AFFRIKA Journal of Politics, Economics and Society

The subject of polygamy fuels strong reactions, whether the society is for or against it. Those reactions are perhaps the motivation behind Al-Krenawi‘s research into the subject. This book, Psychosocial Impact of Polygamy in the Middle East, investigates the interests of men, women and children in polygamous households of the Middle East; and the role of religious laws in enforcing and sustaining polygamy among these people. True to his word, the author does not try to dictate the readers‘ reactions or opinions, nor the beliefs and practices of those involved in polygamy. The author merely presents findings and allows the readers to form an opinion about this primeval, multifaceted, and sensitive type of marriage. By constantly referencing other works, the author avoids making judgments and dictations on the subject. The book is divided into seven chapters which are constructed with sub-headings that assemble the ideas neatly; exploring the societal features that play a role in the sustaining and/or suppression of the culture of polygamy.

The world in which we live in the 21^st century is confronted with myriads of security challenges all of which have to be tackled so that we may find the world a safe place to live in and carry on with our respective individual pursuits without let or hindrance. In the century prior to the present, wars on a horrendous scale posed the greatest security challenge to the survival of the human race. It was in the 20^th century that the terminology of World War emerged in the lexicon of war. Both World War I and World War II claimed millions of lives, devastated infrastructure and destroyed economies on such an unprecedented scale as compelled the search for a war-free world to become a global concern. It was this search that led to the creation of the League of Nations and its successor entity, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) that soon became the platform for preventive diplomacy aimed at averting wars, as well as multi-national peacekeeping operations meant to end ongoing wars in any part of the world.

The paper sets out to explore the nature and dynamics of multiculturalism- an ideology that has the potency of integrating and interconnecting the world by the promotion of cultural identity, diversity and equity. The paper argues that decades after the dismantling of the apparatus of legal segregation and subsequent erosion of many of the cultural supports of racial domination in America, racial discrimination has remained a norm and pervasive fact of life which has been demonstrated both in mundane social interactions and in the major institutional contexts. The paper further argues that the birth of multiculturalism in America has done little to circumvent the rising tide of racial inequality and stigma against the African-Americans. The effects of this are more subtle and deeply embedded in the symbolic and expressive life of the American society. A secondary method was used to collect data which included review of journal articles, books, electronically downloaded materials and critical reviews of official documents. Qualitative descriptive analysis was employed to analyze the data.