The following sources provide overviews of issues and events in lthe Middle East written by researchers in that field. When using an article in an encyclopedia or handbook, always check the bibliography at the end of the article for further reading. It will provide a selective list of the books, articles, and, sometimes, Web resources considered to be the most up-to-date and reliable. This makes a good start for your research. It is a good corrective later on as well because it usually provides a broader perspective than the in-depth research on your specific paper topic
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- Margaret Schaus, Reference Librarian and Bibliographer (HC)
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Pol Sci 243 : International Politics of the Middle East (HC)
Finding Background Information:
Annual review of political science (Palo Alto, Calif. : Online)
Holdings:
(Bryn Mawr College) Available from 1998-present.
(Haverford College) Available from 1998-present.
(Swarthmore College) Available from 1998-present.
Publisher: Palo Alto, Calif. : Annual Reviews, Inc.,
Lisa Anderson. "Searching Where the Light Shines: Studying Democratization in the Middle East." Annual Review of Political Science 9 (2006).
Yahya Sadowski. "Political Islam." Annual Review of Political Science 9 (2006).
These two titles are literature reviews on recent politics in the Middle East. The authors describe and evaluate current scholarship in detail. This is a quick and reliable guide to important publications you may need for your work.
Yahya Sadowski. "Political Islam." Annual Review of Political Science 9 (2006).
These two titles are literature reviews on recent politics in the Middle East. The authors describe and evaluate current scholarship in detail. This is a quick and reliable guide to important publications you may need for your work.
Scholarly encyclopedia set with the goal of balanced coverage of the area since 1800.
The editor, along with 48 scholar-contributors, wrote over 400 articles concerning Palestinian history, politics, biography, and other important topics.
Keele Guide to Middle east Government and Politics on the Internet
Includes resources for individual countries as well as region-wide sites.
This handbook offers overviews of key issues including the Arab-Israeli conflict, U. S. policy, oil and gas, and Iran-Iraq conflicts. There are also overviews of countries in the region. Authors of the chapters include academics, researchers at think tanks, and U. S. government personnel.
Middle East Studies Internet Resources
This metapage is part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library and is maintained by librarians at Columbia University.
Political encyclopedia of the Middle East
Publisher: New York : Continuum, c1999.
This political encyclopedia provides 560 entries covering the Arab states as well as Turkey, Iran, and Israel. Major issues addressed include: Islamic fundamentalism, water politics, the Arab-Israeli Peace Process, oil, and terrorism. In addition, the encyclopedia also includes short entries on leading political figures, parties, and movements.
Political handbook of the world
Publisher: Washington, DC : CQ Press,
Provider: CQPress
This authoritative reference book provides detailed information on the major aspects of each country's government and political party system. International organizations are profiled as well. Good source for information on current events, elections, political history, and more.
Also available in print as Political Handbook of the Middle East 2006.
Also available in print as Political Handbook of the Middle East 2006.
Regional guide to international conflict and management from 1945 to 2003
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Congressional Quarterly, c2004.
In the section on the Middle East the authors describe and analyze in some detail 67 instances of conflict ranging from Syria and Lebanon's conflict with France in 1945-1946 to Israel and Syria's border clashes beginning in 2001. Sources for additional information are provided at the end of each conflict entry.
Research Guide to Middle East Politics
Many scholarly resources are included on this site. Note though that it has not been updated since 2003.
The Routledge atlas of the Arab-Israeli conflict
Publisher: London ; Routledge, 2005.
Includes many detailed maps, mostly for the twentieth century, but the newest maps depict conditions in early 2005.
"It's filled with readable graphs and colorful maps that pinpoint everything from regional ethnic and language groups to military spending and urbanization."--Utne Reader
Identifying Books:
Use the Tripod Catalog to look for relevant books owned by Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore.
iraq politics and government 2003[Subject Search for politics 2003 and after]
globaliz* (middle east)[keyword search]
The following subject searches are a sampling of possibilities. To find materials on a topic, try doing a keyword search in the Tripod Catalog to find relevant materials and then using the subject headings assigned to those materials to find more material.
arab israeli conflict [Subject Search]iraq politics and government 2003[Subject Search for politics 2003 and after]
globaliz* (middle east)[keyword search]
Tripod - For locating books, journals, and other materials held in the Tri-College libraries. Deliveries within the Trico usually arrive in one or two days. Use "Request" button. You can mark and then email or print records for multiple items.
WorldCat - An important place to look for many materials not owned by the Tri-College Libraries. This combined library catalog contains more than 49 million records describing items owned by libraries around the world. Many of these items are available to you though interlibrary loan.
Interlibrary Loan and E-ZBorrow - Request items that are not available in Tripod on this page. Note that PALCI E-Z Borrow provides books in 3 to 5 days. For books not in E-Z Borrow, request though Interlibrary Loan (ILL). It may take up to 10 days for requests to arrive. For journal articles not in Tripod, request through Article Delivery.
Finding Journal Articles:
Journal articles and similar periodical publications provide scholarly information on specific aspects of political issues. Since articles are generally published on a shorter schedule than books, they can be more-up-to-date. The following indexes are the best ways to find journal articles.
Worldwide political science abstracts
Provider: CSA
Provides citations and abstracts of journals in political science and related fields including international relations, law, and public policy. Look for the article summaries on the individual title records.
Columbia International Affairs Online
Offers full-text journal articles, case studies, scholarly papers, non-governmental organization reports, and conference proceedings that focus on research in international affairs. Covers 1991-present.
EconLit
Provider: SilverPlatter
Provides abstracts to economic journals, books, book reviews, dissertations, and working papers. Topics include economic theory and history, monetary theory, labor economics, international, regional and urban economics. Coverage 1969-present.
Index Islamicus
Provider: CSA
Offers citations to literature on Islam, the Middle East and Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, and Muslim minorities elsewhere. Includes citations to journal articles, conference proceedings, books, and book reviews from 1906 to present.
ProQuest Research Library
Provider: ProQuest
Provides citations and full-text magazine and journal articles in a wide variety of disciplines, both scholarly and popular in scope. Covers 1971-present.
RAMBI: Index of articles on Jewish studies
Offers citations to articles in the fields of Jewish Studies and of Israel. Material comes mainly from the holdings of the Jewish National and University Library. Covers 1966-present.
Journals of Special Interest
The journals listed below deal with Middle East politics, in some cases exclusively and in others on an occasional basis. The latest issues for 2007 and 2006 are worth browsing online or in paper issues in the Periodical Room. It takes indexes sometimes as much as a year to enter new articles. The latest issue of Middle East Report indexed in Worldwide Political Science Abstracts is Summer 2005; this leaves 6 newer issues currently unrepresented.
British Journal of Middle East Studies (1991-2002 currently)
New issues available in paper at Bryn Mawr
Foreign Affairs (1987 to the present)
International Journal of Middle East Studies (2000 to the present)
Older issues available online through JSTOR
Journal of Palestine Studies (2002 to the present)
Older issues available online through JSTOR
Middle East Economic Digest
Search in Lexis Nexis for articles in this publication. Issues are not browsible; search for a topic of interest.
Middle East Journal (1988 to the present)
Middle East Report (2003 to the present) Full version only in Paper
Older issues available online through JSTOR
Using News and Commentary Sources:
The resources below were selected for reliability and currency. They include online versions of major newspapers published in the Middle East, blogs by informed obervers, and compilations of news and opinion. Most of these sources reflect the viewpoints of people in the region rather than a U. S. or European interpretation of events.
Al-Ahram Weekly
Online version of a Cairo newspaper.
Aljazeera
News web site run by the television network.
Dar Al-Hayat
Based in Beirut.
Haaretz.com
Online version of the Israeli newspaper.
Informed Consent
Blog on the Middle East, religion, and history by Juan Cole. He is a faculty member at the University of Michigan.
Jerusalem Post
Syriacomment.com
Blog by Joshua Landis, University of Oklahoma.
TurkishPress.com
War in Context
Compilation of news and opinions on Iraq, the war on terrorism, and Middle East conflict. Edited by Paul Woodward.
World news connection
Contains hundreds of news items that are added daily from around the world. Material is obtained from open-source political speeches, television programs, radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, periodicals, and books. Content is translated into English. Useful for identifying government reactions to events in countries where the media are state-controlled.