An Introduction to Middle East Politics

The Middle East has undergone enormous change since 9/11, from the invasion and occupation of Iraq to the events of the ′Arab Spring′. Here, attention is focussed on questions of democratisation and political reform. An Introduction to Middle East Politics addresses these issues in an engaging and accessible way, covering:

- Historical Legacies; The Ottoman Empire, WWI, Colonialism and the Cold War; Nationalism and Islamist Politics

- Authoritarianism in Egypt, Algeria and Syria; political changes in Iran; the politics of oil in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States; Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab States

- Intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq

- The recent uprisings in the Arab World, human rights, social movements and social media

Each chapter opens with helpful learning objectives and concludes with study questions. Annotated bibliographies aid further reading, whilst the companion website provides links to useful online journal articles. www.sagepub.co.uk/macqueen

Dr Benjamin MacQueen is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University. His research and teaching focuses on the politics of conflict, its resolution, and issues surrounding post-conflict reconstruction with a specific emphasis on the Middle East and North Africa, with publications including American Democracy Promotion in the Changing Middle East: From Bush to Obama (London: Routledge, 2013), with Shahram Akbarzadeh, James Piscatori, & Amin Saikal and Political Culture and Conflict Resolution in the Arab World: Lebanon and Algeria (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2009).