The new issue of the Journal of Strategic Studies published by BCSR, with content in English and Arabic, contains a key paper in English on the Challenges facing the Arab World and the Future by Mohammed Jassim Saqer, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament. Mr. Saqer details several vital Arab issues including: political development and human rights; Arab National security; the management of the struggle with Israel; terrorism; economic development; unifying the Arab world; and the role of the Arab Parliament.
The current issue contains a special section in English on Islamic Banking and Finance, which explores the challenges facing these institutions and how these challenges might be overcome. This issue also has a special section on International Terrorism and Human Rights: An Arab Vision, and a section in Arabic on the Role of Political Societies in the Political Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain by Dr. Mohamed Saad Abu Amood, Professor of Political Science at Halwan University, Egypt.
Dr. Abu Amood mentions that the political Islamic trend in Bahrain has a dominant weighting within the political society, while the influence of moderate and liberal societies is limited. He adds that the sectarian dimension has changed within the context of the political societies, in spite of the prohibition on the establishment of political societies on sectarian lines. He adds that the social realities in Bahrain cannot be ignored, especially at this early stage of the political experience in the country. Dr. Abu Amood asserts that admitting this reality does not mean approval, but rather a search for a remedy to this situation, and of the need to persuade the societies to distance themselves from sectarianism, regionalism and closed group identification.
Dr. Abu Amood concludes that there is an urgent need for a consensus between the political societies and the regime on the major role that the societies could play, and to establish common ground among the different political forces. Dr. Abu Amood also concludes that Islamist political societies are the most dynamic societies in Bahrain. However, questions remain about the intellectual and ideological agendas proposed by these societies, and this may be due to the fact that they appeal to the common ground and to the views of the masses. Dr. Abu Amood asserts that pro-Islamist societies are more vibrant in Bahrain, and the problem arises that the ideology of these societies could lead to the formulation of views that may contradict with the requirements for political development, and which could adversely affect national unity and the social fabric of society.
Issue 10 of the journal also contains papers in Arabic on the Requirements for Reform of the UN Security Council in a Changing World by Dr. Idriss Lakrini, and another study on the Struggle for the Golan Heights through the Israeli-Syrian peaceful negotiations by Dr. Radwan Ziada, Director of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies. The political analysis section contains papers on the image of the Arab and Islamic World among westerners, written by Jaber Haider, and another paper on Japan and the Middle East by BCSR researcher, Mohammed Rashid Al Suwaidi.
Researcher, Radi Al Samak analyses the possibilities of Russia regaining its international status, and researcher and writer on international affairs, Abdul Malik Salman provides coverage and analysis of the 4th Round of the Gulf Security Conference – the Manama Dialogue. In the book review section, Dr. Mohamed Noman Galal, Advisor for Strategic International Studies and Supervisor of the Dialogue of Civilizations Programme at BCSR reviews two books, one on societal partnership and its role in bolstering security in the GCC countries, and another review of a book on Egypt as viewed by the French. Researcher in international relations, Mohamed Bubush, also reviews the book, 'The American Occupation of Iraq – the Last Scene'. Finally, BCSR researcher, Abdulnabi Al Ekri reports on the Forum for the Future 2007 - Sub-ministerial meeting held in Berlin in October 2007.
The documents section includes the text of the Iranian President's speech at the GCC Summit held in Doha in December 2007 as relayed by PARS, the Iranian News Agency. This section also includes the Doha Declaration on the establishment of the Gulf Economic Community, and the text of the Arab Ministerial Meeting in Cairo in its discussions on Lebanon.
The Journal of Strategic Studies was first published in 2005 and is now in its fourth year of publication. The journal has an advisory board which includes prominent thinkers and academics from China, India, Pakistan, the U.S.A., France, Egypt, the U.A.E., Syria and Bahrain. Dr. Mohamed Noman Galal, editor of the journal, states that the journal's editorial board is keen to include material in the journal in both Arabic and English, so as to reach a wider audience of people from specialized research institutes and think-tanks around the world. The journal welcomes and gives priority to contributions and studies from academics and researchers in Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf countries.
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