In its persistence at maintaining racial inequality, Southern Africa is leaving the door open to widespread racial conflict. Although the world--east and west, communist and capitalist--is generally united in condemning apartheid, in such a dispute it is not unlikely that the two superpowers would become involved. Southern Africa: An American Enigma examines the currents of American involvement with Southern African politics since 1948 to the present Reagan administration.

Written by a distinguished group of Third World and American scholars, this book investigates the political, economic, cultural, and religious dynamics of the Third World. Both highly topical and extremely timely, the volume takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, employing analytical tools drawn from political science, history, economics, and sociology. The papers included serve to facilitate a new understanding of the complex nature of Third World nationalism, explore critical issues facing the Third World such as widespread hunger in Africa and the mounting debt crisis, and offer new perspectives on the role of religion and ethnicity in Third World politics.

In his introduction, Ali sets the context for the papers that follow. He notes that the new nations of the Third World cannot be political and economic equals of the developed nations. Thus, aware of their weaknesses, the overriding concern of Third World leaders is to preserve themselves from foreign encroachment. The 14 subsequent papers define, explain, and analyze the myriad issues and problems that today confront policy-makers in both the Third World and the developed nations, including: the economic impact of OPEC; the political and economic origins of hunger in Africa; the West and Third World Religion; open economics and repressive policies in the Third World; the influences on and effects of U.S. policies towards the Third World. Students of political science as well as policy-makers and diplomats will find "Third World At the CrossroadS" enlightening and provocative reading.

The turmoil and strife of the Middle East raises serious questions about the security of the world's oil supply. "Oil, Turmoil, and Islam in the Middle East" is a hard-hitting indictment of OPEC and OAPEC, arguing that these organizations can no longer afford to impose indiscriminate price increases on the marketplace because they hurt not only themselves but oil poor Third World nations, as well. The author analyzes the importance of Middle Eastern oil in world politics. He emphasizes that any consideration of the forces influencing development in the Middle East should take Islamic tradition into account. Each chapter is organized around a current Middle Eastern problem: oil politics in relation to international energy needs; the ramifications of the new oil wealth and power of the Middle East; the Iran-Iraq War; Muslim insurgency in Afghanistan; the Arab-Israeli conflict; turmoil in Lebanon; Palestinian nationalism; and the Middle East as a superpower.