Politics and Change in the Middle East: Sources of Conflict and Accommodation

by Andersen, Roy R.; Seibert, Robert F.; Wagner, Jon G.

• ISBN13: 9780131401938
• ISBN10: 0131401939
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Politics and Change in the Middle East presents the politics of this area by discussing the economic, historical, social science, popular culture, and religious issues. It incorporates historical perspectives with contemporary material, giving readers the necessary background to make informed judgments on the politics of the region today. Comprehensive in its scope, this book covers traditional cultures of the region, the foundations of Islam, issues and events in the region from A.D. 632 to 1990, religious politics, culture, and social life, political leaders, the economic setting, and the events of 9/11/2001. For employees in corporations that deal with the region of the Middle East, where an understanding of the history and culture is necessary.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	xv
Politics and Conflict	xvi
Approaches to Social Change	xvii
CHAPTER ONE Traditional Cultures of the Middle East: The Cradle of Civilization and Politics	1	(10)
Foundations of Social Diversity	3	(5)
Unity in Diversity	8	(3)
CHAPTER TWO The Foundations of Islam	11	(15)
Central Beliefs of Islam	12	(2)
Pre-Islamic Arab Ethics	14	(1)
The Social Setting of Mecca	15	(2)
Muhammad's Ministry	17	(5)
Five Popular Misconceptions about Islam	22	(3)
Conclusion	25	(1)
CHAPTER THREE The Political Legacy of Islam, A.D. 632-1800	26	(17)
The Establishment of the Islamic State	27	(1)
The Golden Age of the Caliphate	28	(3)
Mongol Destruction and the Rebirth of Empire	31	(3)
Growth and Decline in the Islamic State	34	(1)
Legitimacy in Government	35	(1)
The Sharia Law	36	(1)
The Shia	37	(1)
Sufism	38	(1)
Islam and Radical Politics	39	(1)
The Kharijites	39	(1)
Ismailis and Qarmatians	39	(2)
Diversity in Islamic Political Thought	41	(2)
CHAPTER FOUR Western Imperialism, 1800-1914	43	(13)
Setting the Stage	44	(1)
The Ottomans	45	(2)
Egypt	47	(2)
The Levant	49	(1)
The Arabian Peninsula	50	(1)
Iran	51	(3)
Conclusion	54	(2)
CHAPTER FIVE The Rise of the State System, 1914-1950	56	(16)
The McMahon-Husein Correspondence	57	(3)
The Mandates	60	(2)
Egypt	62	(2)
Saudi Arabia	64	(1)
Turkey and Iran	65	(2)
From Palestine to Israel	67	(3)
Conclusion	70	(2)
CHAPTER SIX The Drive for Self-Determination, 1950-1990	72	(33)
Arab Nationalism	73	(10)
Iran, the Gulf States, and Petroleum	83	(6)
Israel	89	(10)
The Palestinians and the 1988 Uprising	99	(5)
Conclusion	104	(1)
CHAPTER SEVEN Turning Points	105	(21)
Globalization	107	(3)
Arab Nationalism	110	(3)
Economic Liberalization	113	(6)
From Oslo to Jerusalem	119	(5)
Conclusion	124	(2)
CHAPTER EIGHT The Politics of Religion, Culture, and Social Life	126	(27)
The Politics of Culture	127	(2)
The Contemporary Politics of Islam	129	(3)
Turkey: Radical Westernization and the Durability of Islam	132	(3)
Egypt: The Labyrinth of Possibilities	135	(3)
Saudi Arabia: An Islamic Camelot?	138	(4)
Iran and the Islamic Republic	142	(4)
Sexual Politics	146	(5)
Conclusion	151	(2)
CHAPTER NINE Political Elites	153	(24)
Traditional, Transitional, and Technically Modernizing Elites	156	(20)
Conclusion	176	(1)
CHAPTER TEN Political Leadership in the Contemporary Middle East	177	(24)
Traditional Leadership	177	(4)
Charismatic Leadership	181	(3)
Modern Bureaucratic Leadership	184	(2)
Consequences of Leadership Styles	186	(1)
Traditional States	187	(2)
Modern Bureaucratic States	189	(7)
Charismatic Rule	196	(4)
Conclusion	200	(1)
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Economic Setting	201	(34)
The Economic Record	204	(1)
Organization of Economic Activity	205	(6)
Liberalization and Globalization	211	(1)
Land Policies	211	(4)
Agricultural Policies	215	(1)
Water	216	(3)
Population	219	(7)
Industry	226	(1)
Petroleum	227	(6)
Conclusion	233	(2)
CHAPTER TWELVE International Relations in the Contemporary Middle East, 1945-1990	235	(17)
The Great-Power System and the Middle East	238	(2)
U.S. Foreign Policy	240	(6)
Soviet Foreign Policy	246	(3)
Britain and France	249	(1)
China and Japan	250	(1)
Conclusion	251	(1)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN International Relations in the Contemporary Middle East, 1945-1990: The Regional Actors	252	(27)
Palestinian International Action	256	(3)
OPEC and Islam	259	(1)
The Foreign Policies of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Israel	260	(18)
Conclusion	278	(1)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Middle East and the Changing International Order, 1991-2001	279	(30)
Dimensions of the Emerging International Order	281	(1)
The Middle East in the Emerging International Order	282	(9)
The Arabs and the Israelis	291	(6)
Superpowers and Great Powers	297	(2)
Middle Eastern States	299	(8)
Conclusion	307	(2)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Did 9/11 Change Everything?	309	(15)
The Reemergence of Iraq	310	(2)
Two Coalitions	312	(1)
The Middle East Quartet	313	(1)
Regional Actors	314	(3)
World Public Opinion	317	(1)
War	318	(5)
Conclusion	323	(1)
Internet Resources	324	(2)
Glossary	326	(3)
Index	329

