EXTERNAL FAVOURITES

Israel is a small country engulfed in regional chaos. The Middle East, a hegemonically Muslim region, finds itself embroiled in ethnic and religious conflict which frequently affects Israel, a Jewish state. The regional landscape changes often, and this article highlights the notable conflicts indicative -- whether it be political parties, military entities, or states themselves -- of yet another regional shift, and how the state of Israel fits within this wavering landscape. While the work pertains to COVID-19 circumstances, the effects appear to remain well beyond the pandemic. 

This study highlights Sudan's North (Muslim) and South (Christian) divide in order to contextualize the conflation of Islamism and politics. Viorst emphasizes the role external actors had in setting up a political system that benefited the North, and by extension, enabled the emergence of Islam in the political realm. In a unique dimension of Islam and Politics, Viorst showcases how the Sudanese Islamist Government opted for a more modern and ambiguous implementation of Islam than its neighbors, which enabled its longevity alongside a hyper-fragmentation of the political field.  

In this review essay, Shadi Hamid takes on Fawaz A. Gerges' book Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East . Hamid explores the relationships between the figureheads of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt,  and how these relationships, consisting of friendship and contestation, impacted the modern Middle Eastern political climate.