Tag Archives: Publishing

Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies
Feb 8 2012

Considerations of the Nature of Democracy and Reform in the Arabian Peninsula


Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies, Ithaca Press, Editors: Anoushiravan Ehteshami , Steven Wright, ISBN: 9780863723230, New Edition, Feb 2012

Oil – essential to the economy of the Middle East – is central to current unrest in the region, and is therefore inextricably linked to any consideration of wider political reform.
This collection of articles features contributions by eminent academics and government officials, through which it addresses issues surrounding reform specifically in the oil-rich countries and states of the Arabian Peninsula.
These oil-rich monarchies are frequently dismissed as having no democratic systems compared to most other regions of the world. However, recent consideration has shown that these countries and states are perhaps not as autocratic as they have traditionally been perceived to be.
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Oct 12 2011

10 Rules and 10 Translations from Dr. Issa J. Boullata


Dr Boullata has translated several books in the series Great Books of Islamic Civilization, by Garnet Publishing Ltd.

He has written and article called 10 Rules and 10 Translations on the Arab Lit blog. Here’s an excerpt:

Dr. Issa J Boullata is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian writer, literary scholar, critic, educator and translator. He started his career with a PhD in Arabic literature from London University in 1969 and went on to be a Professor of Arabic Literature at McGill University in Montreal. He introduced and translated the groundbreaking poetry anthology Modern Arab Poets, 1950-1975 (1976) and has given a number of contemporary Arab authors award-winning translations. He has also published his own novel and short stories, including the novel عائد إلى القدس and the English-language short-story collection A Retired Gentleman and Other Stories.

Ten Rules for Translation

Some translations from Arabic to English are commissioned by publishers or by interested institutions, and have therefore a sort of assured publication and remuneration. Others are ones of texts chosen by the translator, who has then to look for a publisher and negotiate terms and royalties. In all cases, my rules are the same.

(1) Translate only a text that you like and that gives you satisfaction on being published.

(2) Read the text well and, if possible, ask the author about meanings you may have missed or wanted explained.

(3) Accept the fact that cultures are different from one another, and that each has its own way of saying the same thing in possibly different words or ways.

Read the rest of the rules here.

Oct 7 2011

Not loyal but estranged; a study of the Libyan political mindset and its repercussions


Political Alienation in Libya Assessing Citizens’ Political Attitude and Behaviour by Mabroka al-WerfalliPolitical Alienation in Libya: Assessing Citizens’ Political Attitude and Behaviour, by Mabroka al-Werfalli, Ithaca Press, 2012, ISBN: 9780863723728, Hardback, 240pp

Ithaca Press is pleased to announce the publication of Political Alienation in Libya by Mabroka al-Werfalli.    This highly topical and up-to-the-minute publication should appeal to followers of contemporary politics who value a more in-depth consideration of how the current climactic situation in Libya has come about.   The book provides a unique insight into the political mindset of the Libyan people, which has led up to the 2011 protests and the resulting civil war.

The book is an assessment of Libyan citizens’ political attitudes and behaviour, and features interviews and surveys of Libyan people from across the board, thus presenting a true cross-section of the nation’s political mindset.

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May 21 2011

Security Arrangements in the Persian Gulf: With Special Reference to Iran’s Foreign Policy


Security Arrangements in the Persian Gulf: With Special Reference to Iran’s Foreign Policy By Dr Mahboubeh Sadeghinia

Security Arrangements in the Persian Gulf: With Special Reference to Iran’s Foreign Policy By Dr Mahboubeh Sadeghinia

from SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS IN THE PERSIAN GULF: With Special Reference to Iran’s Foreign Policy, MAHBOUBEH F. SADEGHINIA, Ithaca Press, 2011

June 2011

About this book

The strategic and economic characteristics of the Persian Gulf have made it of critical importance to all the states bordering its coastline, as well as the entire world’s economy and political life. Its significant geopolitical situation, in addition to its dominant position as an energy source and gateway for global energy, has caused the Gulf to be a worthy rival to outside powers, particularly those in the West, while also being amongst the most unstable and chaotic of any world regions.

The objective of this book is to understand the reasons for the failure of security models in the Persian Gulf and to provide a new model that addresses the need for a stable and peaceful structure of relationships, provides security for all individual littoral states, and also assures the interests of the external powers.

To this end, the book analyses the various security models adopted in this vitally important geopolitical region since 1962, with special reference to Iran’s foreign policy. Particular reference has been made to Iran because of its geostrategic and geopolitical situation and its role as the hegemonic power in the Persian Gulf. Indeed, regardless of its political regimes, Iran has significant national security concerns and plays a determinant role in the overall peace and security of the region.

About the author

Dr Mahboubeh Sadeghinia is the founder/Director of the Centre for the Study of Energy and Security (CSES). Prior to this she was a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. Having worked as an international journalist and also political researcher in Iran and Jordan during 1980–2003, her current research interests are foreign policy, political economy, security and strategic issues in Iran and in the Middle East/Persian Gulf. Her major focus is to studying security issues affected by energy and international relations between the Middle East and the West.

May 12 2011

Arash Hejazi’s paper on Book Censorship in Iran, published by LOGOS Journal: ‘You Don’t Deserve to Be Published’


Citation: Hejazi, Arash, ‘You don’t deserve to be published’ Book Censorship in Iran, LOGOS: The Journal of the World Book Community, Volume 22, Number 1, 2011 , pp. 53-62(10), DOI: 10.1163/095796511X562644

‘Read the rest of the article here: ‘You Don’t Deserve to Be Published: Censorship in Iran’

Censorship is as old as human intellect. It has been practised in almost every country at some level throughout history: from 399 BC, when Socrates was forced to drink poison, to the horrors of the Inquisition, and the oficial coining of the concept with the publication of Index Librorum Prohibitorum by the Roman Catholic Church; from the obligation of English publishers to register their books with the Stationers’ Company in the 16th century until the case of D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover; and the Nazi book-burning campaign and the absolute offfijicial control of the governments of the USSR, China, and Eastern European countries over published material.
It has always been a highly controversial issue as well, especially since Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) requested the member states of the UN to enforce freedom of speech in their countries. The concept of censorship has been defijined by various authors and organizations, but no agreed defijinition has yet been given; therefore the term covers a wide range of activities which sometimes overlap with other concepts, such as moderation, regulation, sensitivity, and intervention. However, for the purpose of this research, the term censorship only refers to restrictions imposed by an authority or authoritative body on a creative work, which impedes the availability of the original work to its potential audience prior to or after its publication, or forces the creator to modify or omit parts or all of the work against their free will. Therefore,
editorial intervention does not fijit the criteria, as it can be prevented by the free will of the author. The only exception is self-censorship which can be categorized under censorship by fear; one of the most powerful restrictive tools which may have the power to act as an authoritative body, inflicted by conditions outside the author’s control.
The importance of addressing censorship as an issue becomes more evident when considering that, despite the abolition of most of the traditional and historical tools for imposing restrictions on freedom of speech by the coming of information technology and the internet revolution, it is still being practised, and controls a wide range of the mind’s expressions, including books.
Therefore, it seems that raising awareness towards the consequences of censorship has never been more important since the Enlightenment, and the censorship practised in Iran today is a good example…

‘Read the rest of the article in PDF here: ‘You Don’t Deserve to Be Published: Censorship in Iran’

Apr 18 2011

Sales and Marketing Executive for Trade and Academic Imprints


UK, Reading

Garnet Publishing is a rapidly growing UK-based independent publisher publishing both trade and academic books with a special focus on the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies. We seek a Marketing and Publicity executive to be based in our Reading office to help us promote both imprints.

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