A definitive overview of what political scientists are working on within the Middle East and North Africa. The Arab Uprisings of 2011-12 catalyzed a new wave of rigorous, deeply informed research on the politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In The Political Science of the Middle East, Marc Lynch, Jillian Schwedler, and Sean Yom present the definitive overview of this pathbreaking turn. This is a monumental stocktaking organized around a singular theme: new theorizing from the MENA has advanced the frontiers of comparative politics and international relations, and the close-range study of the region occupies a core place in mainstream political science. Its dozen chapters cover an exhaustive array of topics, including authoritarianism and democracy, contentious politics, regional security, military institutions, conflict and violence, the political economy of development, Islamist movements, identity and sectarianism, public opinion, migration, and local politics. For each of these topics, leading MENA experts and specialists highlight innovative concepts, vibrant debates, diverse methodologies, and unexpected findings. The result is an indispensable research primer, one that stands as a generational statement from a regional subfield.

THE POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST is so highly regarded in the field of Mid-East study because it strikes a unique balance between an historical approach and the analysis of country case studies. This blended approach gives students a fuller picture of the region, including the influences of tribalism, kinship, and the Islamic faith as well as an understanding of the region's political uprisings, religious significance, and petroleum resources that make it crucially important to the rest of the world. In the introduction, key aspects of Middle Eastern politics are explored on a regional level, setting up the chapters that follow, which focus on country studies (including new studies of Palestine and Turkey). The influence of America's war on terror in the Middle East also receives extensive coverage. Each country study begins with an exploration of the country's history and an overview of the major political institutions and groups that shape current events. Particular attention is paid to the influence of elite groups and individuals. Next, the discussion examines the context of the country's politics: political culture, political economy, and international influence. Each chapter concludes with a look at the probable course of the country's politics over the next decade and beyond.

Based on comparative historical analyses of Iran, Jordan, and Kuwait, Sean L. Yom examines the foreign interventions, coalitional choices, and state outcomes that made the political regimes of the modern Middle East. A key text for foreign policy scholars, From Resilience to Revolution shows how outside interference can corrupt the most basic choices of governance: who to reward, who to punish, who to compensate, and who to manipulate. As colonial rule dissolved in the 1930s and 1950s, Middle Eastern autocrats constructed new political states to solidify their reigns, with varying results. Why did equally ambitious authoritarians meet such unequal fates? Yom ties the durability of Middle Eastern regimes to their geopolitical origins. At the dawn of the postcolonial era, many autocratic states had little support from their people and struggled to overcome widespread opposition. When foreign powers intervened to bolster these regimes, they unwittingly sabotaged the prospects for long-term stability by discouraging leaders from reaching out to their people and bargaining for mass support—early coalitional decisions that created repressive institutions and planted the seeds for future unrest. Only when they were secluded from larger geopolitical machinations did Middle Eastern regimes come to grips with their weaknesses and build broader coalitions.

Offers a critical and realistic reassessment of the threats posed to the environment in the Middle East, and what can be done about them.

In conducting political science research today, one's methodology is of paramount concern. Yet, despite the obvious chasm between theory and practice that all scholars experience in the field, there are no specific guidebooks on meeting the methodological and ethical challenges that fieldwork presents. Political Science Research in the Middle East and North Africa helps fill this vacuum, focusing specifically on doing research in the one of the most important regions in contemporary world politics. Janine A. Clark and Francesco Cavatorta have gathered together a large and diverse group of researchers who study the region and focus on methodological "lessons learned" from their first hand experiences of employing a variety of research methods while conducting fieldwork. The contributors also look at the challenges of conducting field research in a variety of contexts, such as in areas of violence, and using research methods such as interviewing and ethnography. This volume will therefore be an invaluable companion book to more standard methods books and a useful tool, not just for Middle East scholars, but for all researchers conducting research in complex settings.

Political uprisings, religious significance, and petroleum resources have combined to make the political life of the Middle East crucially important to the rest of the world. This book begins with an introduction to key aspects of Middle Eastern politics, including the influences of tribalism, kinship, and the Islamic faith. The remaining chapters provide a closer look at six countries whose politics are likely to determine the region's future: Egypt, Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. Each chapter begins with an exploration of the country's history, then provides an overview of the major political institutions and groups that shape current events. Particular attention is paid to the influence of elite groups and individuals. Next, the discussion examines the context of the country's politics: political culture, political economy, and international influence. Each chapter concludes with a look at the probable course of the country's politics over the next decade and beyond.

The Middle East has undergone enormous change since 9/11, from the invasion and occupation of Iraq to the events of the ′Arab Spring′. An Introduction to Middle East Politics engages with questions of democratisation and political reform in the region. It covers: Historical Legacies; The Ottoman Empire, WWI, colonialism and the Cold War; nationalism and Islamist politics Authoritarianism in Egypt, Algeria and Syria; political changes in Iran; the politics of oil in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States; Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab States Intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq The recent uprisings in the Arab World, human rights, social movements and social media Each chapter opens with helpful learning objectives and concludes with study questions. Annotated bibliographies aid further reading, whilst the companion website provides links to additional material. This book will prove a fascinating read for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Middle East Politics and related courses across Politics and International Relations.