Democracy, Culture, and the Grip of Arab History

Democracy, Culture, and the Grip of Arab History is a collection of eleven essays and articles in tribute to Middle East scholar Iliya Farid Harik. Professor Harik was a highly respected political scientist at Indiana University who devoted his career to study of the politics, economies, and societies of the Middle East. A prolific writer, he is known for his strong research and unconventional thinking on such topics as democratization and Islam, economic reform, Egyptian society, and Lebanese history and politics. Coedited by his wife Elsa Marston Harik and Denis J. Sullivan, professor of political science and director of Middle East studies at Northeastern University in Boston, the book's contributors are scholars in the United States and in his home country of Lebanon who knew Professor Harik as a friend, colleague, and teacher. The essays range from personal reminiscences, such as his wife's essay, “My Fifty Years with Iliya,” to probing analyses of Lebanon's political history and ongoing debate over sectarianism and electoral reform, which bring out the uniqueness of the Lebanese experience. As a whole, the essays portray Professor Harik's deep concern for human rights, liberty, and democracy, and highlight the importance of his work in today's world.