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From Deep State to Islamic State: The Arab Counter-Revolution and its Jihadi Legacy
In his disturbing and timely book Jean-Pierre Filiu lays bare the strategies and tactics employed by
the Middle Eastern autocracies, above all those of Syria, Egypt, Yemen and Algeria, that set out to crush the democratic uprisings of the 'Arab Revolution.'
In pursuit of these goals they turned to the intelligence agencies and internal security arms of the 'deep state, ' the armed forces, and to street gangs such as the Shabiha to enforce their will. Alongside physical intimidation, imprisonment and murder, Arab counter-revolutionaries discredited and split their opponents by boosting Salafi-Jihadi groups such as Islamic State. They also released from prison hardline Islamists and secretly armed and funded them.
The full potential of the Arab counter-revolution surprised most observers, who thought they had seen it all from the Arab despots: their perversity, their brutality, their voracity. But the wider world underestimated their ferocious readiness literally to burn down their countries in order to cling to absolute power. Bashar al-Assad clambered to the top of this murderous class of tyrants, driving nearly half of the Syrian population in to exile and executing tens of thousands of his opponents. He has set a grisly precedent, one that other Arab autocrats are sure to follow in their pursuit of absolute power.
the Middle Eastern autocracies, above all those of Syria, Egypt, Yemen and Algeria, that set out to crush the democratic uprisings of the 'Arab Revolution.'
In pursuit of these goals they turned to the intelligence agencies and internal security arms of the 'deep state, ' the armed forces, and to street gangs such as the Shabiha to enforce their will. Alongside physical intimidation, imprisonment and murder, Arab counter-revolutionaries discredited and split their opponents by boosting Salafi-Jihadi groups such as Islamic State. They also released from prison hardline Islamists and secretly armed and funded them.
The full potential of the Arab counter-revolution surprised most observers, who thought they had seen it all from the Arab despots: their perversity, their brutality, their voracity. But the wider world underestimated their ferocious readiness literally to burn down their countries in order to cling to absolute power. Bashar al-Assad clambered to the top of this murderous class of tyrants, driving nearly half of the Syrian population in to exile and executing tens of thousands of his opponents. He has set a grisly precedent, one that other Arab autocrats are sure to follow in their pursuit of absolute power.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2015
About the author
Jean-Pierre Filiu
49 books51 followersJean-Pierre Filiu (1961) is a French professor of Middle East studies at Sciences Po, Paris School of International Affairs, an Orientalist and an Arabist.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 15, 2024
محاولة عمل ريكاب للوطن العربي قبل 2011 و لكن الكاتب غير ملم بالشرق الاوسط بالشكل الكافي و أعتقد أنه لا يستطيع التحدث باللغة العربية نظرًا لاعتماده علي الرؤية الغربية في كل شيء لتفسيره لحركات التحرر الوطني و القومية العربية منذ بدايات القرن العشرين.
August 15, 2015
Interesting subject matter, terrible writing. Maybe it was awkwardly translated from French?
January 9, 2016
The Deep State in question, is the secret state of death squads and officers cliques that exists within many Middle Eastern dictatorships.
JP Filiu's book is first academic study, shows why military cliques are the problem not part of the solution. Important perspective when many media commentators are inviting us to deny Assads, Gaddafis, Sisis are dictators or that even if they are, that somehow we need them.
He comments that it took 50 years for Mid East to free itself from western domination, ie until the 1950s, but then next 20 years, local military cliques, often in conjunction with criminals and other reactionary forces subverted Arab nationalism, replacing it with dictatorships, often justified on the basis of opposing jihadis (who they had fostered).
