Middle East and Islamic Studies
New at Brill in Open Access: Encyclopædia Iranica Online
Encyclopaedia Iranica is the most renowned reference work in the field of Iran studies. Founded by the late Professor Ehsan Yarshater and edited at the Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, this monumental international project brings together the scholarship about Iran of thousands of authors around the world.
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Sign upEncyclopædia Iranica Online Now Freely Accessible at Brill
The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, New York, and Brill are delighted to announce that the Encyclopædia Iranica Online is now freely accessible at Brill’s Reference Works Platform. Encyclopædia Iranica is the comprehensive academic reference work dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Ancient Iran Series Added to Brill’s Publishing Portfolio
As part of their growing portfolio in Middle East and Islamic Studies, Brill has signed an agreement for the take-over of the book series Ancient Iran Series. With its coverage of ancient, pre-, and early-Islamic Iran, this book series complements other book series with a more modern focus on this geographical area, as well as the various other journals and encyclopaedias Brill publishes in this field.
Read an interview with Geert Jan van Gelder
The longstanding series Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East recently reached its 150th volume by publishing the special Prominent Murder Victims of the Pre- and Early Islamic Periods Including the Names of Murdered Poets. We caught up with Geert Jan van Gelder, editor and translator of the volume.
Acquisitions Editors
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Maurits van den Boogert
Nicolette van der Hoek
Abdurraouf Oueslati
Teddi Dols
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Jehona Kicaj
With President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s second term set to expire in 2016, he prepared to engineer a constitutional revision to retain power with a veneer of legitimacy, however thin. Sassou Nguesso expected opposition to his plans from two main sources: his domestic opponents and the French government. Consequently, his domestic and foreign policies focused largely on inoculating himself against their eventual criticisms. At home, he reasserted control over key military and financial posts, while undermining the opposition with an uneven mix of carrots and sticks. Abroad, Sassou Nguesso sought to limit French judicial investigations into regime corruption and attract investors from China and Russia. As Congo’s oil production continued to decline and the government’s modest efforts to diversify the economy stalled, Congo’s growth rate slowed and the unemployment rate reached unprecedented levels.
Congo’s political climate was marked by new tensions, as President Denis Sassou Nguesso continued his efforts to engineer a constitutional revision that would enable him to retain power beyond 2016. The local and senatorial elections of September and October, respectively, highlighted the political opposition’s weakness. With most citizens overwhelmingly opposed to the constitutional revisions, Sassou Nguesso sought to deter protests by demonstrating the regime’s capacity for violence. Abroad, he attempted to fashion himself as the region’s elder statesman, mediating in the conflict in the car and amplifying his efforts to curry favour in Paris and Washington. Although these endeavours met with limited success, they acquired greater urgency following the revolution in Burkina Faso, which swept President Blaise Campaoré from power as he contemplated a similar constitutional revision. Amid declining oil production, the government held a series of conferences in Brazzaville to attract foreign investors. But enshrined corruption, a poor regulatory framework, and the spectre of political instability limited their success. Congo’s gdp growth rate continued to fall, and its citizens’ living standards remained among the world’s lowest.
On 22 October, President Sassou Nguesso staged a constitutional referendum, which left him poised to extend his rule for at least another decade. Decried by the political opposition as a “constitutional coup d’état”, the referendum elicited massive protests across the country. Sassou Nguesso expected citizens to mobilise in protest and, in the months prior to the referendum, he prepared himself politically. In March, in order to further increase his control over the country’s oil sector, Sassou Nguesso promulgated a new Hydrocarbons Law. In August, he announced a new government, which excluded two long-standing ministers who had criticised the impending constitutional revision. Abroad, Sassou Nguesso continued to fashion himself as the region’s elder statesman, especially as Western governments condemned both the constitutional referendum and his record of economic mismanagement. China emerged as Congo’s chief export destination, accounting for 52% of the country’s total exports. As oil production declined and global prices fell, the government’s fiscal position deteriorated and public debt increased.
On 20 March, citizens in the Republic of Congo were called to the polls to elect a new president. Few participated, for no one believed the election would be free and fair. President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s government announced his ‘victory’ in the early hours of 24 March, when it calculated that most citizens in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire would be asleep. The election was Sassou Nguesso’s third since reclaiming power following the 1997 civil war, and the new constitution, passed in October 2015, left him poised to serve at least another three terms. The election elicited widespread protests across the country, which culminated in citizens setting fire to a government building in Brazzaville on 4 April. In retaliation, the government arrested scores of civil society activists and launched a military campaign against the Pool region, outside Brazzaville, which continued through the year. As Western governments condemned the electoral process and subsequent government violence, Sassou Nguesso intensified his diplomatic offensive in Beijing. As global oil prices remained low, the government confronted a financial crisis, with gdp growth falling to 1.7% and external debt rising to 77% of gdp.
On 16 July, citizens in the Republic of Congo were called to the polls to elect a new National Assembly, the fourth legislative election since President Denis Sassou Nguesso reclaimed power in 1997. The elections occurred in the midst of the worst crisis since 1990, which had compelled Sassou Nguesso to convene the National Conference and ultimately permit Congo’s first democratic elections in 1992. Certain the legislative elections would be fraudulent, citizens registered their frustration by refusing to participate. Sassou Nguesso responded to citizens’ frustrations by continuing the campaign of repression that he had begun in the run-up to the constitutional referendum of October 2015. Several opposition leaders and journalists were imprisoned, others remained incarcerated, without trial, and one political prisoner died in police custody. Abroad, Sassou Nguesso sought financial and military support to buttress his weak domestic position. As global oil prices remained low, existing oil fields reached maturity and Sassou Nguesso’s massive infrastructure programme failed to generate sustainable economic growth, the government’s debt/gdp ratio spiked to nearly 120%. The government slashed domestic spending, causing per capita gdp to fall sharply.
