The Government And Politics Of The Middle East And North Africa

by David E. Long, Bernard Reich

Rapid social, economic, and political change is endemic to the Middle East and is often more revolutionary than evolutionary in nature. In many ways, the entire political landscape of the Middle East has been transformed in the past decade in the realm of both international relations and domestic politics: The collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the cold war, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait have all had a profound effect on relations among states within the region and between those states and countries outside the region.In this revised edition, Long and Reich provide comprehensive and up-to-date analyses of many critical contemporary events and issues. The contributors explain how Desert Storm isolated Iraq and brought Syria back into the mainstream of Arab politics, contributing to the revival of the Arab-Israeli peace process. They also show how the return of a Labor government in Israel has allowed the peace process to go forward. Evaluating the economic costs of the Kuwait war and the continuing oil glut, the authors find that resulting changes in the domestic economies of the oil-producing states have created additional pressures for social and political change. The most profound change in government and politics, however, is the rise of Islam as the idiom of political discourse among moderates as well as extremists.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Middle East

496 pages, Hardcover

First published December 28, 1980

Reviews

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, it gives you the detailed history of each country in the Middle East and North Africa. You really get an understanding of each country and its culture. Each chapter focuses on one country and all of them are easy to read for an intro to the Middle East. The 6th edition (what I read) was published a year before The Arab Spring, so it still features some of the regimes that were just toppled.

[Jared Krauss · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good source of information, easy updates on a country's history, structure, and makeup
Some sections are poorly written though, such as Crystal's covering the Gulf States. It attempts to be balanced by giving a biased account of Israel and a biased account of Palestine, which is admirable, but I disagree with. I think t would be better for the reader (students) to be reading even handed academics' accounts of the two states.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may prove to be too broad for what I am researching.