This work of fiction analyzes the two most dangerous political fault lines running across the Middle East: the Arabian/Israeli-Iranian conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. In Arabian War Games, the author proposes, through the use of fiction, a scenario where these issues all come to a head in a perfect storm. It is the year 20XX, and the regime in Iran, by then nearly choking to death under sanctions, attempts to cut the noose around its neck by invading Arabia in collusion with its ally Iraq. At the same time, Israeli elites, increasingly obsessed with preserving their Jewish majority and visualizing the Jewish state as slowly drowning in a sea of Arabs, conclude that the time has come to forcibly expel their rapidly growing Palestinian minority into Jordan. The United States, fatigued by Middle East wars, confused by Iraq’s collusion with Iran, overwhelmed by the resultant collapse of global financial markets, and impotent in front of a determined Israel, helplessly watches events play out. Eschewing the tendency of professional predictors to avoid forecasting the outlandish, Shihabi explores these potential scenarios in a granular fashion, paying particular attention to the mind-set and thinking of the ruling elites who are driving these events. Far from mere sensationalism, Arabian War Games is a careful analysis of the stress points currently at play in the region. Not only does Shihabi dissect these fault lines and their possible outcomes with incisiveness, but he also proposes alternative, creative solutions in the hopes that such scenarios can be avoided.

This work of fiction analyzes the two most dangerous political fault lines running across the Middle East: the Arabian/Israeli-Iranian conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli struggle. In Arabian War Games, the author proposes, through the use of fiction, a scenario where these issues all come to a head in a perfect storm. It is the year 20XX, and the regime in Iran, by then nearly choking to death under sanctions, attempts to cut the noose around its neck by invading Arabia in collusion with its ally Iraq. At the same time, Israeli elites, increasingly obsessed with preserving their Jewish majority and visualizing the Jewish state as slowly drowning in a sea of Arabs, conclude that the time has come to forcibly expel their rapidly growing Palestinian minority into Jordan. The United States, fatigued by Middle East wars, confused by Iraq’s collusion with Iran, overwhelmed by the resultant collapse of global financial markets, and impotent in front of a determined Israel, helplessly watches events play out. Eschewing the tendency of professional predictors to avoid forecasting the outlandish, Shihabi explores these potential scenarios in a granular fashion, paying particular attention to the mind-set and thinking of the ruling elites who are driving these events. Far from mere sensationalism, Arabian War Games is a careful analysis of the stress points currently at play in the region. Not only does Shihabi dissect these fault lines and their possible outcomes with incisiveness, but he also proposes alternative, creative solutions in the hopes that such scenarios can be avoided.

Whereas most studies of Islamism focus on politics and religious ideology, this book analyses the ways in which Islamism in the Arab world is defined, reflected, transmitted and contested in a variety of creative and other cultural forms. It covers a range of contexts of production and reception, from the early twentieth century to the present, and with reference to cultural production in and/or about Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, the Gulf, Lebanon and Israel/Palestine. The material engaged with is produced in Arabic, English and French and includes fiction, autobiography, feature films, television series, television reportage, the press, rap music and video games. Throughout, the book highlights the multiple forms and contested interpretations of Islamism in the Arab world, exploring trends and tensions in the ways Islamism is represented to (primarily) Arab audiences and complicating simplistic perspectives on this phenomenon. The book considers repeated and idiosyncratic themes, modes of characterisation, motifs, structures of feeling and forms of engagement, in the context of an ongoing struggle for symbolic power in the region.

Describes origins of commercial wargames as well as how to play and design them.

Mass Communication in the Modern Arab World: Ongoing Agents of Change following the Arab Spring introduces, explains, and explores how unceasing growth of media and communication technologies has acted as an ongoing agent of change in the modern Arab world Each contributed chapter provides evidence of mass communication’s potential to transform society, culture, politics, economies and development in a region where expectations of media and communication are higher than those of the Western world. Studying these media platforms and communication channels and their relationship to governments and other social and religious institutions reveals how an area of over 400 million people has seen both good and bad of transformations from the global communication wave. Case studies of media formats and practices specific to the region illuminate cultural and political factors that impact the growth of media and allow it to positively contribute to all-encompassing democratization in the region. List of Contributors: Azza A. Ahmed, Mohammad Ayish, Tayeb Boutbouqatl, Aliaa Dawoud, Khaled S. Gaweesh, Ahmed El Gody, Kamal Hamidou, Fran Hassencahl,Tara Al-Kadi, Kyung Sun Lee, Deanna Loew, Noha Mellor, Hesham Mesbah, Meriem Narimane Noumeur, Saddek Rabah, Abeer Salem, Hend El-Taher, Leonard Ray Teel, Oshane Thorpe, Karin Wilkins, and Inas Abou Youssef

Arab leaderships have been remarkably stable since the 1970s, particularly given the frequency of military coups in preceding years. Nonetheless, the military remains a key force in most Arab states and political leaders must maintain its loyalty if they are to retain office. Regimes have used a range of methods to ensure the military’s backing: In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak has maintained political control largely through providing the military with private and corporate benefits; selective appointments and institutional checks, are also useful instruments. Tribal relations underpin King Hussein’s political control in Jordan. Transjordanians have not only been the main beneficiaries of political power, but have also occupied the key positions in the armed forces. In Syria, President Hafez al-Assad has built his regime on the Alawi minority, while the vast security apparatus limits the spread of sectarian, class or ideological grievances in the military. President Saddam Hussein has established multiple security agencies in Iraq designed to prevent conspiracies against his regime. Regular rotations and purges ensure that few officers are in place long enough to contemplate, let alone organise, a coup, while the severe punishments meted out to suspected plotters are a further disincentive to rebellion. In this paper, Risa Brooks argues that the need for Arab regimes to maintain political control can undermine the combat potential of their armed forces. Centralising command, creating overlapping commands, politicising selection criteria and authorising involvement in economic activities all potentially compromise military effectiveness. The fact that regimes have successfully managed political–military relations in the past does not mean that they will automatically do so in the future. Changing social or economic conditions could upset the equilibrium in political–military relations. Regime stability cannot therefore be taken for granted Transition to new leadership is a looming issue for the key regimes in Egypt, Syria and Jordan; political–military relations will play a crucial role in how it is resolved. New leaders must gain and maintain social support if they are to consolidate power. The fact that so many Middle Eastern regimes face uncertain transitions raises the sobering prospect of profound instability and change in this strategically vital region. Maintaining political control is a continuous and evolving process. A breakdown in social support for the leadership, failure to detect a conspiracy within the military and economic or political change that threatens military prerogatives could all disrupt political–military relations. Current stability should not give rise to complacency.

A detailed study of one of the greatest tank battles since World War II, as some 950 Egyptian tanks confronted about 800 tanks of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the Sinai Peninsula. This momentous clash came to be known as the Six-Day War, and was a critical laboratory for two competing and contrasting systems of armored warfare. The Six-Day War in 1967 was a lightning Israeli campaign that changed the face of the Middle East. Israel's armored brigades, despite being heavily outnumbered on paper by Arab AFVs, managed to dominate the Arab forces tactically and technologically, through excellent gunnery and decentralized battlefield leadership. The fighting took place on three different fronts: the Sinai Front, the Jordanian Front and the Golan Heights. Each presented its own unique set of tactical and terrain challenges, from the long-range battles between massed Egyptian and Israeli armor in the scorching flatlands of the Sinai Desert, to relatively close-quarters engagements across steep and narrow terrain in the Golan Heights. Not only did the Six-Day War see the direct clash of opposing Cold War tactical approaches, but also the direct confrontation of Western and Soviet MBTs. On the Israeli side, the IDF had the British Centurion, the American M48 Patton, the M51 Super Sherman, and the French AMX-13, although they focused their armored spearheads on the Centurions and Pattons. The Arabs' armored power was expressed through T-34/85s, T-54/55s, PT-76s and JS-3s (IS-3s). Each vehicle brought its own set of advantages and disadvantages, although ultimately it was the long-range tank-killing gunnery of the Centurion that often took the day. Drawing on compelling first-hand accounts from both unit commanders and individual crews, this Duel title explains the tactical and mechanical dynamics of one of history's greatest post-war armored engagements.

Feminist War Games? explores the critical intersections and collisions between feminist values and perceptions of war, by asking whether feminist values can be asserted as interventional approaches to the design, play, and analysis of games that focus on armed conflict and economies of violence. Focusing on the ways that games, both digital and table-top, can function as narratives, arguments, methods, and instruments of research, the volume demonstrates the impact of computing technologies on our perceptions, ideologies, and actions. Exploring the compatibility between feminist values and systems of war through games is a unique way to pose destabilizing questions, solutions, and approaches; to prototype alternative narratives; and to challenge current idealizations and assumptions. Positing that feminist values can be asserted as a critical method of design, as an ideological design influence, and as a lens that determines how designers and players interact with and within arenas of war, the book addresses the persistence and brutality of war and issues surrounding violence in games, whilst also considering the place and purpose of video games in our cultural moment. Feminist War Games? is a timely volume that questions the often-toxic nature of online and gaming cultures. As such, the book will appeal to a broad variety of disciplinary interests, including sociology, education, psychology, literature, history, politics, game studies, digital humanities, media and cultural studies, and gender studies, as well as those interested in playing, or designing, socially engaged games.

Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world.

For centuries, supernatural powers have reigned, warring among themselves, culling the human herds and lashing out from the shadows. The creatures of the night have held court since before the dawn of history. Nothing lasts forever. From the throng of humanity, individuals emerge who know the truth. They know monsters exist. Enough is enough! The forces of darkness must pay their due. The time of retribution is at hand. Travel to the Fertile Crescent -- the Middle East and Egypt -- to discover what beasts lurk even under the desert sun.