“The Causes of Stability and Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa: An Analytic Survey” and is available on the CSIS web site at: http://csis.org/files/publication/120213_MENA_Stability.pdf By Anthony H. Cordesman, Nicholas S. Yarosh, a Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA, report

The report focuses on underlying forces and causes at a time when political crisis -- and serious security issues -- dominate the region.  These political dynamics and unrest are, however, only part of the story.

The trends in demographics, economics, internal security and justice systems, governance, and social change show how much other factors affect both the region and individual nations, and will remain sources of violence and instability until they are dealt with. They show how basic data on the size of given economies, per capita incomes, populations, and population growth rates also contribute to instability. Finally, they illustrate the critical role of governance, social change, and justice systems in shaping and dealing with each nation’s problems...[more]

An updated and greatly expanded analysis of the metrics that can cause political instability and unrest in the Gulf and Middle East.

Making Sense of Libya, Middle East/North Africa Report N°107, 6 Jun 2011

The longer Libya’s military conflict persists, the more it risks undermining the anti-Qaddafi camp’s avowed objectives and the purpose claimed for NATO's intervention, that of protecting civilians.

Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East (I): Egypt Victorious?, Middle East/North Africa Report N°101, 24 Feb 2011

If Egypt’s popular uprising is to achieve its aspirations for a truly democratic society, street activism will need to be converted into inclusive, institutional politics.

A new report produced collaboratively by the League of Arab States, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and a group of Arab experts outlines development challenges for the Arab States. Development challenges for the Arab region (Vol. I - A human development approach, 1.02 MB; Vol. II - Food security and Agriculture, 1.29 MB) can be also downloaded from the UNDP web site . "The report highlights six key interrelated challenges facing the region, including: institutional reform; job creation; the promotion and financing of pro-poor growth; the reform of educational systems, economic diversification, and increased food security and self-sufficiency within existing environmental constraints. The report stresses that dealing with these challenges requires the adoption of a comprehensive development model based on the human development approach which considers freedoms as the basis for development".

UN Pulse: 

Permanent Link: Development challenges for the Arab region

Centre for Liberty in the Middle East

Centre for Liberty in the Middle East (CLIME) is a non-profit organisation which seeks to promote democracy in nations of the Middle East. It supports a network of democratic activists throughout the region. Services include training on women's political participation, and political development in general. The website includes information on the aims of the organisation, its membership and activities. It includes access to some reports and training manuals from its members. Topics covered include political reform in Egypt, Jordan and Syria; Islam and politics and women and politics. FROM: Intute.ac.uk
http://www.mideastliberty.org/

The Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries has been issued. Prepared by independent scholars drawn from the region, the report argues that human security is a prerequisite for human development, and that the widespread absence of human security in Arab countries undermines people’s options. The report identifies several ways that Arab countries can improve human security:

• Strengthen the rule of law
• Protect the environment
• Safeguard the rights of women
• Address the weak structural underpinnings of the Arab oil economy
• Tackle poverty and end hunger
• Boost public health
• End occupation, armed conflict, and military intervention

Download the report in English (pdf, 3.61MB) or Arabic (pdf, 3.99MB) from the website.

UN Pulse: Permanent Link: Arab Human Development Report

Middle East Water Collection
The Middle East Water Collection forms part of the digital library of Oregon State University. It provides free access to a wealth of resources relating to the political, economic, legal and security issues surrounding water supply in the Middle East. Users may access articles, maps, technical reports and documents from national governments and international organisations. Full text links are offered to many of the resources, however other entries contain abstracts only. Key topic areas include agriculture, irrigation, the physical geography of the Middle East; military and security factors relating to water supply and political geography. Countries covered include: Jordan; Kuwait; Bahrain; Saudi Arabi; Israel; Palestine; Syria; Lebanon; Libya. The site may be searched by keyword or browsed by geographical region. From Intute.ac.uk
http://digitalcollections.library.oregonstate.edu/cdm4/client/mewaters/

Middle East Water Collection

Dangerous but not omnipotent : exploring the reach and limitations of Iranian power in the Middle East This site provides free access to the full text of the book by Frederic Wehrey et al which was published by RAND in 2009. ISBN 978-0-8330-4554-6. The 233 page book critically assesses the military and security threat posed by Iran and its implications for American foreign policy. Chapters cover: Iranian defence policy and strategy; Arab nations perceptions of the Iranian threat; Iranian power linkages in the Middle East and future US policy towards the region. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG781.pdf

