The Umma and the Dawla: The Nation State and the Arab Middle East

by Tamim Al-Barghouti, تميم البرغوثي

This book argues that the Arab states in the Middle East have failed to provide security for their citizens or define themselves along the lines of traditional nation states. Due to continuous war, they have been unable to foster development and prosperity. The author argues that these failures have led to the development of an Islamic political theory that is based around the non-territorial concepts of the Umma and Dawla. Each concept is explored in detail and the author explains how crucial they are in explaining the difference between Western policy and the priorities and the identity of the Arab world. This unique book should be required reading for students of Middle East international relations and Islamic political theory.

Genres: Politics, Islam

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Tamim Al-Barghouti (Arabic: تميم البرغوثي, born 1977, Cairo) is a Palestinian poet and political scientist,Al Barghouti writes poetry in Standard Arabic as well as the Palestinian, Egyptian and Iraqi colloquial dialects. He obtained a B.A. in Political Science at Cairo University in 1999, and specialized in International Relations at the American University in Cairo, from which he graduated in 2001. He received a PhD in political science from Boston University in 2004, and became an assistant professor at the American University in Cairo in 2005. During 2003 and 2004, he wrote a weekly column in the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper on colonialism and Arab history and identity.