Middle East International Redivivus

Old-timers in this business, and even some of the younger ones, will be aware of Middle East International. For decades, it was the voice of what might be called the British Arabist network: folks who shared a general vision of the region (including dovish Israelis, and lots of old British Arab hands, and as time went on, more and more Arab writers as well). The articles were long, well-informed, and aimed at people who knew the region well. It was the opposite of the USA Today brief TV-like news reporting, and was at times almost scholarly.

Though not a newsletter, it had a sort of newsletterish audience (informed people who really need solid, reliable and knowledgeable information and analysis), and — just like my own newsletter efforts — it faded and died. It ceased publication in 2003, but some of the old staff have recently revived it, this time in Cyprus rather than London, and with more of an electronic footprint.

Here's their website, and they've been shrewd enough to make the first issue available free in .pdf. Here's a post by The Arabist on the subject; and I may comment more once I've actually read the issue. The old publication had a devout following; it will be interesting to see if they can revive it in the electronic era.