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The Open Hand: Engaging Islam

Nathan Field, Shadi Hamid, R.S. Zaharna | World Politics Review | 2009-03-16

President Barack Obama took office promising to extend an "open hand" to the Islamic World. But what will the effort entail? From public diplomacy to democracy promotion to efforts to address Islamic radicalism, WPR examines The Open Hand: Engaging Islam.

Obama, U.S. Public Diplomacy and the Islamic World
By R.S. Zaharna
Although the Obama administration is only just out of the political starting gate, observers are already noting a distinct change in the prominence and tone of U.S. public diplomacy, specifically with respect to the Muslim world. All of it appears refreshingly dynamic, but is the Obama administration's public diplomacy really a game changer?

Democracy Promotion in the Aftermath of Iraq
By Shadi Hamid
What if Iraq had succeeded as planned? This is a counterfactual, so there is probably little use in answering it. But there is a different question worth asking, in part because one day we will likely be forced to answer it: What if Iraq succeeds? Although it is still uncertain whether it will, in many ways it must.

The Re-education of Radical Islam
By Nathan Field
The success of a Saudi re-education program for jihadists and a recent tactical "revision" by a notoriously radical Egyptian Islamist have led many Americans to believe that al-Qaida and the threat it posed might be on the verge of self-inflicted implosion, a victim of its own extremism. But is their optimism justified?

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