The International Politics of the Middle East by Raymond A. HinnebuschOne of the major internationally recognised works on the international politics of the Middle East, this book systematically combines international relations theory and Middle East case studies to provide a macro overview of the international relations of the region. The book has been widelyused at both undergraduate levels, Masters degree and PhD levels. In providing a unique interpretation of Middle East North Africa (MENA) international politics, it will also be valuable for scholars of the region. The book provide readers with both theoretical and concrete information, withtheoretically-framed major topics, liberally illustrated with case study material on key dimensions of regional politics. Topics include the place of the Middle East in the wider global system; the role of Arabism and Islam in regional politics; the impact of state formation in the region on its international relations; comparative foreign policy making looking at pivotal country cases, including Egypt, Syria, SaudiArabia and Turkey; major regional wars and efforts at order building; the role of US hegemony and the two Iraq wars; and the impact of the Arab Uprising on regional politics.
Publication Date: 2015
Jordan and the Arab Uprisings by Curtis R. RyanIn 2011, as the Arab uprisings spread across the Middle East, Jordan remained more stable than any of its neighbors. Despite strife at its borders and an influx of refugees connected to the Syrian civil war and the rise of ISIS, as well as its own version of the Arab Spring with protests and popular mobilization demanding change, Jordan managed to avoid political upheaval. How did the regime survive in the face of the pressures unleashed by the Arab uprisings? What does its resilience tell us about the prospects for reform or revolutionary change? In Jordan and the Arab Uprisings, Curtis R. Ryan explains how Jordan weathered the turmoil of the Arab Spring. Crossing divides between state and society, government and opposition, Ryan analyzes key features of Jordanian politics, including Islamist and leftist opposition parties, youth movements, and other forms of activism, as well as struggles over elections, reform, and identity. He details regime survival strategies, laying out how the monarchy has held out the possibility of reform while also seeking to coopt and contain its opponents. Ryan demonstrates how domestic politics were affected by both regional unrest and international support for the regime, and how regime survival and security concerns trumped hopes for greater change. While the Arab Spring may be over, Ryan shows that political activism in Jordan is not, and that struggles for reform and change will continue. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with a vast range of people, from grassroots activists to King Abdullah II, Jordan and the Arab Uprisings is a definitive analysis of Jordanian politics before, during, and beyond the Arab uprisings.
Publication Date: 2018
Inside the Arab State by Mehran KamravaThe 2011 Arab uprisings and their subsequent aftermath have thrown into question some of our long-held assumptions about the foundational aspects of the Arab state. While the regional and international consequences of the uprisings continue to unfold with great unpredictability, theirramifications for the internal lives of the states in which they unfolded are just as dramatic and consequential. States historically viewed as models of strength and stability have been shaken to their foundations. Borders thought impenetrable have collapsed; sovereignty and territoriality havebeen in flux.This book examines some of the central questions facing observers and scholars of the Middle East concerning the nature of power and politics before and after 2011 in the Arab world. The focus of the book revolves around the very nature of politics and the exercise of power in the Arab world,conceptions of the state, its functions and institutions, its sources of legitimacy, and basic notions underlying it such as sovereignty and nationalism.Inside the Arab State adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, examining a broad range of political, economic, and social variables. It begins with an examination of politics, and more specifically political institutions, in the Arab world from the 1950s on, tracing the travail of states, and thewounds they inflicted on society and on themselves along the way, until the eruption of the 2011 uprisings. The uprisings, the states' responses to them, and efforts by political leaders to carve out for themselves means of legitimacy are also discussed, as are the reasons for the emergence and riseof Daesh and the Islamic State. Power, I argue, and increasingly narrow conceptions of it in terms of submission and conformity, remains at the heart of Arab politics, popular protests and yearnings for change notwithstanding. Much has changed in the Arab world over the last several decades. Buteven more has stayed the same.
Publication Date: 2018
The Six Day War by Guy LaronAn enthralling, big-picture history that examines the Six-Day War, its causes, and its enduring consequences against its global context One fateful week in June 1967 redrew the map of the Middle East. Many scholars have documented how the Six-Day War unfolded, but little has been done to explain why the conflict happened at all. As we approach its fiftieth anniversary, Guy Laron refutes the widely accepted belief that the war was merely the result of regional friction, revealing the crucial roles played by American and Soviet policies in the face of an encroaching global economic crisis, and restoring Syria's often overlooked centrality to events leading up to the hostilities. The Six-Day War effectively sowed the seeds for the downfall of Arab nationalism, the growth of Islamic extremism, and the animosity between Jews and Palestinians. In this important new work, Laron's fresh interdisciplinary perspective and extensive archival research offer a significant reassessment of a conflict--and the trigger-happy generals behind it--that continues to shape the modern world.