Excerpts

This book has grown out of the authors' conviction that a proper understanding of present events in the Middle East requires knowledge of the cultural, social, and economic, as well as the political, background of these events. It is, more specifically, an outgrowth of the authors' attempts to develop an undergraduate course sequence aimed at such understanding. We found that, despite the abundance of excellent scholarship on the Middle East, there was a paucity of works that brought together the diverse disciplinary perspectives in a way suitable to our pedagogic aims. It is our belief that this book, with its combination of historical and contemporary materials and its integrated perspective, provides something of value that is not elsewhere available to the undergraduate student or educator. Many profound changes have occurred since the original publication of this book. As we published our first edition in 1982, the first signs were evident of the inevitable decline of the bipolar international system, a system in which the overarching conflict between the United States and the U.S.S.R gave substance and meaning to a wide range of international interactions. Now, the U.S.S.R. no longer exists, replaced by a loose confederation of states, autonomous areas, and dependencies that is only a shadow of the old order. It must now compete for power and influence with its former allies in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Kazakhstan, as well as its old enemies in the West. It has been necessary to incorporate these new realities into our analysis of governments and politics in the Middle East. But the long-term consequences of these changes are not yet clear; they are, in fact, in the process of evolution. The new Russia is not the powerhouse that the old U.S.S.R. was reputed to be; but Russia still sees a role for itself in the Middle East. Regaining an element of its dominance in the areas of Central Asia is an emergent theme in its domestic politics--yet another example of the "domesticization of international politics and the internationalization of the domestic." Changes in the Middle East itself have also been drastic. OPEC, for instance, was in its robust maturity as we began our initial work, a dominant player in the international energy system, capable of ostensible control of both supply and price of petroleum. Indeed it can be demonstrated that as Middle Eastern leaders "played the petroleum card" they were able to extract concessions from East and West. But by 2400, OPEC was not nearly the dominant influence it had been, despite a 1999 rally of prices engineered by OPEC. Its influence was diluted by a combination of new non-OPEC sources of petroleum, new technology squeezing new life and profits out of older fields, and modest conservation measures. The oil-rich monarchies of the Middle East are still rich, it is true; but they now live in an age of tough economic constraints in which important choices must be made, economically and politically. The cushion upon which they have relied for two decades has dramatically thinned. If ever there was an issue or conflict considered architectonic in the Middle East, it was surely the Arab-Israeli conflict. Many regional issues and prospects were held hostage to this seemingly intractable problem. Parties directly involved in the conflict--Israel and the PLO--seemed inexorably headed in opposite directions. Even moderate Israelis seriously considered the merits of "transfer," a euphemism for the coercive expulsion of all Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. Many Palestinians committed themselves to violent confrontation with Israel, joining and working within a range of parties and groups dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Even the heavy-handed intervention of the United States failed to break the emotional and political deadlock between Israeli and Palestinian. In the spring of 1993, Norway and indepen