From Pan-Arabism to Saddam Hussein's cult of personality
This article explores the nationalist ideologies in Iraq from the end of the Ottoman era to the fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003, with emphasis on how Iraq's past, especially ancient Mesopotamia, was used by various Iraqi regimes to promote their political agendas. The article particularly focuses on the developments of Pan-Arabism in Iraq and the formation of an Iraqi nationalist ideology under the Republic and the Ba'ath regime. It also considers the cult of personality that developed around Saddam Hussein by selecting elements from the ancient past and projecting a whimsical image of Saddam Hussein as the latest manifestation of a great line of Mesopotamian leader-heroes. The article explores how archaeology and archaeological discoveries fit into these broader social, cultural, political, and ideological developments.
The politics of archaeology and identity in a global context
One of the most controversial topics in archaeology is the relationship between archaeology and nationalism: how issues of ethnicity, cultural identity, nationalism, and politics affect the study of the past. This volume demonstrates that if the discipline of archaeology may be defined as the interaction of present and past in the study of material evidence, the interpretation of such evidence is greatly dependent on who is doing the analysis and for what reasons, be they political, personal, academic, or economic ones. The eight papers in this collection, with their variety of approaches and diverse geographical scope, including Albania, Central and North America, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, and Turkey, are a contribution to the ongoing discussion of archaeology and the construction of identity and how modern archaeology can aid humanity in the search for its past and present identities.
ANALYSIS OF SAUDI ARABIAN MARITIME TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY
This paper analyses the past, present and future of the maritime transportation industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian seaborne trade and the shipping capacity are analysed for the past 15 years. Relationships between the declining Saudi shipping capacity and other economic measures are identified. Analysis of the Saudi Arabian maritime transportation is performed with respect to the world carrier fleets and models are developed to determine the theoretical shipping capacity required for transportation of the national seaborne cargo. Forecasts of the future shipping capacity requirement for the Kingdom are also presented. This paper illustrates the general approach for analysing a country's maritime industry and thus could help other researchers in that respect.