Reviews for Russian Textile Industry Directory

The average rating for Russian Textile Industry Directory based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-01-22 00:00:00 Shirley Lewis This book is an examination of capitalism's role in the economic development of Muslim countries, as well as distancing them and their populations from extremist ideologies. Starting from the existence of the modern nation state in the Middle East, it shows that rejection of capitalism, and much anti-Americanism, stemmed from a rejection of anything perceived to be linked to colonialism, and as a backlash to kemalism. There is a detailed analysis of why kemalism/authoritarian secularism and nationalism failed to develop a middle class capable of pushing for economic, political and social liberalisation, particularly in Iran, Turkey and Egypt, and instead created a thin layer of elites who were dependent on patronage and rapidly marginalised. The co-option of Iran's middle classes by extremists when alienated by shah is explained, with a good in-depth analysis of current economic and political trends and their interactions to the present day. The example of Turkey is shown as a successful case of economic development and free-market modernisation marginalising extreme ideologies, and creating a middle class deeply invested in stability and the success of the nation. Pakistan is also shown as an example which has failed thus far, but has the potential to go either way in the future. Much of the focus of the book is on Iran, arguing that the Turkey scenario will come to pass there eventually, and showing that a period of economic growth led to a sector of society becoming more engaged in politics and interested in transparency, ultimately fueling the green movement after the 2009 elections. The book asserts, very similarly to Mustafa Akyol's Islam Without Extremes (which gives a better examination of the religious perspective), that economic progress has a strong bearing on the presence and influence of extremism in a society. Nothing can take the place of economic development and promotion of economic freedom in order to make the Middle East a more peaceful place, and the most important take away lesson that "it matters less that the middle class is secular than that it is the right kind - rooted in commerce". "No welfare, no legitimacy" is correctly identified as a dominant mindset in many Middle-Eastern countries, explaining why Islamic groups which focused on social work gained significant support in many different places in the absence and failure of government services, despite their often extreme ideologies. He also draws a link between torture and radicalisation, showing that the most extreme violent groups appeared as a consequence of torture of radicals by governments. An important and logical conclusion is that the best thing the US can do is to support economic development without attempting to get involved in ideological struggles, and to cease propping up tyrannical and regimes which have failed to lead their societies to prosperity The argument against sanctions on "rogue" states is produced comprehensively, pointing out that only domestic pressures will remove the extremist regime without leaving chaos as in Iraq, and showing that sanctions harm the existence of the middle class, which is the driver of these domestic pressures. With economic sanctions a middle class cannot grow, leaving a vacuum in civil society and an impoverished lower class susceptible to the populism of the likes of Ahmadinejad. However, it is disappointing that he could still support the Algerian scenario for the fight against extremists elsewhere without seeing the contradiction there. Although the book advocates the essentiality of adopting capitalism in order to create a middle class which will develop society, it never actually approaches the topic of what is meant by capitalism, or what form it should take. At a time when social justice is causing instability from Europe to the Middle-East and even discontent in America, and corporatism has highlighted the dysfunctionality of political systems worldwide, there needs to be more to the solution than merely eliminating corruption and cronyism in developing countries whilst encouraging capitalism. Although Nasr recognises that rising inequality presents a great danger of short-circuiting the process, the lack of a critical view on capitalism is a major weakness. Another weakness is that the author seems to believe that the headscarf (or hejab, he insists on breaking established transliteration conventions) is in some way incompatible with liberalism or modernity, and needs to be pointed out as a qualifier - Amr Khaled "rejects extremism and openly criticizes Bin Laden, but "is also, however, an advocate of women wearing the hejab". He also seems to have the misunderstanding that modern televangelists in the Muslim world teach that "going out to nightclubs...is in no way in conflict with Islam". So despite his background as a scholar, it seems as though beyond the intellectual movements he has a very poor understanding of what the faith means to Muslims themselves. At times sounds as though he feels kemalism as though the evils of it are unfortunate side effects of a positive ideology. Distinctions lacks nuance in his classifications, splitting Muslims into fundamentalist and otherwise. Rached Ghannouchi as also described as a fundamentalist; whatever the author thinks of the ideology of Ghannouchi's Ennahda, describing the party which recently led the writing of Tunisia's new constitution, which has been described as the most progressive on women's equality in the world, with the same word used for the Taliban is incredibly sloppy. So the book has obvious weaknesses that should be taken note of, but also strengths, including the historical view and the conclusions drawn about economic growth and the role of western support. A valuable addition is the forward glimpse the book presents to the process that will really drive the Arab spring, after the revolutions have settled down and state- and economy-building begins again.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-10-22 00:00:00 Jeff Goodwin "Forces of Fortune" is a pretty good book, but I feel a little like a victim of a bait-and-switch. The subtitle is "The Rise of the New Muslim Middle Class and What it Will Mean for Our World," which I took to mean that the book would be heavily focused on economics, but the book is very much focused on cultural, religious, and historical issues. I was disappointed that there wasn't more of an economic focus. It's also shoddily written in places. That said, I still learned a good deal. The main thing I took away from the book is that Islamic fundamentalism is widespread, it's here to stay, and it's not the malevolent force we believe it to be. As I understand him, Nasr is defining Islamic fundamentalism broadly, as a movement by individuals to make Islam a more central focus of their lives. Fundamentalism is not necessarily corroborated with poor economics'even Turkey, the bright beacon of the Middle East, is becoming more fundamentalist even as its economy and European integration continue to boom. Nasr divorces fundamentalism from theocracy. He says that the harsh, politicized interpretation of Islam had its zenith in the Iranian Revolution, and while the Iranian clerics expected the revolution to spread, it never did. Radical, murderous Islam is of course a problem, but it's certainly not the prevailing view in the Muslim world. The interpretations of Islam vary widely all over the Muslim world. The main economic thread running through the book is Nasr's condemnation of Kemalism, which is the idea pioneered by Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Kemalism as Nasr explains it is a strong centralized government which is secular in nature and directs the economy from the top-down. While initially successful, it has failed spectacularly over the decades, leading to inefficient, corrupt societies in Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, until the latter's flourishing. The worst thing about Kemalism is that it has prevented the rise of an entrepreneurial middle class across the Middle East. Nasr's thesis that economic liberation will change the Middle East is provocative, but it's not entirely convincing to me. While economic liberation has lead to more political liberation in other countries, there is much more to it than that. He also argues that dumping sanctions against Iran and fostering economic ties is the approach we should be taking, but as much as I fear war with Iran, I don't see much alternative to our sanctions regime. However, putting our main focus on economic ties in Iran and the wider Middle East may be worth a try, as our track record so far is less than stellar. After reading the book, I was also struck by how much has changed since its publication. The "Arab Awakening" has transformed the Middle East (especially Egypt), though the results of the movement are far from being clear. Still, Iran has serious economic issues and Pakistan is a political and cultural nightmare.