganda) on this important set of issues.
Successfully educates the reader about the Middle East region and the conflicts, both historical and modern, that have led to the current situation in this part of the world.
This book shows why there is still a need for reference books, at a time when we have almost limitless access to the internet...it decisively outscores both Google and Wikipedia on their two weakest points - context and provenance.
Ever since the pre-war days of Lancelot Horabin, maps have been a time-honoured way of conveying information to activists and this series has garnered plaudits for its graphical representation of everything from climate change to the status of women. Dan Smith has already produced two for them, The Atlas of War and Peace and The State of the World Atlas, both widely and deservedly praised. This latest one is in the same, brilliantly researched and effectively presented tradition. Since the world's warmongers seem to have seized upon the Middle East as their hegemonic area of choice, this atlas ought to be in every peace worker's armoury of information.