From within and without: sustainable security in the Middle East and North Africa
This site provides free access to the full text of a paper by Chris Abbott and Sophie Marsden which was published by the Oxford Research Group in March 2009. The 10 page paper summarises the outcomes of a consultation that the Oxford Research Group (ORG) and the Institute for Peace Studies (IPS) held in Egypt in October 2008. This brought together security experts, academics, government officials and civil society leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa, and explored the main causes of regional insecurity and East and the problems blocking change. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers/withinandwith

Aswat
Aswat is an online portal which was founded with support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. It aims to promote dialogue about political reform, democracy and reform in the Middle East and North Africa. The site includes links to news stories from these regions, supports online discussion forums and blogs. It also has a resource library of online training manuals and papers, many supplied by political activists and the NDI. Topics covered include civil society and political reform, elections and electoral reform, political participation, women and politics, Islam and democracy.
http://www.aswat.com/en

Panorama Middle East archives
Pamorama is a long running BBC documentary series. This section of the BBC website provides free access to a brief history of the Arab-israeli conflict in the Middle East as told through clips from BBC Panorama documentaries. They include coverage of the six day war in 1967, peace process, settlers in the West Bank, the rise of the PLO. Technical and copyright information is displayed on the website. From Intute.ac.uk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_7875000/7875431.stm

Peace in the Middle East: White House resources
This collection of materials forms part of the official White House website. It provides free access to press releases, statements, speeches and reports issued by the American president relating to American foreign policy in the Middle East. They include some recent photographs of presidential field trips and diplomacy in the Middle East. Materials relate to Israel; Jerusalem; Palestine; Egypt and Saudi Arabia. There are also materials concerning American involvement in the Middle East peace process and the Arab Israeli conflict, involving Palestine, West Bank and Gaza Strip. From: Intute.ac.uk
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/mideast/

Middle East Forum
The Middle East Forum is a US based think tank which seeks to promote a stronger American policy in the Middle East. Its stated aims include 'working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel and fighting Islamic extremism in the Middle East'. The website includes information on the aims, membership and recent activities of the group. It includes free access to press releases, blog postings from its members and full text articles from the Middle East Quarterly. They include materials by Daniel Pipes. Topics covered include Arab-israeli conflict, Islam and politics, the Middle East Peace process, position of Israel, Jerusalem, West Bank Gaza strip, and American foreign policy in the Middle East. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.meforum.org/

Middle East peace process: FCO resources This site is maintained by the British Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO). It provides free access to materials from the British government about the political situation in the region and British foreign policy towards the Middle East. This includes coverage of Israel, Palestine, Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It includes recent press releases, statements by the Foreign secretary, Foreign Office advice and links to related webcasts of parliamentary debates. Topics covered include political crises and conflict. The main emphasis is upon current news. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/newsfiles1/010-mepp/

History from Below in the Ottoman Empire and the Modern Middle East: an archive
This site is a joint project of Binghamton University, SUNY, and the London School of Economics and Politics. It is developing an online clearinghouse to resources of academic value for researching the history of the late Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East from below. History from below is defined to include resources relating to workers, labouring classes and the popular mass. It includes full text documents, photographs and links to other primary resources. Topics covered include colonialism, workers and the British Empire and the post-colonial world. Countries covered include: Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Iran, the Middle East and the Arab World. Intute.ac.uk
http://bingiwas.binghamton.edu/~ottmiddl/

Permalink Resourceshelf

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have issued two new publications related to rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa: Status of rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa (pdf, 677 KB) and Guiding Framework for rural finance in the Near East and North Africa (pdf, 627 KB).

Permanent Link: Rural Poverty in Near East and North Africa UN Pulse

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - UNRWA has released General Fund Appeal 2008-2009 (pdf, 2.01 MB). The publication outlines in a concise format the principal programmes through which UNRWA performs its humanitarian and development work:

Education;

Health;

Relief and Social Services;

Microfinance and Microenterprise Department; and

Infrastructure and Camp Development Unit.                                                                                                                                                                                   Read more UNRWA news. 

