Politics and Change in the Middle East: Sources of Conflict and Accomodation, Seventh Edition

This book is for a class I have, but it is not boring to read like some text books can be.

[A review of the 8th Edition, published in 2006.] In this somewhat short text, the authors explain the turbulent history of the Middle East. Key ideas like a secular pan-Arabism, militant Islam and globalisation are invoked, as necessary to understanding the current region. We see how pan-Arabism gave rise to the Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq. Though for the latter, at least till the American invasion of 2003. Globalisation is a major cause of outside forces, like secular consumerist societies of Europe and the US, overlapping with deeply traditional Muslim mores. Often to the puzzlement of both sides. Of course, the role of Israel and Palestine has impacted so much in the region, and the book also addresses these factors. While the text was written in 2006, it necessarily cannot deal significantly with the events in Iraq for 2006. Rather, you can read it as a historical perspective.

This book, along with it's companion, THE MIDDLE EAST by the Congressional Quarterly, was used in my undergraduate course on the History and Governments of the Middle East. Politics and Change views the Middle East from a variety of perspectives: sociological, anthropological, political, historical and religious. It looks at the bases for diversity & unity in the region and the rise of Islam. It then discusses the formation of the early Islamic state and the development of the Sharia (religious law)from the Koran and the hadith (or statements and actions ascribed to Mohammad), the development of the Shia in opposition to the corrupt secular governments and the rise of the different sects. It then moves on to a discussion of Western Imperialism and the resulting development of nationalism and individual states (as opposed to the Umma or body of the believers as a whole), including the growth of Zionism and the establishment of the Israeli state. Then changes in the political landscape, especially the (failed) Oslo Accord, are discussed as are religious and politics - and the 3 types of political elites and of the various forms leadership has taken. Moving on, it touches on the relations of the individual nations with the great powers (including the remnant of the now-defunct Soviet Union during its cold war competition with the United States) as well as looking at the foreign policies of the regional powers and at changes that have taken place globally (e.g., the fall of the old Soviet Union), the American-Iraq Persian Gulf War and the tensions with Kuwait and with regard to the Israeli-Palestine issue and Israel's relation to the larger Arab world. Although this is only an introductory text, it makes a serious attempt at providing a holistic view of the Middle East and its often insoluble-appearing problems.

As a college student majoring in Economics, I was privileged to study with two of the authors of this book. However I read this book not as part of a curriculum but as side-reading. Having read several books on the Middle East (and being well familiar with the area including some undergraduate research), I can safely say that it is one of the most insightful books written on the subject.The authors bring their expertise and familiarity with three different disciplines (anthropology, international relations and economics), combined with thorough on-site research. This extremely well-written book traces the history of conflict in the Middle East, the high and low points, the personalities who positively or negatively shaped the course of Middle Eastern history.I believe it is recommended reading for any person today who wants to understand the Middle East better and who wants to increase their awareness of the global village we all are citizens of. More importantly though, this book should be recommended reading for future researchers, scholars and teachers as a guide to 'understanding, studying and researching a new culture or a differnet people'. The techniques used in researching this topic truely do justice to a topic, which is very difficult to research, and write about, while maintaining brevity, objectivity and yet, not sacrificing thoroughness of research.An excellent book, a must-have for academics and people who want to have a deeper understanding of the Middle East as well as become familiar with the unique style and techniques of research utilized in this work.

I read this book as a required text for my Middle East Politics class which was taught by one of the authors, Prof. Seibert. I think it gives an accurate walkthrough to the history of Middle East Politics. It stays clear of any bias while trying to examine and integrate economic, social and political factors together. I enjoyed reading and discussing this work immensely. I would strongly recommend it.