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
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.