Permanent Link: UNRWA General Fund Appeal 2008-2009 UN Pulse

Permalink Docuticker

Tariq Ali This is the official homepage of Taiq Ali, renown socialist political campaigner and historian. It provides free access to a selection of his articles, book reviews and audio interviews. These include materials published in the New Left Review as well as extracts from many of his major book titles. Topics covered include the future direction of socialism, politics and Islam, commentary on political events in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.
http://www.tariqali.org/

From Intute.ac.uk 

Permalink Docuticker

Values Surveys In Islamic Countries: Findings by Mansoor Moaddel

http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/research/tmp/moaddel_values_survey.html

The following presentation slides [PDF format] represent current findings of interest.

Iraq

Trends in the Iraqi Political Values toward Secular Politics and National Identity: Findings from Values Surveys December 2004, April 2006, October 2006, March 2007, and July 2007 [Presentation slides]. Mansoor Moaddel, 2007.

Trends in Iraqi Political Values toward Secular Politics and National Identity: Findings from Values Surveys December 2004, April 2006, October 2006, March 2007, and July 2007 [Detailed tables]. Mansoor Moaddel, 2007.

Trends in Iraqi Political Values: Attitudes toward the U.S., Iranians, Political Parties, Secular Politics, and Identity [Presentation slides]. Mansoor Moaddel, 2007.

The Worldviews of the Iraqi Public toward Religion, Politics, Gender, and Coalition Forces: Findings of Values Survey [Presentation slides]. Mansoor Moaddel (PI), Ronald Inglehart (Co-PI), Mark Tessler (Co-PI). December 2004

Saudi Arabia

The Worldviews of Saudi Citizens vs. Other Islamic Countries and Americans, Findings from Values Surveys [Presentation slides]. Mansoor Moaddel, May 2004.

Sept 11 and Values Change

The Impact of 9/11 on Value Orientations of the Egyptian Public [Presentation slides]. Mansoor Moaddel.

Iran nuclear watch

West Bank/ Gaza Strip IRI resources

Pakistan: IRI resources

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Israel and Syria: The Military Balance and Prospects of War
Source: [U.S.] Center for Strategic & International Studies

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"Press TV is the first international Iran-based news network to broadcast in English on a round-the-clock schedule." It "offers broad news coverage, specifically focusing on the Middle East," and aims to "tackle the controversial global news agenda and broadcasts cutting-edge documentaries with political, social and economic contents." The site features news articles and the opportunity to watch live coverage.Copyright 2007 by Librarians' Internet Index.
URL: http://www.presstv.com
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24134 (More)

Arab Political Systems: Baseline Information and Reforms

...This webpage represents a joint undertaking of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and the Fundacion para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Dialogo Exterior (FRIDE) in Madrid...

Arab Reform Bulletin

Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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Research Paper: Hamas and the seizure of Gaza34 pages; PDF.

Source: House of Commons Library, UK

Permalink Docuticker

Improving U.S. and Syrian Relations: Some Possible Beginnings
Source: [U.S.] Center for Strategic & International Studies

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China blog: Time Magazine

Middle-East blog: Time Magazine

From Intute.ac.uk

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Challenges and Opportunities - The Population of the Middle East and North Africa

Source: Population Research Bureau

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Al-Jazeera: Middle-East news

This website is maintained by Al-Jazeera : the world's first global English language news channel with headquarters in the Middle East. This section of its website provides free access to headlines and news broadcasts about Middle east politics and current affairs. It provides an Arab perspective on events. Topics covered include the Arab-Israeli conflict; events in Iraq; Iran and Palestine. It is also possible to view recent TV footage and participate in on-line discussions. The emphasis is upon current news stories.
From Intute.ac.uk

Jerusalem 2050

MIT's Department of Urban Studies & Planning and the Center for International Studies.

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This site has been created by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a based non-profit organisation which specialises in translating and analysing the content of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish media in order to trace political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the in the Middle East... (More)

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Fashion victims

This report, from War on Want, is subtitled "The true cost of cheap clothes at Primark, Asda and Tesco" and is an exposé of the clothing industry and cheap labour...

Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center

Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center is an important non-governmental organisation based in Jordan which seeks to promote civil society and democratic development in Jordan and the Arab countries...

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