International Society and the Middle East: English School Theory at the Regional Level (Palgrave Studies in International Relations)

International Society and the Middle East brings together a distinguished cast of theorists and Middle East experts to provide a comprehensive overview of the region's history and how its own traditions have mixed, often uncomfortably, with the political structures imposed by the expansion of Western international society. This book is the first to apply ideas about international and world society to the Middle East. It brings together a distinguished cast of theorists and Middle East experts who combine their knowledge to provide a fresh view of this troubled but important region. For those interested in the Middle East, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the region's history and how its own traditions have mixed, often uncomfortably, with the political structures imposed by the expansion of Western international society. It reveals the powerful and ongoing tensions among the Western-defined political order, the post-colonial state system, and the strong transnational cultural elements in the region. For International Relations theorists it offers a pathbreaking application of the English school's central ideas at the regional level. It shows both the problems and the opportunities of thinking about international and world society in a regional context, and uses the insights from that to cast new light on what it means to talk about international society at the global level This book is the first to apply ideas about international and world society to the Middle East. It brings together a distinguished cast of theorists and Middle East experts who combine their knowledge to provide a fresh view of this troubled but important region. For those interested in the Middle East, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the region's history and how its own traditions have mixed, often uncomfortably, with the political structures imposed by the expansion of Western international society. It reveals the powerful and ongoing tensions among the Western-defined political order, the post-colonial state system, and the strong transnational cultural elements in the region. For International Relations theorists it offers a pathbreaking application of the English school2s central ideas at the regional level. It shows both the problems and the opportunities of thinking about international and world society in a regional context, and uses the insights from that to cast new light on what it means to talk about international society at the global level Front Matter....Pages i-xx The Middle East and Conceptions of ‘International Society’....Pages 1-23 The Middle East through English School Theory....Pages 24-44 The Ottoman Empire and its Precedents from the Perspective of English School Theory....Pages 45-69 The Middle East Encounter with the Expansion of European International Society....Pages 70-91 The Primary Institutions of the Middle Eastern Regional Interstate Society....Pages 92-116 The Secondary Institutions of the Middle Eastern Regional Interstate Society....Pages 117-139 Arab Nationalism(s) in Transformation: From Arab Interstate Societies to an Arab-Islamic World Society....Pages 140-169 Islam, the Middle East and the Pan-Islamic Movement....Pages 170-200 Order and Change in the Middle East: A Neo-Gramscian Twist on the International Society Approach....Pages 201-225 Conclusions....Pages 226-250 Back Matter....Pages 251-280