Bücher der Reihe Routledge Library Editions: Politics of the Middle East

Although the Arabian Peninsula is the heartland of Islam and of the Arab world, for decades it did not receive the attention it deserves from scholars and writers. The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and the Middle East Centre of St Antony¿s College, Oxford, jointly organized a series of seminars, culminating in a conference at which the papers in this volume (first published in 1972) were discussed. Together they constitute an authoritative statement of our present knowledge of several areas of the Peninsula, with particular emphasis on the Gulf States. Three chapters trace the history of Oman from pre-Islamic times to the recent past, and in so doing emphasize the theme of continuing conflict between sultan and imam. Other chapters examine the Gulf and the Peninsula from the standpoint of inter-Arab and of international relations. The third section of the book is devoted to a discussion of the increasing rate of social change in the area, and the final section deals with problems of oil and state and of economic development.

This volume consists of 13 papers on Middle Eastern history and politics from the late 19th to the 20th century.

Originally published: London: Methuen, 1952.

Comparative political study of the Middle East got off to a late start. Unlike any previous studies in comparative politics, this book, first published in 1980, represents an important methodological advance in that it proceeds by themes rather than by countries, and uniquely focuses on three major aspects of electoral politics in three contemporary Middle Eastern states. The three countries ¿ Turkey, Lebanon and Israel ¿ are chosen because they are the only Middle Eastern countries with a tradition of free elections. On the other hand, they also display certain characteristics found in other, non-competitive Middle Eastern political systems, such as the role and prominence of religion. The study is based on extensive original research and presents the first comparative treatment of electoral issues, voting behaviour and parliamentary elites, emphasising the context of rapid socio-economic change ¿ a theme particularly pertinent to those countries with their tradition of free elections. The variety of political behaviour within the countries concerned, coupled with the prevailing complexities resulting from disparities in language and cultural inheritance, makes the comparative approach particularly revealing. The attitudes and behaviour of the voters can be seen to be at least as important as the laws and mechanisms involved.

It has often been argued that Arab states are arbitrary political creations, lacking historical or present legitimacy. This book, first published in 1990, provides a different picture of `the Arab state¿, drawing on historical, economic, philosophical and sociological perspectives to give a balanced and convincing view of the complex reality of contemporary Arab politics. The contributors, from the Arab countries, from Europe and the United States, investigate the roots of the nation state in the Arab world, evaluating in particular the economic bases of individual states. They discuss the evolution of Arab societies and the way this is reflected in different states, and examine the problems of domestic and international integration in the Arab context. Original and comprehensive in its findings, this is an essential text on the fundamental political structure of the Arab world. Its interdisciplinary breadth makes possible an entirely new reading of the political reality of the Middle East.

This volume, first published in 1988, is the result of a major research project, the most important inquiry into the fundamental political structure of the Arab world. It is often argued that Arab states are arbitrary political creations that lack historical or present legitimacy and are unable to relate to each other in a productive way. It is further suggested that the demise of pan-Arabism merely underlines the inability of individual Arab states to integrate either domestically or internationally. This book, Volume Four in the Nation, State and Integration in the Arab World research project carried out by the Istituto Affari Internazionali, sets out to answer the questions of Arab integration, with articles from a wide range of contributors from around the world.

This volume, first published in 1988, analyses the process of stabilisation amongst the Arab states, a process that has contradicted all predictions of impending disintegration and impending collapse. Although there were some cases of disintegration, there are evidently mechanisms at work that helped consolidate the majority of Arab states and the Arab state system. Revolutions, as in Iran or the Sudan, or political collapse and disintegration, as in Lebanon, have been highly visible but nevertheless exceptions. This collection, Volume Three in the Nation, State and Integration in the Arab World research project carried out by the Istituto Affari Internazionali, focuses on the problem of explaining the stability and persistence of the state in the Arab world.