Gasiorowski, Mark, ed.: "The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa."(Book review)

• Author: Magnarella, Paul J.

Gasiorowski, Mark, ed. The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2014.

Unlike previous editions of The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa, Professor of Political Science at Tulane University Mark Gasiorowski served as the sole editor of the seventh edition. The book's individual chapters, each written by a country specialist, cover states from Iran in the East to Morocco in the West. It also contains a chapter on "The Palestinians," not the "State of Palestine." The United Nations granted Palestine nonmember observer state status in 2012. By then, it had already received state recognition by over 90 countries. By September 2015, 136 countries (over 70 percent of UN member states) had granted it state recognition. This collection, however, follows the US-Israeli position by not identifying Palestine as a state. Nonetheless, Glenn E. Robinson, the author of the chapter on the Palestinians, penned a well-written, informative contribution on the subject.

The collection of essays opens with...