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Will the Middle East Implode?
The Middle East has long been fraught with tension and volatility. However, the recent Arab uprisings have intensified instability, turning this 'hot-spot' into a veritable tinderbox whose potential for implosion has far-reaching regional and global consequences.
In this short book, leading Middle East scholar Mohammed Ayoob argues that the Arab Spring has both changed and charged some of the region’s thorniest problems - from the rise of political Islam to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Israel-Palestine conflict to rivalries between key regional powers. Exploring the sources of conflict in the Middle East and their various linkages, Ayoob offers a thoughtful and balanced assessment of whether the region is indeed destined for implosion or whether political sagacity and diplomatic creativity can bring it back from the brink.
In this short book, leading Middle East scholar Mohammed Ayoob argues that the Arab Spring has both changed and charged some of the region’s thorniest problems - from the rise of political Islam to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Israel-Palestine conflict to rivalries between key regional powers. Exploring the sources of conflict in the Middle East and their various linkages, Ayoob offers a thoughtful and balanced assessment of whether the region is indeed destined for implosion or whether political sagacity and diplomatic creativity can bring it back from the brink.
- GenresNonfictionMiddle East
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 9, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 9, 2019
A striking example of fluid, straight to the point recent events leading to the Arab spring. Less about its adherents of democratic or joyless rebellion but about how its politics, local and extraneous sees it less as a domestic insurgency but a mortality for those elites and cruelly vested interests.
August 12, 2022
نکته جالب تحلیلهای این کتاب اینکه در سالهای منتهی به 2014 نوشته شده.
June 15, 2014
Oh what a tangled web we weave!
It seems that all our destinies are tied up with what is happening in and around the Red Sea and trying to get a grip on the labyrinthine religio-political machinations and internecine warfare is a mammoth task. It seems too, given the evidence of recent US foreign policy, that such an assignment is beyond the brains that must be employed by the US State Department. But perhaps that is less about incompetence or misunderstanding the subtle nuances of radically different cultures and more about Machiavellian connivance; something that this book explains lucidly for anyone coming fresh to this most complex of modern geopolitical problem areas.
The self-seeking hypocrisy of both America and Saudi Arabia in their dealings with the lesser regional powers is evident throughout. This is particularly seen to be the case with America; with respect to the disproportionate influence hawkish elements within the Israeli administration seem to be able to bring to bear on presidential appointments to offices within the US government with particular relevance to the Middle East.
It might be brief but it’s an essential primer: low on waffle, high on lucid exposition!
It seems that all our destinies are tied up with what is happening in and around the Red Sea and trying to get a grip on the labyrinthine religio-political machinations and internecine warfare is a mammoth task. It seems too, given the evidence of recent US foreign policy, that such an assignment is beyond the brains that must be employed by the US State Department. But perhaps that is less about incompetence or misunderstanding the subtle nuances of radically different cultures and more about Machiavellian connivance; something that this book explains lucidly for anyone coming fresh to this most complex of modern geopolitical problem areas.
The self-seeking hypocrisy of both America and Saudi Arabia in their dealings with the lesser regional powers is evident throughout. This is particularly seen to be the case with America; with respect to the disproportionate influence hawkish elements within the Israeli administration seem to be able to bring to bear on presidential appointments to offices within the US government with particular relevance to the Middle East.
It might be brief but it’s an essential primer: low on waffle, high on lucid exposition!
October 25, 2015
Everything discussed in this book is still evolving or devovlving-depending on how you see it. With so many things changing from one day to the next, the question "Will the Middle East Implode" is forever relevant.
This book gets five stars though mostly because it gives a very clear picture of the dangerous power games being played and the manoeuvres performed on the most precipitous geopolitcal slopes imaginable.
If you're wondering how much more there is to the story you're being fed about developments in the Middle East you should definitely read this.
This book gets five stars though mostly because it gives a very clear picture of the dangerous power games being played and the manoeuvres performed on the most precipitous geopolitcal slopes imaginable.
If you're wondering how much more there is to the story you're being fed about developments in the Middle East you should definitely read this.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews