The Contemporary Middle East in an Age of Upheaval

"The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Arab uprisings of 2010-2011 left indelible imprints on the Middle East. Yet, these events have not reshaped the region as pundits once predicted. With this volume, top experts on the region offer wide-ranging considerations of the characteristics, continuities, and discontinuities of the contemporary Middle East, addressing topics from international politics to political Islam, hip hop to human security. This book engages six themes to understand the contemporary Middle East--the spread of sectarianism, abandonment of principles of state sovereignty, the lack of a regional hegemonic power, increased Saudi-Iranian competition, decreased regional attention to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and fallout from the Arab uprisings--as well as offers individual country studies. With analysis from historians, political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists, and up-to-date discussions of the Syrian Civil War, impacts of the Trump presidency, and the 2020 uprisings in Lebanon, Algeria, and Sudan, this book will be an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand the current state of the region"-- Provided by publisher "This interdisciplinary collection of essays by experts in academia and elsewhere explores the social, cultural, political, and economic, state of the Middle East since the American invasion and occupation of Iraq and the Arab uprisings of 2010-2011. Topics include the new shape of political Islam, the Middle East as a crucible for international legal precedent, human security, the role of North African hip hop in defining and mobilizing a generation of activists, the effects of the region wide failure of neo-liberalism and globalization, regional politics in a post-American world, proxy wars and the new security framework, and to individual country studies (Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia). The volume ends with an afterword by Moncef Marzouki, the first president of post-uprising Tunisia"-- Provided by publisher