Nimah Mazaheri

Feb 20, 2024 | foreignaffairs.com | Nimah Mazaheri |Lisa Anderson |Andrew Hanna |Yasmine El Rashidi

In This Review In This Review Hydrocarbon Citizens: How Oil Transformed People and Politics in the Middle EastAnalysts have long attributed the autocracy that prevails in Middle Eastern oil-producing countries to an “authoritarian bargain”: in return for generous government-sponsored benefits, the people acquiesce to autocracy.

Feb 20, 2024 | foreignaffairs.com | Ora Szekely |Lisa Anderson |Andrew Hanna |Nimah Mazaheri

In This Review In This Review Syria Divided: Patterns of Violence in a Complex Civil WarIn this fascinating examination of the battles that began in 2011 in Syria, Szekely traces a proliferation of fighting forces and factions, each with its own narrative justifying participation in the war. As the Syrian regime and its opponents were joined on the battlefield by jihadist groups and Kurdish nationalists, the opposition itself fragmented, and foreign patrons grew more influential.

Feb 20, 2024 | foreignaffairs.com | Andrew Hanna |Lisa Anderson |Yasmine El Rashidi |Nimah Mazaheri

In This Review In This Review 25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee EntrepreneursSweetly inspirational and aiming to counter the dismal and often dismissive portrayal of refugees around the world, Hanna tells the stories of the small businesses founded by three women in Zaatari, the large Syrian refugee camp in Jordan.

Feb 20, 2024 | foreignaffairs.com | Andrew Simon |Lisa Anderson |Andrew Hanna |Nimah Mazaheri

In This Review In This Review Media of the Masses: Cassette Culture in Modern EgyptFirst introduced in the 1960s, cassette tapes quickly outpaced vinyl records as the medium by which spoken words and music were recorded, distributed, and shared. Tapes flooded markets around the world, including Egypt’s, in the 1970s. As Simon shows in a book organized to evoke a cassette—the two halves of the volume are called Side A and Side B—the impact was dramatic and long lasting.

Feb 20, 2024 | foreignaffairs.com | Yasmine El Rashidi |Lisa Anderson |Andrew Hanna |Nimah Mazaheri

In This Review In This Review Laughter in the Dark: Egypt to the Tune of ChangeIn the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, a local hip-hop genre called mahraganat developed, appealing to—and expressing the frustrations of—the nearly two-thirds of 15-to-29-year-olds who are unemployed. Influenced by Western musical fashions, the performers were as varied as their American and European counterparts.