Examining globalization in the Middle East, this book provides a much needed assessment of the impact of globalization in the ‘greater’ Middle East, including North Africa, in the context of the powerful geopolitical forces at work in shaping the region today. Written by a well-known authority in this area, this book demonstrates that, unlike in other regions, such as East Asia, geopolitics has been a critical factor in driving globalization in the Middle East. The author argues that whereas elsewhere globalisation has opened up the economy, society, culture and attitudes to the environment; in the Middle East it has had the opposite effect, with poor state formation, little interregional trade, foreign and interregional investment, and reassertion of traditional identities. This book explores the impact of globalization on the polities, economies and social environment of the greater Middle East, in the context of the region’s position as the central site of global geopolitical competition at the start of the twenty-first century.

The Middle East and Globalization discusses past and contemporary political, societal, economic, and cultural trends in the Middle East against the background of comprehensive theories of globalization. The chapters draw on a shared methodological approach, looking at the fractures and horizons of globalization that are shaping the Middle East.

The first edition of this book was praised as "a milestone for present and future research on Arab and Third World foreign policies" (American Political Science Review), and "an indispensable aid for those studying or teaching the foreign policies of the contemporary Middle East" (International Journal of Middle East Studies). It has become a standard textbook in Middle East studies curricula all over the world. This third edition, now in paperback, with new material reflecting the earth-shaking events at the end of the Cold War and the continuation of violence and terrorism, examines foreign policies of nine Arab states in the context of globalization. The editors first establish an analytical framework for assessing foreign policy, which they and other contributors then apply chapter by chapter to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Iraq. Contributors: Moataz A. Fattah, Karen Abul Kheir, Ali E. Hillal Dessouki, Hazem Kandil, Bahgat Korany, Ann M. Lesch, Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat, Paul Noble, Jennifer Rosenblum, Bassel F. Salloukh, Mohamed Soffar. William Zartman. Foreign Policy Analysis in the Global Era and the World of the Arabs Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki Foreign Policy Approaches and Arab Countries: A Critical Evaluation and an Alternative Framework Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki Globalization and Arab Foreign Policies: Constraints or Marginalization? Ali E. Hillal Dessouki and Bahgat Korany From Arab System to Middle Eastern System: Regional Pressures and Constraints Paul Noble Regional leadership: Balancing off Costs and Dividends: Foreign Policy of Egypt Ali E. Hillal Dessouki Foreign Policy under Occupation: Does Iraq Need a Foreign Policy? Mohamed Soffar Does the Successor Make a Difference? The Foreign Policy of Jordan Ali E. Hillal Dessouki and Karen Abul Kheir The Art of the Impossible: The Foreign Policy of Lebanon Bassel F. Salloukh The Far West of the Near East: The Foreign Policy of Morocco Jennifer Rosenblum and William Zartman Irreconcilable Role-Partners? Saudi Foreign Policy between the Ulama and the U.S. Bahgat Korany and Moataz A. Fattah From Fragmentation to Fragmentation? Sudan's Foreign Policy Ann M. Lesch The Challenge of Restructuring: Syrian Foreign Policy Hazem Kandil Politics of Constructive Engagement: The Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat Conclusion: Foreign Policy, Globalization and the Arab Dilemma of Change Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki

The Middle East is a heterogeneous combination of societies and cultures bound together by a common history and a similar place in the world economy. Despite recent agreements, the region's internal issues (e.g., race, economic and religious differences) make it certain to occupy the world's attention.

The important geography of the Middle East contributes to the unquestionable value of the region in international relations. Through examining the origin of geopolitics as well as the relevant political theories, and then applying these theories to the current state of the Middle East, it is evident that the geography of the Middle East has impacted the region’s international significance and stability. Understanding the unique geography assists in explaining the region’s current turmoil. The opposing interests in religion, land, and power catalyze tensions across the Middle East, producing an unstable environment around trade route chokepoints and disputed territories. War, political unrest, humanitarian crisis, and terrorism are a few of the unresolved problems within the Middle East. Consequently, these issues not only changed the Middle East’s current political climate, but through globalization affect the cultures and economies of the connected regions in Europe and Africa. The geopolitics of the Middle East explains the devastation in the region, which globalization has spread to transform Europe and Africa economically, culturally, and politically.

This anthology unites in one volume two studies of the Greater Middle East in global politics – each conceptual and empirical. First, it is a historical-comparative study of politics and societies in selected Greater Middle Eastern countries from Napoleon’s invasion of Ottoman Egypt in 1798 up until today. It addresses development and change in these societies as results of the complex interactions between external developments, the rise and expansion of European industrialized powers, and internal developments, the disintegration of Islamic Empires, their transformation into nation-states, and their efforts to industrialize and modernize. Second, it is an empirical case study of states and societies of the Greater Middle East in global politics, addressing themes such as nationalism, revolution, political Islam, democracy, globalization, regionalism, revolution, war, energy, and conflict and cooperation. The book is comprised of three parts and nineteen chapters. Contributors include: Mehdi Parvizi Amineh, Simon Bromley, Robert M. Cutler, Louisa Dris-Aït-Hamadouche, S.N. Eisenstadt, Femke Hoogeveen, Henk Houweling, B.M. Jain, Mehran Kamrava, Roger Kangas, Fred H. Lawson, Prithvi Ram Mudiam, Nilgun Onder, Wilbur Perlot, Richard Pomfret, Kurt W. Radtke, Mirzohid Rahimov, Eva Patricia Rakel, and Yahia H. Zoubir.

With comprehensive illustrations, this is an update and critique of the complexities which have made the Middle East an important regional geographical study.