From the Editors
Jadaliyya Launches DARS Page: Daily Acts of Resistance and Subversion
Tadween Publishing Blog is here! Check it out
Jadaliyya's first book is now available! Click here.
Want to find out about new books? Visit our expanding NEWTON page. Click here.
Interested in writing a Review for Jadaliyya? Visit our Call for Reviews here.
الآن . . . القسم العربي بحلة جديدة
Jadaliyya Launches Photography Page (click here!)
Call for Photos: Become a Contributing Photographer at Jadaliyya
Bassam Haddad
Neoliberal Pregnancy and Zero-Sum Elitism in the Arab World (Part 1)
[This post will probably burst the sweet (though serious) bubble generated by Lisa’s semi-comical/semi-sad post below. So toggle back and forth to withstand the dryness here.] Beneath the surface and behind the scenes, though smack in the middle of consequential developments, we are witnessing the slow but steady emergence of a new and increasingly fortified nexus of power between the political and economic elite in much of the Arab world. Far deeper than the everyday ...
Keep Reading »Thank You! ًشكرا . . . and, pass Jadaliyya around!
Dear Readers, This weekend we will be celebrating 60 days since Jadaliyya's "soft" launch. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our readers who made this independent effort successfull. We hope you will come back for more and that you will invite others to take a look. Because of our independent status, we are so far unable to finance/launch a broad campaign to alert all potential readership to this endeavor. Your support in spreading the word ...
Keep Reading »The Increasing Absurdity of the "Terrorism" Accusation . . . in Light of “Democracy” and Resistance
The only thing more sickening than the United States cracking down on groups/human beings it does not like in the name of fighting terrorism is when Arab regimes do it. The same goes for Israel except that one should be increasingly prepared to expect literally anything, no matter how morally or politically reprehensible, from its governments. In any case, for those interested in the struggle for any number, or kind, of rights in the Arab world, that phony specter has come ...
Keep Reading »The Predicament of Independent Opposition (Part 4-Final)
In the first three posts (1, 2, 3), I discussed two significant liberalization phases and the succession struggle/period. As promised, this is the last post where I discuss the most recent phase of liberalization as a detour into the structural limitations of change and the predicament of independent opposition. Since the adoption of the “Social Market Economy” at the 10th Ba`thist Regional Command Conference in 2005, the economic “face” of Syria has begun to change ...
Keep Reading »The Predicament of Independent Opposition (Part 3)
My emphasis in the original post on the predicament of independent opposition stands, but I felt compelled to say more about the context of the second wave of liberalization in Syria (L 1.2), which started in 2000/2001. This is a third in a 4-part series post (I promise I’ll stop at 4). In part 2 I discussed the official narrative regarding the accession to power of Bashar Asad in 2000. Below, I discuss the "other" narrative peddled by various independent observers ...
Keep Reading »Make www.Jadaliyya.com your facebook profile/status for one day: Today, Wednesday
Dear Friends, As most of you know, we launched this Ezine last week and we have had a super warm welcome from all of you and from our increasing readership. But we are privately funded and need your help in spreading the word, provided you like what you see here by way of an alternative source of commentary on the region--and beyond. We are asking all our facebook friends to support us TODAY only (Wednesday, September 29) by using the Jadaliyya icon as ...
Keep Reading »The Predicament of Independent Opposition (Part 2)
In part I, here, the three waves of political liberalization in Syria were listed, but only the first was discussed. The second wave, L 1.2, is discussed below. The purpose of these narratives is ultimately to discuss the predicament of independent opposition in Syria, i.e., the opposition (to the Syrian regime) that is anti-US foreign policy, anti-Islamists who have their bases and some allegiances abroad, and the one that opposes the creeping dominance of business ...
Keep Reading »Whither Content?
Did you like this photo? [watch the video here . . . ] Facebook it, tweet this link, i like, get slatest, comment, 14 invitations, i like this comment, photo, i like, link, send, save, bookmark, open in tabs, my delicious, tag this, digg, change style, select profile image, Donna and 18 others like this, kiss my ass, 1 hour and 9 minutes ago, share this link, add photo, Salon me, Gingrich this, Counterpunch, Stewart that, search tags, there's even a freakin' App for the ...
Keep Reading »The Predicament of Independent Opposition (Part 1)
In Sunday's New York Times article on Syria (August 30, 2010) , “Doors Start to Open for Activists in Syria,” we hear of a mix of change and age-old obstacles. The story is short and sweet, with a mixture of sound observations, levelheaded optimism, and critique. There is nothing particularly striking about the report, except the anticipation of responses from various sides. I’ll take up two of these. But first, a quick look at the record of “change” or “political ...
Keep Reading »Homsi Comic Relief Speaks of Strong Spirits Despite All
Two youngish Syrian men in Homs discuss "Bashar's Reforms" (islahaat) while pointing to the destruction of their homes (we don't know if these are indeed their homes, but that's immaterial here) and cars. The script itself is clean and elegant as it is acerbically satirical. (though some of the comments under the Youtube video are disturbingly/disgustingly sectarian). There really is nothing to say except that it is worth watching. I apologize for not ...
Keep Reading »welcome back . . .
I was just flying back from Amman to Washington DC on United Airlines, sitting at an aisle seat. As I looked to my left diagonally across the aisle, I saw four UA screens playing the same film, Sex in the City (2). (read reviews here, here, and here, though they don't all do justice to it--if you have other piercing reviews, please post them in the comments section. Watch the trailer here). I looked to the lady sitting to my right, and she's reading a book, which seemed to ...
Keep Reading »What's With World Cup Praying?
I don't have time to write about this now, but what's with world cup praying on behalf of so many players in the field (especially those coming in and out)? I've been watching football (the original football where one mostly uses their feet--the plural of foot, hence, "footbal"--not the sport where one mostly holds the ball using their hands) since 1974, and I have yet to witness such frequency of praying and exhibition of religious symbols. Could the economist be ...
Keep Reading »Bio
Bassam Haddad is Director of the Middle East Studies Program and teaches in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, and is Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011). Bassam is currently editing a volume on Teaching the Middle East After the Arab Uprisings, a book manuscript on pedagogical and theoretical approaches. His most recent books include two co-edited volumes: Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? (Pluto Press, 2012) and Mediating the Arab Uprisings (Tadween Publishing, 2013). Bassam serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal a peer-reviewed research publication and is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the critically acclaimed film series, Arabs and Terrorism, based on extensive field research/interviews. More recently, he directed a film on Arab/Muslim immigrants in Europe, titled The "Other" Threat. Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and serves on the Editorial Committee of Middle East Report. He is the Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute, an umbrella for five organizations dealing with knowledge production on the Middle East and Founding Editor of Tadween Publishing.
