Book Reviews

87 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XLI, No.1, Fall 2017 Book Reviews Edited by Nadia Barsoum CITY SCAPES OF VIOLENCE IN KARACHI: Publics and counterpublics edited by Nicholas Khan. UK, London Oxford University Press 2017, 252 pages. This book fundamentally concerns the relation of violence and language. The authors in these pages combine academic, contributions, creative non-fiction, literary works, journalistic analyses, social movements, texts and auto-ethnographies. They investigate the structural, political-economic, cultural, and geographic shaping of Karachi’s violence, and make comparative, synchronic, and diachronic connections in their particular case studies, biographical analyze, studies of particular localities, and analyses of the city as a whole. POLITICS AND STATE- SOCIETY RELATIONS IN INDIA by James Manor; New York Oxford University Press, 2017, 365 pages. This book revisits studies of key themes during the years of prime ministerial dominance, and then assesses the transition through the post-1989 period of hung parliaments to the present day. It examines the democratic process and state society relations during those two periods. It provides signposts as India navigates its way through a new phase THE SHIA REVIVAL: How Conflicts within Islam will reshape the Future by Vali Nasr. New York: W.W. Norton and company, Independent Publishers since 1923. This edition was updated in 2016, 310 pages. This book is not a work of historical scholarship. Its contribution is in the new ideas and arguments that it brings to an understanding of the Islamic world in the Middle East history and politics. It is written for the general audience. The author avoided the usual method of transliteration or citation of notes seen in scholarly works. The author used a simplified phonetic pattern closer to the Arabic, Persian or Urdu pronunciation, depending on the context of the discussion. The notes are meant for the most part to provide references for a striking piece of information or a quotation. 88 GUARDIANS OF THE ARAB STATE: When Militaries Intervene in Politics from Iraq to Mauritania by Florence Gaub. UK, London Oxford University Press 2017, 272 pages. this volume explains clearly and concisely how and why military organizations become involved in politics across the Middle East and North Africa, identifying four key factors: a high degree of organizational capacity, clear institutional interest, a forgiving population and weak civilian control. Looking at numerous case studies ranging from Mauritania to Iraq, the book finds that these factors are common to all Arab countries to have experienced coups in the last century. It also finds that the opposite is true in cases like Jordan, where strong civilian control and the absence of capacity, interest, or a positive public image made coup attempts futile. Gaub also convincingly argues that the reasons are structural rather than cultural, thereby proving a counter-narrative to conventional explanations which look at Arab coups along religious or historical lines. In essence, the questions addressed herein lead back to issues of weak statehood, legitimacy, and resource constraints—all problems the Arab world has struggled with since independence . Guardians of the Arab State picks up where previous literature on Middle Eastern military forces dropped the debate, and provides an updated and insightful analysis into the soul of Arab armies. YEMENS ENDURES: Civil War, Saudi Adventurism and the Future of Arabia by Ginny Hill. UK, London Oxford University Press 2017, 391 pages. Hill examines why is the oil-rich Saudi Arabia involved in a costly and merciless war against neighboring, Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East? Why, with billions of dollars of British and American weapons, have the Saudis lost the upper hand to the Houthi rebels? In this first authoritative account of the present conflict, Ginny Hill delves into a country still dominated by the pernicious influence of career dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, who masterminded patronage networks that kept the state weak, allowing conflict and inequality to flourish . After three decades, he was forced from office by street protests in 2011. In the chaos following his departure, civil war and regional interference plague the country. While the Saudis battle the Houthis—whom they believe are backed by Iran—ISIS, Al-Qaeda and separatist groups compete to exploit the broken state...