The Historical Dictionary of International Organizations in Africa and the Middle East, by political scientist Mays complements and updates his coauthored earlier work with Mark W. DeLancey on sub-Sharan Africa. The author teaches courses on international politics and has published widely in the field, including producing other historical dictionaries on multinational peacekeeping and the American Revolution Similar in format to other titles in the publisher's series, the work begins with a chronology of major political events and actions taken by international organizations. An introduction contextualizes the dictionary and provides a broad overview of trends in the work of international organizations in the Middle East and Africa. The alphabetical listing of approximately 700 entries consists of organizations, important events, and key figures in the politics of the region. Within the entries, cross-references appear as bolded text to help readers understand the context of the organization and the relationships among groups, people, and events. Although the assembly of topics and treatments show the author is well versed in African and Middle Eastern politics, and each entry provides adequate detail and enough information to help students get started with a research project, the main audience for this particular specialized dictionary will likely be those with expertise who are already working in the field. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; professionals/practitioners.

Choice Reviews