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.
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Nicolette van der Hoek
Abdurraouf Oueslati
Teddi Dols
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Jehona Kicaj
Swaziland is often referred to as ‘Africa's last remaining absolute monarchy’. While not an incorrect description, it masks a complexity about the political system that needs to be understood if sense is to be made of events in that country. So, while there is no tradition of democracy in Swazi politics, the regime is not one of straightforward monarchical domination. It is actually diarchic, with two distinct but interrelated sets of institutions. The first are those of the ‘Swazi nation’ (the monarchy and its key advisory institutions) while the second are those of the ‘Swazi government’, comprising parliament and the cabinet. A new constitution was unveiled in September 2003. While it contained some provisions that represented advances in human rights terms (such as a limited bill of rights and the removal of some restrictions on the rights of women), it retained the absolute powers of the monarch, including the power to make law by decree, and the ban on political parties.
The political year was dominated by national elections to Parliament. The economic crisis eased slightly with a higher annual subvention from SACU. King Mswati III continued to occupy a fantasy economic space, spending millions in an attempt to complete an international airport. The king also announced that Swaziland would attain ‘first-world status’ in 2021.
Political intimidation and existing media censorship, coupled with what appeared to be a flawed justice system, dominated Swaziland’s political landscape during the year. International criticism mounted and the suspension of agoa by the usa resulted in the downsizing of textile firms and a further negative effect on the declining economy. Excessive spending by the royal family, coupled with the king’s controversial vanity project, Sikhuphe Airport, in the face of debilitating poverty and disease, continued to cause resentment among ordinary citizens. Actions and organised voices of protest on the part of various political actors calling for political reforms, no matter how constrained they were internally, continued, despite high risks.
The royal family in the Kingdom of Swaziland remained bent on holding on to power and resisting any efforts towards social and political transformation, despite on-going calls for democratic reforms. The imprisonment of Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini was widely criticised both locally and abroad, while the Suppression of Terrorism Act was challenged in court. The government’s major infrastructural projects were disputed, and drought resulted in serious food insecurity. On the positive side, 2015 saw a decline in the hiv infection rate.
The Kingdom of Swaziland, ruled by King Mswati iii, had been rife with political protests against undemocratic policies and police brutality for well over a decade, with concerns raised about human rights and the rule of law. Whilst the country generally fared no better within these areas, a highlight of the year was the positive ruling on the Suppression of Terrorism Act and the Subversive Activities Act, which showed signs of judicial independence. Other significant events included ongoing protests and the declaration of a state of emergency as a result of a severe drought that impacted negatively on the people and the economy.
The Kingdom of Swaziland, ruled by King Mswati iii since 1986, remained a country with a small population of approximately 1.3 m people. With the highest rate of hiv/aids in the world, the people continued to experience severe food shortages, medical shortages and unemployment. The ongoing drought exacerbated the situation as it affected the agricultural and industrial sectors, further raising unemployment and poverty levels. Excessive use of force by the police continued to contravene human rights laws, and the welfare and protection of children came under the spotlight during the year. The reinstatement of the agoa trade agreement, together with renewed programme support from the eu, brought fresh hopes of increased trade and development.
The downward spiral of socioeconomic decline and political repression that has characterised the 20-year reign of King Mswati III persisted. The political crisis intensified, however, with a new wave of sabotage attacks in the latter part of the year. A round-up of alleged perpetrators and the death of the wife of one of the detainees after police interrogation were among the consequences.
The diet of authoritarianism, repression, corruption and socioeconomic decay continued to characterise political life. The extent of the last of these characteristics was dramatically illustrated by new IMF data which revealed that life expectancy had declined from 60 years of age in 1980 to 31.3, making it the worst country in the world in terms of the duration of life for its citizens. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Country Report, the chances of a 25 year-old Swazi reaching the age of 50 were only 28% for males and 22% for females. These figures would have been 94% and 97% respectively if it had not been for AIDS.
In both political and socioeconomic terms, this was an especially disastrous year. The more rights-friendly constitution introduced last year notwithstanding, the monarchy continued to rule by decree. Levels of police brutality intensified, while the worst drought in 15 years and runaway fires left about 40% of the population of just over 900,000 dependent on food aid. In addition to having the world's lowest life expectancy (31.3 years according to the IMF), preliminary results of the 2006 census indicated an actual drop in the population by some 17,000 over nine years. This was in stark contrast to growth of more than 200,000 in the previous eleven years (1986–97). In an end-of-year message, the chairperson of the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations (SCCCO), Bishop B.M. Mabuza, described the 2006 constitution as a “fig-leaf” and accused the government of doing nothing to protect or enforce the rights enshrined in it. He went on to describe 2007 as a year when “defenceless suspects” were “killed by the police, public meetings broken up or prevented from happening, newspaper editors intimidated, journalists threatened … The people … are in the dark about the constitution and their rights and the government seems more than happy to keep it that way”.
By every socioeconomic indicator, life in Swaziland continued its grim downward spiral. Economic growth slid to below 1%, a crippling drought continued unabated, the HIV/AIDS infection rate, one of the highest in the world, showed no signs of slowing, while the government enacted and implemented draconian anti-terror legislation that violated even provisions of Swaziland's own constitution. King Mswati III turned 40 as the country celebrated its 40th year of independence from Britain. Dubbed the 40/40 celebrations, the two events were celebrated on a scale of lavishness quite out of proportion to Swaziland's economic ills.