About the Book

There are competing definitions of the region called West Asia/Middle East. The region remains an indeterminate area, with no defined frontiers. There is no widely agreed upon definition of the area and the concept has never been neutral or value free. The contours of the region have actually altered in accordance with the shifting strategic interests of the changing dominant powers. The difficulty in defining the region is one aspect of the varied problems relating to the West Asian region, the other critical intrinsic concerns being the perceived escalating security dilemma with the rise of HAMAS, Hezbollah and Iran, and the persisting Israeli-Palestinian predicament that continues to play a critical role in all questions pertaining to the region.
This volume, which is in the nature of a collection of insightful and interesting essays by eminent scholars from within the region and without, attempts to delve into various aspects revolving around the aforementioned three significant issues: the contemporary construction of the expanse categorized as West Asia, the element of securitization of the region, and its alternative perceptions, with a special mention of the Indian perception. The essays in the book have been classified into three broad sections. The first section deals with the Israel-Palestine Question, considered to be the primary cause of contention in the region. The second section contends with the larger West Asian Space, enquiring into perspectives in the regional and global sense. The concluding section explores the deep-rooted links between India and West Asia.

About Author

Priya Singh is a Fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata

Susmita Bhattacharya is a Fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata

Contents

Preface

Israel-Palestine

The Transformation of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Mustapha Kamel Al Sayyid

Bi-Nationalism: Towards Alternative Model for the Future Solution of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
As'ad Ghanem

The Empowering of the Israeli Extreme Right: The Rise-Up of the 'Yisrael Beiteinu' Party
Mohanad Mustafa

West Asia

West Asia as an Area Study: An Imperative of Our Time
Gulshan Dietl

The United States and West Asia
Michael C. Hudson

South Asia, West Asia, and the Centre: Edge Dialectics of Modern Islamic Networking
Itzchak Weismann

Politics of Resistance in the GCC States: A Theoretical Framework
Sima Baidya

The "Tehran" Factor in West Asia: Doomed to Destabilise?
Kingshuk Chatterjee

India and West Asia

India, Iran and the "US Factor"
Sujata Ashwarya Cheema

The Impact of Domestic Politics on India's Attitudes towards Israel and Jews
Navras Jaat Aafreedi

India's Historical and Cultural Relations with the Arab World
A.K. Pasha

Contributors

Index

Additional Info.