Culture and conflict in the Middle East / Philip Carl Salzman.
2008
DS57 .S286 2008 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
Culture and conflict in the Middle East / Philip Carl Salzman.
Author
Salzman, Philip Carl.
ISBN
9781591025870 (alk. paper)
1591025877 (alk. paper)
1591025877 (alk. paper)
Publication Details
Amherst, N.Y. : Humanity Books, 2008.
Language
English
Description
224 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.
Call Number
DS57 .S286 2008
Dewey Decimal Classification
303.60956
Summary
"Why is the Middle East so troubled? What are the reasons for its relentless conflicts? In a land of ancient civilizations, literary cultures, and conquering empires, today we find fragmented societies, despotic governments, and widespread human misery. How can we explain these unfortunate facts? In this volume, cultural anthropologist Philip Carl Salzman exposes the determining influence of the foundational culture in the central Middle East: Bedonin tribal culture. Drawing on his own research among nomadic tribes and on the work of other anthropologists who have lived with the Bedonin, Salzman describes the structures and dynamics of the tribal life on which the Islamic Arab Empire and the modern Middle East were built. Most basic is the opposition between kin groups and tribal groups, and the obligation always to support the closer relations against the more distant. Islam itself reflects the contentious fragmentation of tribal life in pitting believers against infidel non-Muslims. Thus we discover that, in Middle Eastern culture, group loyalty is all, and precludes both a broad inclusive civility and the rule of law." "Wide-ranging while grounded in observed evidence, Culture and Conflict in the Middle East is an original analysis and an illuminating overview. Sympathetic to Middle Easterners, it identifies the basis of their troubles and our troubles with them. This is an indispensable volume for anyone wishing to understand the contemporary Middle East."--BOOK JACKET.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Linked Resources
Table of contents only
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Making a living in the Middle East : life in the valleys, deserts, and mountains
Friends and enemies : security and defense in the Middle East
Defense and offense : honor and rank in the Middle East
Turning toward the world : tribal organization and predatory expansion
Tribe and state : the dynamics of incompatibility
Root causes : the Middle East today and tomorrow.
Making a living in the Middle East : life in the valleys, deserts, and mountains
Friends and enemies : security and defense in the Middle East
Defense and offense : honor and rank in the Middle East
Turning toward the world : tribal organization and predatory expansion
Tribe and state : the dynamics of incompatibility
Root causes : the Middle East today and tomorrow.