This compelling analysis of the modern Middle East - based on research in 19 archives and numerous languages - shows the transition from an internal history characterised by local realities that were plural and multidimensional, and where identities were flexible and hybrid, to a simplified history largely imagined and imposed by external actors. The author demonstrates how the once-heterogeneous identities of Middle Eastern peoples were sealed into a standardised and uniform version that persists to this day. He also sheds light on the efforts that peoples in the region - in the context of a new process of homogenisation of diversities - are exerting in order to get back into history, regaining possession of their multifaceted pasts.

Grounded Identities: Territory and Belonging in the Medieval and Early Modern Middle East and Mediterranean explores attachment to lands in the pre-modern Islamicate world and the theoretical and long-term implications of land-based senses of belonging.

Ranging from the early modern period to the present day, this edited collection uses biography as a window into the history of the Arab-Islamic Middle East. The contributors reinterpret the lives of the famous such as George Antonius and Doria Shafiq and rediscover the lives of individuals previously consigned to the margins of history, including the notorious individuals of 17th-century Syria and the 20th-century Palestinian activist Kulthum Auda. The book also draws on the biographical tradition of Arab historical writing, including biographical dictionaries, for an understanding of the region s social and cultural history. Interdisciplinary in scope and theoretically informed, this volume brings to light individual lives which are essential to an understanding of Middle Eastern history.

The modern trajectory of Middle Eastern–East Asian interactions has garnered very little scholarly attention and scrutiny. The two-way connection between both regions have witnessed a litany of activities and developments over the past several decades, but such dynamics are yet to be investigated sufficiently in tandem with their overall impacts on the world’s safety and well-being. Aiming to fill part of this acute research gap, East Asia’s Strategic Advantage in the Middle East concentrates primarily on different aspects of East Asia’s modern relationship with the Middle East by turning the spotlight on strategic advantages of East Asian countries in critical areas in the region. Over the past several years, there have been a slew of talks and debates about the formation of strategic ties between the East Asian states and their counterparts across the Middle East region. However, East Asia's advantage of strategic nature has been there for decades, shaping the contours of an increasingly multifaceted chain of interactions involving the two sides. The more other stakeholders , Western powers in particular, made serious attempts to secure their precious assets in the Middle East, the larger East Asia's strategic advantage in the region grew.

EU–Middle East relations are multifaceted, varied and complex, shaped by historical, political, economic, migratory, social and cultural dynamics. Covering these relations from a broad perspective that captures continuities, ruptures and entanglements, this handbook provides a clearer understanding of trends, thus contributing to a range of different turns in international relations. The interdisciplinary and diverse assessments through which readers may grasp a more nuanced comprehension of the intricate entanglements in EU–Middle East relations are carefully provided in these pages by leading experts in the various (sub)fields, including academics, think-tankers, as well as policymakers. The volume offers original reflections on historical constructions; theoretical approaches; multilateralism and geopolitical perspectives; contemporary issues; peace, security and conflict; and development, economics, trade and society. This handbook provides an entry point for an informed exploration of the multiple themes, actors, structures, policies and processes that mould EU–Middle East relations. It is designed for policymakers, academics and students of all levels interested in politics, international and global studies, contemporary history, regionalism and area studies.

Mediterranean in Dis/order reveals the connection between space and politics by examining the role that space has played in insurgencies, conflicts, uprisings, and mobilities in the Mediterranean region. With this approach, the authors are able to challenge well-established beliefs about the power structure of the state across different disciplines (including political science, history, sociology, geography, and anthropology), and its impact on the conception, production, and imagination of space in the broader Mediterranean. Further, they contribute to particular areas of studies, such as migration, political Islam, mobilization, and transition to democracy, among others. The book, infusing critical theory, unveils original and revelatory case studies in Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Morocco, and the EU Mediterranean policy, through a various set of actors and practices—from refugees and migrations policies, to Islamist or students’ movements, architectural sites, or movies. This multidisciplinary perspective on space and power provides a valuable resource for practitioners interested in how space, context, and time interact to produce institutions, political subjectivities, and asymmetries of power, particularly since the turning point of the Arab uprisings. The book also helps readers understand the conditions under which the uprisings develop, giving a clearer picture about various national, regional, and international dynamics.

Through largely unpublished archives in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, and the Pius XII papers, in A Liminal Church Maria Chiara Rioli offers an appraisal of Jerusalem’s Roman Catholic diocese in the Palestine War and its aftermath.