Most contentious conclusion sure to be:
"Contrary to popular interpretation in the western media, the main reason [for Libya's stalled transition] lay not in the 2011 NATO campaign, but in the electoral voluntarism that deepened the political fragmentation instead of favouring a national consensus. Each vote in Libya aggravated the civil strife, while Tunisia voted only twice for a constituent assembly in October 2011, and a parliament elected on basis of new constitution three years later." From Deep State to Islamic State p244
But we the west do tend to see things from out own point of view & are not always aware of the political movements and motivations of the Arab people themselves, which are not so different to our own - ie peace and freedom
"Arab Revolution: 10 Lessons From the Democratic Rising" Jean-Pierre Filiu prefaced in "From Deep State to Islamic State"
Useful preamble
"1. Arabs are no exception."
"2. Muslims are not only Muslims." Islamic faith gives no clue about individual's or collective's political rationale.
"3. Anger is power for the young." Still a striking mud east reality even if hasn't delivered real power.
"4. The alternative to democracy is chaos". failure to establish effective institutions is warlordism as in Syria, Libya etc.
"5. Islamists must choose". Must compromise with nationalist currents or army will intervene to " restore " order.
"6. No domino effect in the renaissance." Permanent compromise needed
"7. Palestine is still the Mantra." Not as true as once was but Arab solidarity has not disappeared.
"8. Jihad is could become obsolete"! A breakthrough in democratic process could reverse jihadi tide.
"9. Social networks work
"10. Even a leaderless movement can succeed.
JP Filiu's book is first academic study, shows why military cliques are the problem not part of the solution. Important perspective when many media commentators are inviting us to deny Assads, Gaddafis, Sisis are dictators or that even if they are, that somehow we need them.
He comments that it took 50 years for Mid East to free itself from western domination, ie until the 1950s, but then next 20 years, local military cliques, often in conjunction with criminals and other reactionary forces subverted Arab nationalism, replacing it with dictatorships, often justified on the basis of opposing jihadis (who they had fostered).
Most contentious conclusion sure to be:
"Contrary to popular interpretation in the western media, the main reason [for Libya's stalled transition] lay not in the 2011 NATO campaign, but in the electoral voluntarism that deepened the political fragmentation instead of favouring a national consensus. Each vote in Libya aggravated the civil strife, while Tunisia voted only twice for a constituent assembly in October 2011, and a parliament elected on basis of new constitution three years later." From Deep State to Islamic State p244
But we the west do tend to see things from out own point of view & are not always aware of the political movements and motivations of the Arab people themselves, which are not so different to our own - ie peace and freedom
"Arab Revolution: 10 Lessons From the Democratic Rising" Jean-Pierre Filiu prefaced in "From Deep State to Islamic State"
Useful preamble
"1. Arabs are no exception."
"2. Muslims are not only Muslims." Islamic faith gives no clue about individual's or collective's political rationale.
"3. Anger is power for the young." Still a striking mud east reality even if hasn't delivered real power.
"4. The alternative to democracy is chaos". failure to establish effective institutions is warlordism as in Syria, Libya etc.
"5. Islamists must choose". Must compromise with nationalist currents or army will intervene to " restore " order.
"6. No domino effect in the renaissance." Permanent compromise needed
"7. Palestine is still the Mantra." Not as true as once was but Arab solidarity has not disappeared.
"8. Jihad is could become obsolete"! A breakthrough in democratic process could reverse jihadi tide.
"9. Social networks work
"10. Even a leaderless movement can succeed.
March 31, 2016
Such an interesting book and best perspective I have read on the origins of Islamic State. But this book is really hard to read, particularly the first few chapters, where large chunks of history (that I didn't know well) are mashed up chronologically. It feels like there has been clumsy editing and I spotted a few typos. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable on this subject would find this an easier read but for me it was a struggle (I'd have given it more stars if better written).
However, around about Chapter 4 I really got into the book. But it the first chapters were a struggle. Some of the summary paragraphs at the end of chapters are well written and the conclusion but large parts of the text felt quite mangled. There are also parts which are very readable where he talks more of his experiences and perspectives but these are few and far between.
The basic argument is that to understand the rise of IS you need to look at the chaos left after the French and British carved up the Middle East after World War One. Military dictators (the 'modern Mamluks') hijacked the legacy left by Colonialism and in places like Eygpt, Yemen and Syria these dictators built up a security two tier military state. They suppressed any peaceful opposition and exploited the fear of terrorism (sometimes supporting Jihadi's to maintain that fear) and used issues like Palestine as a pawn. In these suppressive military dictatorships where all peaceful opposition is suppressed, the extremism of the Islamic State was the only opposition that survived.
I learnt loads in this book and it's pretty horrific, but the ending was pretty poignant;
'One can feel pain and sorrow at all these lives destroyed by the Arab dictators and their jihadi nemesis. Let us hope that their sacrifices will not have been in vain and that their dedication to the cause is remembered'.
However, around about Chapter 4 I really got into the book. But it the first chapters were a struggle. Some of the summary paragraphs at the end of chapters are well written and the conclusion but large parts of the text felt quite mangled. There are also parts which are very readable where he talks more of his experiences and perspectives but these are few and far between.
The basic argument is that to understand the rise of IS you need to look at the chaos left after the French and British carved up the Middle East after World War One. Military dictators (the 'modern Mamluks') hijacked the legacy left by Colonialism and in places like Eygpt, Yemen and Syria these dictators built up a security two tier military state. They suppressed any peaceful opposition and exploited the fear of terrorism (sometimes supporting Jihadi's to maintain that fear) and used issues like Palestine as a pawn. In these suppressive military dictatorships where all peaceful opposition is suppressed, the extremism of the Islamic State was the only opposition that survived.
I learnt loads in this book and it's pretty horrific, but the ending was pretty poignant;
'One can feel pain and sorrow at all these lives destroyed by the Arab dictators and their jihadi nemesis. Let us hope that their sacrifices will not have been in vain and that their dedication to the cause is remembered'.
May 21, 2017
This book is about the "Deep States" in the Middle East, a term borrowed from Turkey where is describes the relationship between those in power (in the Turkish case the army) and parts of society that operates outside the law, such as criminal networks, Mafias, or secret security services. These relationships are maintained to preserve the hold on power, to maintain security states, to eliminate any political opposition and secure the economic benefits enjoyed by those who control these networks outside the law. In the Middle East, Filiu argues that Egypt, Yemen, and Syria constitute pure forms of deep states that reacted violently to counter the Arab Spring of 2011. The analysis is at times provoking but he touches on the core reasons of the regions chaos, the counter-revolutions by the security states in the Middle East -supported by Iran and Saudi Arabia. A great historical overview also of the development of the Arab states.
February 8, 2017
Historical account of Arab Politics from almost 1930 to 2015. A must read to understand the complexity, perversity, entrenchment, limitations of the Arab political, social, religious, military, radical, and even democratic institutions.
December 17, 2024
Perhaps a bit too concise for its own good, this study serves as an eye-opening look at how the Middle-East was destabilized after WWI. Dictators rose to power and fed off the fear of terrorism and maintained power through to maintain their power, in addition to violent opposition to oftentimes peaceful challenges to their power.
In-depth knowledge is jumbled around in a strange chronology, so someone like myself that is not well read on the topics covered in this book may become confused. A large complaint I had about the book was the lack of biographical details regarding the more well-known leaders. Qaddafi is mentioned, and his rise to power is alluded to, but not to the depth that would have benefited a more panoramic view of the issues. Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden are mentioned passingly as they relate to the rise in power of the dictators that are discussed. The absence of an in-depth biography for Laden is particularly weird to me, as this book deals highly with Al-Qaeda and how each leader of the countries discussed interacted with groups such as them. I feel as if the author danced around certain information that was more readily available to the general public and is more embedded in our collective memories.
