Contemporary West Asia: Politics and Development

War, conflict, and terrorism define the face of contemporary West Asia (Middle East). However, there are far more important issues and challenges that are currently troubling the governments of West Asian nations. These include: political, economic, and social challenges * Islamic militancy * growing unemployment * democratic reforms * human rights * the living conditions of expatriates * urbanization. Added to this list are environmental risks with such dimensions as over-fishing, soil and water pollution by the petroleum industry, the scarcity of fresh water, and desertification. This book - containing 11 contributions by scholars in the field - deals with these internal challenges of the region.