Turkey and the Arab Spring: Leadership in the Middle East

The Middle East in the 21st century has witnessed a game-changing rollercoaster ride that has transformed relationships across the boards. Turkey underwent the most dramatic changes of its democratic history, propelling it into the role of major regional actor. The “Arab Spring” cast the region into political and social turmoil. US-led wars devastated the lands and peoples of several countries with widespread, rippling repercussions. And the balance of global power shifted dramatically, breaking America’s long-standing geopolitical dominance in the Middle East. The politics of the Middle East are now up for grabs—but what are the sources of its future leadership? The Arab world is still adrift. Yet there are grounds for optimism that Iran may at last be re-emerging onto the world scene as a legitimate and influential actor. And above all, Turkey’s experience, despite messy partisan politics, still offers the only convincing Muslim model of dynamic and effective governance. Neither Turks, Arabs nor Iranians will ever be the same again—nor will they interact with the West again in the old familiar ways. The author breaks with conventional US-centric analysis of the region to capture the deeper political and human forces that reflect the Middle East’s own history and culture. *** Praise for A World Without Islam by Graham E. Fuller “Another must-read by one of the most thought-provoking writers on Islam and the Middle East… At once a brilliant history lesson and a fascinating thought experiment…” Reza Aslan, author of No God But God, and Beyond Fundamentalism. “A must read. Graham Fuller’s A World Without Islam is a tour de force by one of the world’s foremost authorities on global Muslim politics. Fuller’s masterful study provides an insightful and at times provocative analysis of the character of Muslim-West relations...” John L. Esposito, author of The Future of Islam.

Graham E. Fuller is a former high-ranking CIA official who spent over four decades living, working, traveling in and writing about the Muslim world. He speaks numerous languages-Russian, Turkish, Arabic and Chinese-and is widely recognized as an insightful, provocative and original thinker on the political culture of the Muslim world and global politics. This clear and lucid analysis of a complex and troubled region offers unconventional conclusions.