In-depth knowledge is jumbled around in a strange chronology, so someone like myself that is not well read on the topics covered in this book may become confused. A large complaint I had about the book was the lack of biographical details regarding the more well-known leaders. Qaddafi is mentioned, and his rise to power is alluded to, but not to the depth that would have benefited a more panoramic view of the issues. Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden are mentioned passingly as they relate to the rise in power of the dictators that are discussed. The absence of an in-depth biography for Laden is particularly weird to me, as this book deals highly with Al-Qaeda and how each leader of the countries discussed interacted with groups such as them. I feel as if the author danced around certain information that was more readily available to the general public and is more embedded in our collective memories.
October 30, 2026
read for PhD. does what it says on the tin. also read the Quran for it, but I thought it best not to review that
November 16, 2015
In depth information.
An eye opener for me.
The book is predominantly about deep state/counter revolution than about the jihadi legacy: i.e., about historic developments that made isis possible (or, produced the conditions under which jihadi movements could flourish).
Let down by writing style. He jumps around a bit between various countries and factions. I found it difficult to keep track of the different players as a consequence. Maybe he tries to put in a bit too much; or maybe he should have taken each country as a whole? It's hard to tell really, after all the complexity comes to a degree from the writer trying to show parallels between the different countries.
I would definitely recommend if you want to learn about the build up of the current state in the middle east/arab countries. (Perhaps take notes of who's who etc. whilst reading?)(or perhaps read more than once?)
An eye opener for me.
The book is predominantly about deep state/counter revolution than about the jihadi legacy: i.e., about historic developments that made isis possible (or, produced the conditions under which jihadi movements could flourish).
Let down by writing style. He jumps around a bit between various countries and factions. I found it difficult to keep track of the different players as a consequence. Maybe he tries to put in a bit too much; or maybe he should have taken each country as a whole? It's hard to tell really, after all the complexity comes to a degree from the writer trying to show parallels between the different countries.
I would definitely recommend if you want to learn about the build up of the current state in the middle east/arab countries. (Perhaps take notes of who's who etc. whilst reading?)(or perhaps read more than once?)
September 7, 2015
This panoramic view of the Arab revolutions and their unraveling is the best book you'll read on the subject. Filiu offers acute, historically informed insights into what he calls the New Mamluks and how they used various arrows in their quiver to pin the revolution and steadily emasculate it. He is unsparing in his indictment of the local executioners as well as the international enablers.
I'll be posting a fuller review of this book later.
I'll be posting a fuller review of this book later.
September 4, 2018
3.5
Un peu difficile à suivre parfois (couvre beaucoup de pays, Histoire(s) et noms en peu de pages) et parfois difficile de différencier entre les faits bruts et les théories/concepts de l'auteur. Sinon j'ai trouvé le livre très intéressant et la construction bien faite : les impacts des événements du XXe siècle et "mentalités" aident à mettre en perspective le printemps arabe & à comprendre les différences de résultats entre les divers pays (notamment Égypte & Tunisie).
Un peu difficile à suivre parfois (couvre beaucoup de pays, Histoire(s) et noms en peu de pages) et parfois difficile de différencier entre les faits bruts et les théories/concepts de l'auteur. Sinon j'ai trouvé le livre très intéressant et la construction bien faite : les impacts des événements du XXe siècle et "mentalités" aident à mettre en perspective le printemps arabe & à comprendre les différences de résultats entre les divers pays (notamment Égypte & Tunisie).
September 20, 2015
A fantastic book of history and geopolitics explaining the interaction of autocracies in the Middle East and the rise of the jihadi networks. Sheds some lights of the last 30 years in the region and current situation and civil wars in a way that is really enlightening. Very interesting and although quite dense, very compelling and a great reading.
September 17, 2015
Unfortunately for such an interesting topic a terrible, unreadable writing. I couldn't finish it.
November 3, 2015
Great insight, but boringly written.
July 9, 2016
One of the better historical analyses of ISIL and why the Middle East is so completely fucked.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews