This brief introduction to politics in the Middle East centers around issues and efforts to find resolution to the tensions in the region. Stevens' new text distinguishes itself in the market by focusing on a select number of key issues in the region (i.e., the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, oil, terrorism) rather than taking the standard country-by-country approach.

Specialists from Israel, Europe and the US examine the implications of peace for Israel. How would it affect the country's political and economic systems and its national security, and what would peace mean for its regional and international standing and its relations with world Jewry?

The study reviews the progress made toward Arab-Israeli peace between 1991 and 1995 and the dramatic setbacks that occurred in 1996. It also assesses the challenges ahead and provides a country-by-country analysis of criticisms of the peace process.

Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of liberation'' versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.