Democratization in the Middle East is a prominent subject of debate in both scholarly and policy circles. The Spring 2007 issue of The Middle East Journal offers an in-depth look at this salient issue through two articles about Yemen’s 2006 elections. This MEJ also has perspectives on a number of broader geopolitical and historical issues, including the emerging role in China.

Steve A. Yetiv and Chunlong Lu offer an examination of China’s growing economic and geopolitical role in the Middle East in their article “China, Global Energy, and the Middle East.” Yetiv and Lu infer from an analysis of a variety of Western and Chinese sources that China’s expansion into the Middle East is at odds with the United States’ strategic interests in the region. The article makes several suggestions to avoid an undue escalation of tension between the two powers.

On the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Ersun N. Kurtulus looks at the history and context of the war using the theoretical framework of pre-emption “The Notion of a ‘Pre-emptive War’ the Six Day War Revisited.” Kurtulus concludes that the 1967 war did not satisfy the necessary prerequisites for a pre-emptive action.

The Journal offers a double-barreled look at the issue of democratization in two articles about the 2006 Yemeni elections. April Longley gives a unique perspective on the elections in “The High Water Mark of Islamist Politics? The Case of Yemen” — gleaned in part from interviews and informal conversations at a number of Sana‘a qat chews — in which the ruling General People’s Congress defeated a coalition of opposition parties by a surprisingly large margin. Robert D. Burrowes and Catherine M. Kasper contribute to the discussion in their joint article, “The Salih Regime and the Need for a Credible Opposition,” which suggests that the key to Yemen’s future remains a viable political opposition to the ruling party. He argues that existing opposition parties do play a necessary role.

Turning to Iran, Joseph A. Kéchichian, in “Can Conservative Arab Gulf Monarchies Endure a Fourth War in the Persian Gulf” proposes that the rise of a nuclear Iran will dramatically alter the status quo in the Persian Gulf and possibly necessitate a re-examination of political and security priorities by the Gulf monarchies.

The issue also includes two book review articles: one by John Duke Anthony on the subject of change and continuities in the Middle East and another review by Robert Looney on the Arab world and globalization.