Contemporary Politics in the Middle East

Preface to the Fourth Edition
INTRODUCTION
The Muddle East?
Who invented the Middle East?
Orientalism - the enduring debate
State-types: making sense of multiplicity
Recommended Reading
Questions for Discussion
 
1. COLONIAL RULE: SHAPING THE DESTINY OF A REGION
Introduction
Merchants and Missionaries
World War 1 and the death of the Ottoman Empire
1918 and after: mandates, protectorates and colonial power
Inter-war European decline
Sunset Empire
Case Study: Egypt - Gateway to riches
Case Study: The Palestine Debacle
Case Study: Algeria - a colony or province outre mer?
Recommended Reading
Questions for Discussion
 
2. NATIONALISM: THE QUEST FOR IDENTITY AND POWER
Introduction
Nationalism as theory turned into practice
The birth pangs of Arab nationalism
New Identities and hopes
The first Arab revolt: the Arab princes at the helm of British imperial ambition
Taking state power
Unification nationalism: the United Arab Republic and beyond
Case Study: Nationalism defined by a man: Nasserism
Case Study: Ba?thism - the Arab Socialist future unveiled
Case Study: Stateless nation: The Kurds
Recommended Reading
Questions for Discussion
 
3. A VERY POLITICAL ECONOMY
Introduction
Regional wealth and extremes of inequality
Evolution of oil-based economies
Sheikhdoms and petro-power
Rentier futures, profit in decline?
Labour mobility and employment
Case Study: Saudi Arabia: Visio 2030 or bust
Case Study: Egypt: Too big to fail or succeed
Case Study: Collapsing globalization and its regional consequences
Recommended Reading
Questions for Discussion
 
4. CONFLICT AND LACK OF PEACE
Introduction
The bigger battle: Arab-Israeli hostility
Killing dreams: the Israeli-Palestinian dimension
East against West in the Suez crisis
Arab versus Arab
The Lion and the Peacock: Arab-Iranian relations
Sectarian Politics
Case Study: Egypt and Israel: This is what peace looks like
Case Study: Iraq: Enduring Conflict
Case

Beverley Milton-Edwards is Professor of Politics at Queen's University Belfast and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center.

"The genius of this book is that it integrates together the different themes which run through Middle Eastern politics, creating a coherent understanding of the dynamics which shape events. The radical transformation of the Middle East since 2011 forms a key part of the ongoing analysis, but it is rightly set within the context of underlying problems, trends and issues. The book should be required reading for all those wanting to understand the region."
Tim Niblock, University of Exeter
 
"I welcome the fourth edition of this comprehensive guide to the politics of such an important region of the world. It is a must for all those who want to understand the complex politics of the modern Middle East."
Roger Owen, Harvard University
 
"With a keen eye for detail and an accessible style, Beverley Milton-Edwards, one of the foremost scholars of the Middle East, provides us with a comprehensive and up-to-date examination of the region from World War I up to the present. This is a superb book, going beyond studies of colonialism, nationalism, power, and interstate conflict. Milton-Edwards looks also at topics and areas equally consequential in shaping the Middle East, including political Islam, struggles for democracy, and the position of women and ethnic minorities. This is a must-reading for anyone with a serious interest in understanding the forces shaping the political history of the Middle East."
Mehran Kamrava, Georgetown University-Qatar