Publication Date: 2017
A Military History of the Modern Middle East by James Brian McNabbThis timely study synthesizes past history with the major military events and dynamics of the 20th- and 21st-century Middle East, helping readers understand the region's present--and look into its future. * Presents the evolution of combat and military thought in the region from ancient times into the contemporary era, summarizing the impact of the ancient and medieval worlds on the modern Middle East * Provides a synthesis of Middle Eastern politics, geo-strategy, and military operations * Discusses key religious and cultural dynamics that have driven events in the region * Focuses on pivotal moments as catalysts for change in the region * Examines the nexus between elite interests, factionalism, and the problem of development as it relates to conflict and military decision making
Publication Date: 2017
Is There a Middle East? by Michael E. Bonine, Abbas Amanat, Michael Ezekiel GasperIs the idea of the "Middle East" simply a geopolitical construct conceived by the West to serve particular strategic and economic interests--or can we identify geographical, historical, cultural, and political patterns to indicate some sort of internal coherence to this label? While the term has achieved common usage, no one studying the region has yet addressed whether this conceptualization has real meaning--and then articulated what and where the Middle East is, or is not.This volume fills the void, offering a diverse set of voices--from political and cultural historians, to social scientists, geographers, and political economists--to debate the possible manifestations and meanings of the Middle East. At a time when geopolitical forces, social currents, and environmental concerns have brought attention to the region, this volume examines the very definition and geographic and cultural boundaries of the Middle East in an unprecedented way.
Publication Date: 2011
Digital Middle East: State and Society in the Information Age by Mohamed ZayaniIn recent years, the Middle East's information and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Increasingly, states, businesses, and citizens are capitalizing on the opportunities offered by new technologies, the fast pace of digitization, and enhanced connectivity. These changes are farfrom turning Middle Eastern nations into network societies, but their impact is significant. The growing adoption of a wide variety of technologies in everyday life has given rise to complex dynamics that beg for a better understanding. Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on the continuingchanges closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are playing out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres,exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East.
Publication Date: 2018
Statebuilding in the Middle East and North Africa by Irene CostantiniThis book examines the regime changes in Iraq and Libya to unravel the complexity of statebuilding in countries emerging from authoritarianism and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Framed in a comparative study of post-2003 Iraq and post-2011 Libya, the book examines changes in key state dimensions ¿ representation and political authority, security, and wealth creation and distribution ¿ in a continuous dialogue with past trajectories in these two countries. To grasp the nature and degree of these changes, the mechanisms of state formation are explored in light of a statebuilding agenda that, in its application from Iraq to Libya, has adapted to different political prerogatives. The analysis of Iraq and Libya serves the book¿s ultimate goal to address the debate on statebuilding from a regional (MENA) perspective and to lay the ground for the study of other contemporary cases undergoing radical and violent process of changes, such as in Syria and Yemen. The book grapples with problems associated with the difficult process of transition from authoritarianism through conflict and towards peace by focusing on the state, its structure and function. The work is informed by a large quantity of materials collected over the past five years, including secondary literature, policy papers and reports, and semi-structured interviews with key informants on Iraq and Libya. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding, Middle Eastern studies, peace and conflict studies, and International Relations in general.
Publication Date: 2018
The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa by David Ramin Jalilvand, Kirsten WestphalThe Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are in disarray, and shifts in the field of energy have the potential to drastically affect the course of political and economic developments in the region. Declining oil prices, skyrocketing domestic demand, the rise of unconventional oil and natural gas production in North America, as well as shifting patterns of global energy trade all put severe pressures on both producing and importing countries in the MENA region. Policy-makers are facing fundamental challenges in light of the duality of grand transformations in (geo)politics and energy. Changes in the field of energy require substantial political and economic reforms, affecting the very fabric of sociopolitical arrangements. At the same time, the MENA region's geopolitical volatility makes any such reforms extremely risky. Including contributions by academics and analysts from both inside and outside the MENA region, this volume explores the changes in global and regional energy, the impact of changing international energy dynamics on politics and economies in the MENA region, and the challenges that will result. This is essential reading for researchers, postgraduates, and professionals in Middle Eastern and North African politics, global energy governance and regionalism.
The Middle East: A Beginner's Guide by Publication Date: 2016
The International Politics of the Middle East by
One of the major internationally recognised works on the international politics of the Middle East, this book systematically combines international relations theory and Middle East case studies to provide a macro overview of the international relations of the region. The book has been widelyused at both undergraduate levels, Masters degree and PhD levels. In providing a unique interpretation of Middle East North Africa (MENA) international politics, it will also be valuable for scholars of the region. The book provide readers with both theoretical and concrete information, withtheoretically-framed major topics, liberally illustrated with case study material on key dimensions of regional politics. Topics include the place of the Middle East in the wider global system; the role of Arabism and Islam in regional politics; the impact of state formation in the region on its international relations; comparative foreign policy making looking at pivotal country cases, including Egypt, Syria, SaudiArabia and Turkey; major regional wars and efforts at order building; the role of US hegemony and the two Iraq wars; and the impact of the Arab Uprising on regional politics.
Publication Date: 2015
Jordan and the Arab Uprisings by
In 2011, as the Arab uprisings spread across the Middle East, Jordan remained more stable than any of its neighbors. Despite strife at its borders and an influx of refugees connected to the Syrian civil war and the rise of ISIS, as well as its own version of the Arab Spring with protests and popular mobilization demanding change, Jordan managed to avoid political upheaval. How did the regime survive in the face of the pressures unleashed by the Arab uprisings? What does its resilience tell us about the prospects for reform or revolutionary change? In Jordan and the Arab Uprisings, Curtis R. Ryan explains how Jordan weathered the turmoil of the Arab Spring. Crossing divides between state and society, government and opposition, Ryan analyzes key features of Jordanian politics, including Islamist and leftist opposition parties, youth movements, and other forms of activism, as well as struggles over elections, reform, and identity. He details regime survival strategies, laying out how the monarchy has held out the possibility of reform while also seeking to coopt and contain its opponents. Ryan demonstrates how domestic politics were affected by both regional unrest and international support for the regime, and how regime survival and security concerns trumped hopes for greater change. While the Arab Spring may be over, Ryan shows that political activism in Jordan is not, and that struggles for reform and change will continue. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with a vast range of people, from grassroots activists to King Abdullah II, Jordan and the Arab Uprisings is a definitive analysis of Jordanian politics before, during, and beyond the Arab uprisings.
Publication Date: 2018
Inside the Arab State by
The 2011 Arab uprisings and their subsequent aftermath have thrown into question some of our long-held assumptions about the foundational aspects of the Arab state. While the regional and international consequences of the uprisings continue to unfold with great unpredictability, theirramifications for the internal lives of the states in which they unfolded are just as dramatic and consequential. States historically viewed as models of strength and stability have been shaken to their foundations. Borders thought impenetrable have collapsed; sovereignty and territoriality havebeen in flux.This book examines some of the central questions facing observers and scholars of the Middle East concerning the nature of power and politics before and after 2011 in the Arab world. The focus of the book revolves around the very nature of politics and the exercise of power in the Arab world,conceptions of the state, its functions and institutions, its sources of legitimacy, and basic notions underlying it such as sovereignty and nationalism.Inside the Arab State adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, examining a broad range of political, economic, and social variables. It begins with an examination of politics, and more specifically political institutions, in the Arab world from the 1950s on, tracing the travail of states, and thewounds they inflicted on society and on themselves along the way, until the eruption of the 2011 uprisings. The uprisings, the states' responses to them, and efforts by political leaders to carve out for themselves means of legitimacy are also discussed, as are the reasons for the emergence and riseof Daesh and the Islamic State. Power, I argue, and increasingly narrow conceptions of it in terms of submission and conformity, remains at the heart of Arab politics, popular protests and yearnings for change notwithstanding. Much has changed in the Arab world over the last several decades. Buteven more has stayed the same.
Publication Date: 2018
The Six Day War by
An enthralling, big-picture history that examines the Six-Day War, its causes, and its enduring consequences against its global context One fateful week in June 1967 redrew the map of the Middle East. Many scholars have documented how the Six-Day War unfolded, but little has been done to explain why the conflict happened at all. As we approach its fiftieth anniversary, Guy Laron refutes the widely accepted belief that the war was merely the result of regional friction, revealing the crucial roles played by American and Soviet policies in the face of an encroaching global economic crisis, and restoring Syria's often overlooked centrality to events leading up to the hostilities. The Six-Day War effectively sowed the seeds for the downfall of Arab nationalism, the growth of Islamic extremism, and the animosity between Jews and Palestinians. In this important new work, Laron's fresh interdisciplinary perspective and extensive archival research offer a significant reassessment of a conflict--and the trigger-happy generals behind it--that continues to shape the modern world.
