The Middle East in International Relations
Power, Politics and Ideology

An introduction to the international relations of the Middle East by a leading scholar in the field.

Fred Halliday (Author)

9780521597418, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 January 2005

388 pages, 5 maps 6 tables
22.6 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.57 kg

'Firstly, Halliday arouses curiosity when he compares political theories to mushrooms: Some are eatable, some enjoyable and a third category is simply poisonous …Halliday explains particularly convincingly the reasons for the fast and thorough adoption of the exogenous ideology of nationalism in the Arabic region. … The real value of the chapter lies in the question that Halliday poses about which movements/phenomena/factors are international (inter-state) and which are truly trans-national. He answers this question in an extraordinarily conclusive way using the five case studies of nationalist movements, … a well thought through appendix of maps, charts, diagrams, and statistic information … The exquisitely comprehensive selection of sources by itself would justify the 'subsequent use'. This publication, therefore, belongs in every serious Near East library' Henner Fuertig

The international relations of the Middle East have long been dominated by uncertainty and conflict. External intervention, interstate war, political upheaval and interethnic violence are compounded by the vagaries of oil prices and the claims of military, nationalist and religious movements. The purpose of this book is to set this region and its conflicts in context, providing on the one hand a historical introduction to its character and problems, and on the other a reasoned analysis of its politics. In an engagement with both the study of the Middle East and the theoretical analysis of international relations, the author, who is one of the best known and most authoritative scholars writing on the region today, offers a compelling and original interpretation. Written in a clear, accessible and interactive style, the book is designed for students, policymakers, and the general reader.

Introduction
Part I. Concepts, States and Regions: 1. International relations of the Middle East: five approaches
2. The making of foreign policy: states and societies
Part II. History: 3. The formation of the modern Middle East: global economy, state formation, world war
4. The Cold War: global conflict, regional upheavals
5. After the Cold War: the maturing of the 'Greater West Asian Crisis'
Part III. Analytic Issues: 6. Military conflict: war, revolt, strategic rivalry
7. Modern ideologies: political and religious
8. Challenges to the state: transnational movements
9. International political economy: regional and global
Part IV. Conclusion: 10. The Middle East in international perspective.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP], Asian history [HBJF], Regional studies [GTB]