The Mediterranean Debt Crescent: Money and Power in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, andTurkey by Clement M. HenryReview by: William B. QuandtForeign Affairs, Vol. 75, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 1996), p. 156Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20047801 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 09:04

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Council on Foreign Relations is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ForeignAffairs.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.121 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 09:04:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Recent Books

kingship and Shiism. Mackey sees an

unresolved tension between religion and

state. Her views on the Iranian revolu

tion are somewhat ambiguous. She sees

some real achievements in reducing the

gap between rich and poor, but just a bit later she implies that, in fact, little has

changed. Neither the shah, the embodi

ment of the Persian kingly tradition, nor

Khomeini, the model of an Islamic

ruler, has put the welfare of ordinary Iranians at the forefront of their think

ing. She concludes with a critique of

American policy that will probably not

change many views. On the whole, this

is a welcome introduction, but like

many popular treatments it sometimes

comes close to peddling stereotypes, such as the Persians as "the most

imitative of people."

The Mediterranean Debt Crescent: Money and Power in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco,

Tunisia, and Turkey, by clement m.

henry. Gainesville: University Press

of Florida, 1996,336 pp. $49-95. Political pundits typically focus on per sonalities, ideology, and infighting when

they try to account for the unimpressive record of Middle East countries on eco

nomic development and political de

mocratization. Here is a very different?

and surprisingly optimistic?approach that provides

a better sense of the issues

regimes are

grappling with as they try to

break away from the failed models of the

past. Central among these issues are the

mundane tasks of raising capital, pro

ducing budgets, and meeting the de mands of foreign creditors. In five fasci

nating cases?Algeria, Egypt, Morocco,

Tunisia, and Turkey?Henry argues that

"Europe's Mexico" has gotten itself into

economic circumstances in which it is

subject to pressure by external creditors

to undertake economic reforms. In

Morocco and Turkey, Henry is reason

ably optimistic that the development of commercial banks as part of those reforms

may create a new power center, and

bankers, representing the broader inter

ests of businessmen, will become "mid

wives of political change." By contrast,

and perhaps prematurely, he writes off

Algerian democracy. Some readers may find the positive role ascribed to bankers a bit hard to swallow, but Henry makes his case effectively; he is equally provoca

tive, but less convincing, in arguing that

political Islam will have to be accommo

dated and that Islamic banking can play an important role in strengthening Islamic

liberals who will ultimately play by democratic rules.

The Arab Middle East and the United States: Inter-Arab Rivalry and

Superpower Diplomacy, by burton i.

kaufman. New York: Twayne

Publishers, 1996, 291 pp. $26.95

(paper, $16.95). An introduction to American Middle East policy since World War II, this

straightforward history emphasizes the

importance of inter-Arab divisions, the

Cold War, and the role of oil, especially in the 1970s and again in 1990. A few is

sues are shortchanged, such as Israel's

nuclear capabilities, which recent re

search shows to have had an important

impact on American thinking from the

mid-1960s on. Apart from the usefiil text,

the author has provided a detailed

chronology of events and a comprehen sive bibliographical essay.

[156] FOREIGN AFFAIRS Volume7sNo.5

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.121 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 09:04:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions