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
Brill
Maurits van den Boogert
Nicolette van der Hoek
Abdurraouf Oueslati
Teddi Dols
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Jehona Kicaj
Middle East and Islamic Studies
The 1997 armed conflicts that resulted in the fall of Pascal Lissouba continued to serve as the landmark around which the Republic of Congo (RoC) regime organised itself formally and ideologically. The end of the five-year transition period, proclaimed in August 2002, led to the establishment of new institutions, with Denis Sassou Nguesso as head of state. Yet in many respects, 2004 in the Congo was still largely dominated by the political and economic structures that had resulted from a series of armed conflicts.
The political year was marked by the organisation of the 50th anniversary of Independence and strategies behind the scenes aimed at modifying the constitution. International relations were marked by concerns about sustainable development, debt reduction and a necessary revision of various bilateral cooperation agreements. The economy continued to be in bad shape and the public health situation was alarming. However, by reaching the completion point of the HIPC initiative the government started to benefit from important debt reductions. Financial scandals were pursued. To calm social tensions, the government increased social service salaries by using oil revenues.
There was little movement in Congolese domestic politics, with President Denis Sassou-Nguesso continuing to dominate the political scene. In foreign affairs, however, the Congo suffered a major rift with its largest neighbour, the DRC, although the issue was nominally resolved by the end of the year. Congo’s economy, and its national budget, again grew at a healthy pace, as it had over the previous several years, fuelled by rising oil production and world petroleum prices. Few of the macro-economic gains trickled down to Congo’s impoverished masses, however. Meanwhile, government corruption and lack of vision for the country’s post-petroleum future continued to be major stumbling blocks to sustainable development.