Continuing civil wars and humanitarian crises, coupled with a changing geopolitical dynamic, highlighted by increased Russian and Chinese presence in the Middle East, call for new thinking. What happens in the Middle East has major global repercussions.
This second edition of the ground-breaking textbook Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary Middle East politics. The book traces the roots of recent events across the region’s modern history, enabling readers to appreciate both the significance of such events and the importance of history in influencing their outcomes. Structured chronologically, with updated stand-alone chapters containing history, context and contemporary analyses, this edition examines a series of interconnected themes and issues, including external intervention, political manifestations of Islam, the role of political authority, nationalism, self-determination and human rights.
The book provides a valuable teaching tool, both in its content and structure. Students will gain a deeper understanding of a changed Middle East and the evolving role of states and non-state actors in the region.
Author(s): Shahram Akbarzadeh
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 316
City: London
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of
Contents
List of maps
List of boxes
1. Historical context
Chapter outline
The colonial period
Conclusion
2. The formation of the State of Israel
The road to statehood
Zionism during the Second World War
Al-Nakba/Israeli War of Independence
Conclusion
3. The Arab–Israeli wars
The Six-Day War, 1967
The Yom Kippur/Ramadan War, 1973
The Lebanese War, 1982
Fighting Hizbullah, 2006
Conclusion
4. Palestinian politics
The failure of the ‘peace process’
Background
The first Intifada (1987)
Hamas
The peace process
Palestinian political rupture, Gaza and the security wall
Hamas and Israel
Hamas and the Arab Spring
The Palestinian Authority, the United Nations and the bid for statehood
Netanyahu and Trump: the death of the peace process
Two states or one?
Conclusion
5. Pan-Arabism and Islamism
Pan-Arabism spreads across the region
The founding of political Islam
Islamist political parties
Conclusion
6. The Iranian Revolution and pan-Shi’ism
The Iranian Revolution
The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988)
Exporting the revolution: the establishment of Hizbullah
Conclusion
7. Playground of the superpowers
The Suez War
Dictators and despots
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Regional reactions
The role of the United States
Regional and global implications of the Afghan conflict
Conclusion
8. The US-led War on Terror
Afghanistan: US responses to 9/11
US occupation and the Taliban insurgency
Prospects for peace
Iraq: the road to war
US occupation, Sunni insurgency and Shia militia
Conclusion
9. The Arab uprisings
Causes and the ‘contagion’ effect
Egypt, Mubarak and the Muslim Brotherhood
The cases of Bahrain and Libya
Tunisia: the uprising’s outlier
Unfinished revolutions
Conclusion
10. The Syrian War
Historical context
The Arab uprising in Syria
The international reaction
The Syrian peace process
The consequences of war
Conclusion
11. The Islamic State
Historical background
The rise of the Islamic State
The international response to the Islamic State
The territorial demise of the Islamic State
The Islamic State in the post-Caliphate era
Conclusion
12. Iran–US relations and the nuclear deal
The nuclear issue
Nuclear negotiations
The European Union and JCPOA
Regional responses
Deterioration of Iran–US relations
Conclusion
13. Shifting geopolitics in the Middle East
Background
Escalating crisis
Syria and Yemen
Great Powers
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography
Index