Two years into his third presidential term since reclaiming power in 1997, president Denis Sassou Nguesso spent the year struggling to contain popular frustration following the constitutional referendum of October 2015, the presidential election of March 2016, and a persistent financial crisis. He did so, in part, by amplifying repression. In May alone, the authorities prosecuted three of his political opponents, including General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. This wave of repression was accompanied by persistent allegations of corruption from human rights groups and journalists abroad. These revelations complicated Sassou Nguesso’s efforts to persuade the imf to reschedule Congo’s debt, which reached at least $ 9.2 bn. This debt crisis drove Sassou Nguesso’s foreign policy, as he made a series of trips to Saudi Arabia and China to press his case for relief.
For President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled the Republic of Congo for all but five years since 1979, 2019 marked the midpoint of his third presidential term since reclaiming power in 1997. Sassou Nguesso viewed the year as a turning point. His judicial system sentenced a second rival from the 2016 presidential election to 20 years in prison, leaving no major opposition figures to challenge him in the 2021 election. To mitigate the financial crisis that has gripped Congo since 2017, Sassou Nguesso secured debt relief from the imf and the Chinese government, his second financial bailout since 2011. After the military campaign in the Pool region between April and December 2016, Sassou Nguesso signed several military cooperation agreements with Moscow to refurbish existing war matériel and purchase new weapons in the year ahead. Nonetheless, Sassou Nguesso’s position remained tenuous. Existing oil fields were reaching maturity. The non-oil sector remained stagnant. Citizens remained frustrated by the government’s economic mismanagement and sustained human rights abuses.
President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled the Republic of Congo for all but five years since 1979, spent much of 2020 preparing for the presidential election of March 2021. His efforts to transfer power to his son failed yet again, this time eliciting efforts by some in the presidential palace to depose the ageing president. To buttress his repressive apparatus, Sassou Nguesso supplied his Republican Guard with more than 100 tons of weaponry, purchased from the government of Azerbaijan with the aid of the Saudi ruling family and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. To raise money for his electoral campaign, he levied a tax on oil tankers at the Djeno terminal, which would be paid to a company owned by his nephew and would generate nearly $ 10 m per year. The Covid-19 pandemic generated widespread popular frustration which the government struggled to contain. The national lockdown caused citizens’ purchasing power to plummet, triggering widespread food insecurity. The government sought yet another $ 500 m bailout from the imf. After having forgiven the government’s debt in 2010 and provided a separate $ 449 m lending agreement in 2019, the imf refused. With his family targeted by public corruption probes in France and the United States, Sassou Nguesso’s foreign policy sought to diversify his alliance portfolio, which, he hoped, would render him less vulnerable to international sanctions.
On 21 March, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo stood for his fourth election since reclaiming power in 1997. Sassou Nguesso left little to chance. In the run-up to the election, he purchased massive amounts of weapons from abroad, kept his chief opponents from the 2016 election in prison, and incarcerated journalists, civil society leaders, and opposition activists. The election was boycotted by most major political parties. Western governments refused to send monitors. Few citizens bothered to participate, since no one believed the election would be free and fair. Amid credible and widespread reports of fraud, Sassou Nguesso claimed 89% of the vote. The government struggled to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. Unable to organise an efficient vaccination campaign, the government resorted to more coercive measures, including a night-time curfew and requiring vaccination cards to access financial institutions, public transportation, and other basic services. Sassou Nguesso’s foreign policy was animated by the ongoing economic crisis, which yielded a debt-to-gdp ratio of 115%, and his legal troubles abroad, which culminated in the seizure of state assets in France and a settlement with the US Department of Justice. By year’s end, the government was poised to finalise an agreement with the imf that would provide $456 m and unlock as much as $900 m from other creditors.
On 10 July, the government of President Denis Sassou Nguesso organised the fifth set of legislative elections since he reclaimed power in 1997. With his two chief opponents from the 2016 election still in prison, the elections were boycotted by several major opposition parties. Amid widespread and credible reports of fraud, Sassou Nguesso’s Parti Congolais du Travail (pct) claimed an overwhelming victory. Civil society groups estimated a turnout of just 10%. After the election, the government launched a crackdown against rivals. Civil society groups had their offices ransacked, an opposition leader was detained, and a tv station was suspended. The government’s foreign policy was animated by Russian’s invasion of Ukraine. In exchange for diplomatic support, Sassou Nguesso signed new cooperation agreements with the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin. As European governments sought to diversify their energy sources away from Russian oil, they looked in part to Sassou Nguesso, who signed fresh production agreements with Italian major Eni. In France, the Sassou Nguesso family continued to confront allegations of corruption, asset seizures, and indictments for money laundering. Although government debt remained on the verge of distress and more than half of citizens lived in extreme poverty, Congo’s economic fortunes were buoyed slightly by the rise in global oil prices and new loans from the imf.