Publication Date: 2017
A Military History of the Modern Middle East by
This timely study synthesizes past history with the major military events and dynamics of the 20th- and 21st-century Middle East, helping readers understand the region's present--and look into its future. * Presents the evolution of combat and military thought in the region from ancient times into the contemporary era, summarizing the impact of the ancient and medieval worlds on the modern Middle East * Provides a synthesis of Middle Eastern politics, geo-strategy, and military operations * Discusses key religious and cultural dynamics that have driven events in the region * Focuses on pivotal moments as catalysts for change in the region * Examines the nexus between elite interests, factionalism, and the problem of development as it relates to conflict and military decision making
Publication Date: 2017
Is There a Middle East? by
Is the idea of the "Middle East" simply a geopolitical construct conceived by the West to serve particular strategic and economic interests--or can we identify geographical, historical, cultural, and political patterns to indicate some sort of internal coherence to this label? While the term has achieved common usage, no one studying the region has yet addressed whether this conceptualization has real meaning--and then articulated what and where the Middle East is, or is not.This volume fills the void, offering a diverse set of voices--from political and cultural historians, to social scientists, geographers, and political economists--to debate the possible manifestations and meanings of the Middle East. At a time when geopolitical forces, social currents, and environmental concerns have brought attention to the region, this volume examines the very definition and geographic and cultural boundaries of the Middle East in an unprecedented way.
Publication Date: 2011
Digital Middle East: State and Society in the Information Age by
In recent years, the Middle East's information and communication landscape has changed dramatically. Increasingly, states, businesses, and citizens are capitalizing on the opportunities offered by new technologies, the fast pace of digitization, and enhanced connectivity. These changes are farfrom turning Middle Eastern nations into network societies, but their impact is significant. The growing adoption of a wide variety of technologies in everyday life has given rise to complex dynamics that beg for a better understanding. Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on the continuingchanges closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are playing out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres,exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East.
Publication Date: 2018
Statebuilding in the Middle East and North Africa by
This book examines the regime changes in Iraq and Libya to unravel the complexity of statebuilding in countries emerging from authoritarianism and conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Framed in a comparative study of post-2003 Iraq and post-2011 Libya, the book examines changes in key state dimensions ¿ representation and political authority, security, and wealth creation and distribution ¿ in a continuous dialogue with past trajectories in these two countries. To grasp the nature and degree of these changes, the mechanisms of state formation are explored in light of a statebuilding agenda that, in its application from Iraq to Libya, has adapted to different political prerogatives. The analysis of Iraq and Libya serves the book¿s ultimate goal to address the debate on statebuilding from a regional (MENA) perspective and to lay the ground for the study of other contemporary cases undergoing radical and violent process of changes, such as in Syria and Yemen. The book grapples with problems associated with the difficult process of transition from authoritarianism through conflict and towards peace by focusing on the state, its structure and function. The work is informed by a large quantity of materials collected over the past five years, including secondary literature, policy papers and reports, and semi-structured interviews with key informants on Iraq and Libya. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding, Middle Eastern studies, peace and conflict studies, and International Relations in general.
Publication Date: 2018
The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa by
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are in disarray, and shifts in the field of energy have the potential to drastically affect the course of political and economic developments in the region. Declining oil prices, skyrocketing domestic demand, the rise of unconventional oil and natural gas production in North America, as well as shifting patterns of global energy trade all put severe pressures on both producing and importing countries in the MENA region. Policy-makers are facing fundamental challenges in light of the duality of grand transformations in (geo)politics and energy. Changes in the field of energy require substantial political and economic reforms, affecting the very fabric of sociopolitical arrangements. At the same time, the MENA region's geopolitical volatility makes any such reforms extremely risky. Including contributions by academics and analysts from both inside and outside the MENA region, this volume explores the changes in global and regional energy, the impact of changing international energy dynamics on politics and economies in the MENA region, and the challenges that will result. This is essential reading for researchers, postgraduates, and professionals in Middle Eastern and North African politics, global energy governance and regionalism.
Publication Date: 2018
