Navigating a Troubled World

Terrorism, Pakistan, and the Arab world

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three subjects dominating the headlines get deeper looks in the Winter 2010 issue of The Wilson Quarterly: terrorism, Pakistan, and the Arab world.

What explains the actions of people such as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of the November 5 mass shooting at Fort Hood, or Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, charged with trying to blow up a transcontinental airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day? Thomas Rid shows how the global jihad is fragmenting, and why that makes the challenge of defeating it even tougher.

Why does Pakistan remain a terrorist haven? Because Pakistanis live in an alternate universe, writes Robert M. Hathaway. In an intimate portrait of the country, he says Pakistanis think nothing happens without "Allah, the army, or America." Unless they "accept responsibility for their own future, Pakistan will have no future," Hathaway warns. Changes in U.S. policy can help.

Why is the Arab world stuck in a cycle of stagnation and turmoil? In a magisterial survey of the Arab countries, David B. Ottaway highlights the growing diversity, religious upsurge, and other forces that have paralyzed Arab leaders for the past 30 years. The absence of fresh leadership does not augur well for the future.

Also in the issue:

• Richard Rodriguez reflects on Cesar Chavez, the iconic 1960s leader of the farm workers' movement. A failure as a union leader, Chavez today is remembered more for his role as a martyr -- a trait he shared with other leaders of the era.
• Has our hyperconnected world eliminated all possible surprise from travel? That may depend on your perspective, as long-time travel writer Thomas Swick explains.
• James McGrath Morris profiles Joseph Pulitzer, who perfected sensationalist journalism and gave his name to some high-minded prizes. The distance between the two isn't as far as it seems.

The Winter 2010 issue goes on sale Monday, January 11. To request review copies or digital article previews, contact managing editor James Carman at (202) 691-4023 or [email protected].

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds, engaged in the study of national and world affairs. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue.

    Contact:     Sharon McCarter
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SOURCE Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars