{"product_id":"9780863566240","title":"What's Really Wrong With The Middle East","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A passionate call for political and social change in Arab countries . . . and a stern critique of the status quo.\"Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe problems in the Middle East are always someone else’s fault.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile the West blames dictators and extremists, Arabs often blame centuries of foreign interference. For many, both in the East and West, the root problem is a lack of freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLooking beyond the turmoil reported on our TV screens, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e journalist Brian Whitaker examines the \"freedom deficit\" that affects Arabs in their daily lives: their struggles against corruption, discrimination, and bureaucracy, and the stifling authoritarianism that pervades homes, schools, and mosques as well as presidential palaces.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on a wealth of new research and wide-ranging interviews, Whitaker analyzes the views of Arabs living in the region and argues that in order to achieve peace, prosperity, and full participation in today’s global economy, Arabs should embrace political and far-reaching social and cultural change.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrian Whitaker\u003c\/b\u003e was Middle East editor at the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e for seven years and is currently an editor for the newspaper’s Comment is Free website. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eUnspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East\u003c\/i\u003e (Saqi Books, 2006; also published in the United States by the University of California Press, 2006). His website, www.al-bab.com, is devoted to Arab culture and politics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Saqi Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47031845060848,"sku":"9780863566240","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780863566240_p0.jpg?v=1763829074","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780863566240","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}