Newly open access journal: Bustan:The Middle East Book Review

Bustan:The Middle East Book Review

ISSN: 1878-5301
E-ISSN: 1878-5328 

 

Access current issues through Scholarly Publishing Collective or back content on JSTOR.

Effective with volume 16, number 1, 2025: Bustan has transitioned from a subscription-only journal to open access. All content published after volume 16, number 1, 2025, will be open access. Back content is available for purchase as digital articles or full print or digital issues.

Bustan: The Middle East Book Review is a journal dedicated to review. Published by Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East and African Studies (MDC) at Tel Aviv University, each issue of Bustan typically includes at least three long-form review essays that review new literature. These essays explore broad themes or issues on a particular topic that go beyond the content of the books under review. The journal also includes ten to fifteen short traditional book reviews, as well as review articles in translation. The journal strives to review works in a range of languages, but the journal’s content is published in English.

Beginning in 2025, works published by Bustan are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Bustan is an Open Access Journal which means that all content is freely available immediately upon publication without charge to the user or their institution. Users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, per the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC) is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of the history and contemporary affairs of the Middle East and Africa. The MDC’s research consists of analysis and assessment, and it avoids making policy recommendations. Through research, publications, conferences, archival collections, and public service, it seeks to inform civil society and promote dialogue on change and continuity in the Middle East. In doing so, the Center hopes to advance peace through understanding.

Volume 16, Number 1 

Letter from the Editors: Open Access Open Access

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ARTICLES

Damascus, Syria, 1860: Clues and Lessons from the Scene of a Crime Open Access

Heather J. Sharkey

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Antizionism and Antisemitism Open Access

Joseph S. Spoerl

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Book Reviews

Island and Empire: How Civil War in Crete Mobilized the Ottoman World Open Access

Laura Robson

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The Jewish Agency and Syria during the Arab Revolt in Palestine Secret Meetings and Negotiations Open Access

Steven Wagner

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Turkey’s Violent Formation: New Social Contracts at the End of the Ottoman Empire Open Access

Ümit Kurt

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Slavery in the Modern Middle East and North Africa: Exploitation and Resistance from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day Open Access

Madeline C. Zilfi

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The Paradox of Islamic Finance: How Shariah Scholars Reconcile Religion and Capitalism Open Access

Michael O’Sullivan

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Tribes and the State in Libya and Iraq: From the Nationalist Era to the New Order Open Access

Ariel I. Ahram

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Iraq Against the World: Saddam, America, and the Post–Cold War Order Open Access

Alissa Walter

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Late Ottoman Gaza: An Eastern Mediterranean Hub in Transformation Open Access

Malte Fuhrmann

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Reading Herzl in Beirut: The PLO Effort to Know the Enemy Open Access

Marina Eleftheriadou

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The Gulf War: George H. W. Bush and American Grand Strategy in the Post–Cold War Era Open Access

Samuel Helfont

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Syria Divided Patterns of Violence in a Complex Civil War Open Access

Ido Yahel

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Egypt under El-Sisi: A Nation on the Edge Open Access

Bosmat Yefet

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• Cover Image
• PDF Icon Front MatterFront Matter
• PDF Icon Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Volume 16, Number 2

Russia and Iran in the Shadow of Ukraine: Ontological Security, Authoritarian Regionalism, and the Politics of Alignment Open Access

Clément Therme

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Storytelling Matters: On Sonja Mejcher-Atassi’s An Impossible Friendship Open Access

Arie M. Dubnov

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Research on Sunni-Shiʿi Relations: A Big Step Forward and a Few Steps Back Open Access

Martin Thomas Riexinger

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Book Reviews

Devotion to the Administrative State: Religion and Social Order in Egypt Open Access

Limor Lavie

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Republic of Dreams: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Struggles, and the Future of Iraqi Kurdistan Open Access

David Romano

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Qatar’s Foreign Policy: Geography, Politics and Strategy since 1971 Open Access

Allen Fromherz

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The Israeli–Palestinian Peace Process: A Personal Insider’s Account Open Access

Moshe Elad

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Sectarianism, Siege and Displacement: The Memoir of al-Fuʿah and Kafriya Open Access

Carl Yonker

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Syrian-Kurdish Intersections in the Ottoman Period Open Access

Michael M. Gunter

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Assad: The Triumph of Tyranny Open Access

Joel Parker

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Jordan, Palestine, and the Politics of Collective Identity Open Access

Ronen Yitzhak

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Political Violence in Turkey, 1975–1980. The State at Stake Open Access

Christopher Houston

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Axis of Resistance: Asymmetric Deterrence and Rules of the Game in Contemporary Middle East Conflicts Open Access

Shay Har-Zvi

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Oman’s Transformation after 1970 Open Access

Geraint Hughes

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How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare Open Access

Richard Nephew

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Response to Jakob Krais’s review of Humor and Power in Algeria, 1920 to 2021 Open Access

Elizabeth Perego

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• Cover Image
• PDF Icon Front MatterFront Matter
• PDF Icon Table of ContentsTable of Contents

All Issues

 

 

Decolonizing the Page A Forgotten Golden Age of Arabic Book Arts (1950s–1980s)

 

Decolonizing the Page : A Forgotten Golden Age of Arabic Book Arts  - (1950s–1980s)

"This online exhibition sheds light on a remarkable era when Arabic book arts flourished, capturing the artistic, political, and intellectual fervour of decolonization. During this period, books played a vital role in reshaping knowledge, imagination, and aesthetic sensibilities, reaching an expanding Arabic readership and global networks of solidarity..."

"The bilingual Arabic and English website is the output for an AHRC-funded research project—for which the British Library was a partner—by Dr Zeina Maasri (University of Bristol) investigating the visual culture of Arabic books during processes of decolonisation. You can read more about the project in the About section: https://www.decolonizingthepage.com/en/about "