Towards A Westphalia for the Middle East

Towards A Westphalia for the Middle East PDF Author: Patrick Milton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190058005
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
It was the original forever war, which went on interminably, fuelled by religious fanaticism, personal ambition, fear of hegemony, and communal suspicion. It dragged in all the neighbouring powers. It was punctuated by repeated failed ceasefires. It inflicted suffering beyond belief and generated waves of refugees. No, this is not Syria today, but the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), which turned Germany and much of central Europe into a disaster zone. The Thirty Years' War is often cited as a parallel in discussions of the Middle East. The Peace of Westphalia, which ended the conflict in 1648, has featured strongly in such discussions, usually with the observation that recent events in some parts of the region have seen the collapse of ideas of state sovereignty--ideas that supposedly originated with the 1648 settlement. Axworthy, Milton and Simms argue that the Westphalian treaties, far from enshrining state sovereignty, in fact reconfigured and strengthened a structure for legal resolution of disputes, and provided for intervention by outside guarantor powers to uphold the peace settlement. This book argues that the history of Westphalia may hold the key to resolving the new long wars in the Middle East today.

Towards A Westphalia for the Middle East

Towards A Westphalia for the Middle East PDF Author: Patrick Milton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190058005
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Get Book Here

Book Description
It was the original forever war, which went on interminably, fuelled by religious fanaticism, personal ambition, fear of hegemony, and communal suspicion. It dragged in all the neighbouring powers. It was punctuated by repeated failed ceasefires. It inflicted suffering beyond belief and generated waves of refugees. No, this is not Syria today, but the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), which turned Germany and much of central Europe into a disaster zone. The Thirty Years' War is often cited as a parallel in discussions of the Middle East. The Peace of Westphalia, which ended the conflict in 1648, has featured strongly in such discussions, usually with the observation that recent events in some parts of the region have seen the collapse of ideas of state sovereignty--ideas that supposedly originated with the 1648 settlement. Axworthy, Milton and Simms argue that the Westphalian treaties, far from enshrining state sovereignty, in fact reconfigured and strengthened a structure for legal resolution of disputes, and provided for intervention by outside guarantor powers to uphold the peace settlement. This book argues that the history of Westphalia may hold the key to resolving the new long wars in the Middle East today.

Chinese Foreign Policy Toward the Middle East

Chinese Foreign Policy Toward the Middle East PDF Author: Kadir Temiz
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000437272
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
This book examines how the rise of China has influenced its cross-regional foreign policy toward non-Arab countries in the Middle East between 2001 and 2011. Analyzing contemporary international crises in the Middle East such as the Iran nuclear crisis, the Palestinian–Israeli conflict, and the Cyprus question, the volume draws on daily newspapers published in Chinese, Turkish, and English and official documents as primary sources. The examined period is critical to understand China’s aggressive and more attractive foreign policy dynamism in the following years. All the bilateral relations China has developed in the Middle East during these years was a preparation for the next big step toward China’s rising influence in the region and the world. Utilizing the framework of debates on the rise of China in international relations literature, the volume focuses on political, economic, and military aspects of the power transition. Claiming that China’s foreign policy toward the Middle East can be defined as "active pragmatism," the "non-Arab" conceptualization provides a new understanding of China’s traditional Middle Eastern foreign policies. The study assesses fieldwork carried out in Beijing and Shanghai, and Chinese sources that are critical in understanding both official and academic perspectives. The book is a key resource for students, academics and analysts interested in China and the Middle East relations, foreign policy, and politics, as well as for contemporary political historians.

Russian Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East

Russian Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East PDF Author: Nikolay Kozhanov
Publisher: Hurst Publishers
ISBN: 1787388549
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
This book sheds light on Russia’s motives in the Middle East, examining its growing role in the region and its efforts to defend its national interests. As one of the first volumes to address both domestic and external drivers, it provides a valuable multi-dimensional account of Moscow’s foreign policy. Russian Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East also traces the historical evolution of Russia’s presence in the region, comparing Moscow’s current vision of its diplomatic priorities with the strategic goals of the Soviet Union. Diverse case studies reveal areas of both divergence and convergence between Russia and various Middle Eastern players on a range of issues, including the Syrian Civil War, Iran’s regional activities and the Yemeni conflict. In an era of renewed global tensions, this volume provides an important corrective to the notion that Russia’s Cold War-era confrontation with ‘the West’ determines its contemporary approach to the Middle East. No less important are economic interests and domestic security considerations, which push Moscow towards greater interaction with the region. Only by examining both new trends and old traditions can we understand Russia’s significance as a global player today.

US Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East

US Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East PDF Author: Bernd Kaussler
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317335953
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
This book offers a realist critique of US foreign policy towards the Middle East in the past decade. It critically examines four core foundations of contemporary US Middle East policy: US relations with Saudi Arabia after the Arab Spring; US diplomacy towards Iran and the Obama administration’s policy of engagement; the road to, and aftermath of, the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq; and US policy towards nuclear-armed Israel. Because of a closely guarded bipartisan consensus, these four core foundations of contemporary US Middle East policy have largely evaded public criticism and scrutiny. This book argues that US strategy towards the Middle East has rarely been guided by order, stability and the national interest. Rather, successive administrations have created a house of cards built on a series of deceptions and constructed perceptions or myths. Combined, these four aspects of US Middle East policy have ushered in a decade of political violence, instability, sectarian divisions and an imbalance of power which has culminated in the territorial disintegration of Iraq and countries in the Levant as well as the rise of ISIS. Moving forward requires a rational pursuit of the national interest based on realist principles. This book will be of much interest to students of US foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.

Caught in the Middle East

Caught in the Middle East PDF Author: Peter L. Hahn
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 9780807857007
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
Postwar American officials desired, in principle, to promote Arab-Israeli peace in order to stabilize the Middle East. This book shows how, during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, the desire for peace was not always an American priority. Instead, they consistently gave more weight to their determination to contain the Soviet Union.

From Chaos to Cooperation

From Chaos to Cooperation PDF Author: Ross Harrison
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781545214695
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
It might seem confounding to explore the pathways and prospects for regional cooperation in a Middle East currently mired in proxy conflict, civil war and terrorism. But the Middle East is not the first region in the world to pass through a period of intense conflict-consider Europe or East Asia just a few decades ago-and exit on a path toward regional cooperation. Indeed, it is exactly the immense toll that regional conflict is taking on states, societies, and economies of the region that makes developing a vision toward defusing regional conflict and building stability all the more urgent. Societies at war are those that urgently need an alternative vision of regional order and a roadmap for getting there.Despite-or perhaps because of-the conflicted realities of today's Middle East, this volume takes on the issue of regional cooperation head-on. In total, it attempts to provide a balanced approach-neither falling into the traps of na�ve optimism nor cynical pessimism. It does, however, approach the topic from the belief that the only way to move the Middle East from its current state of instability, destruction, and despair is through eventual cooperation between the major regional powers, as remote as the prospects for this appear today.

Liberation Technology

Liberation Technology PDF Author: Larry Diamond
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421405687
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of liberation'' versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.

The Decline of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

The Decline of the Arab-Israeli Conflict PDF Author: Avraham Sela
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791435373
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 444

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Book Description
Addresses the inter-Arab dimension of Middle East politics and its impact on the Palestinian conflict.

Middle East Dilemma

Middle East Dilemma PDF Author: Michael C. Hudson
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231111393
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
From the unification of North and South Yemen, to the struggle for Mahgreb unity, and the experiences of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, this book presents a complex portrait of the history and prospects for Arab integration.

Re-engaging the Middle East

Re-engaging the Middle East PDF Author: Dafna H. Rand
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780815737407
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
It's time for new policies based on changing U.S. interests U.S. policy in the Middle East has had very few successes in recent years, so maybe it's time for a different approach. But is the new approach of the Trump administration--military disengagement coupled with unquestioning support for key allies--Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia--the way forward? In this edited volume, noted experts on the region lay out a better long-term strategy for protecting U.S. interests in the Middle East. The authors articulate a vision that is both self-interested and carefully tailored to the unique dynamics of the increasingly divergent sub-regions in the Middle East, including North Africa, the Sunni Arab bloc of Egypt and Persian Gulf states, and the increasingly chaotic Levant. The book argues that the most effective way to pursue and protect U.S. interests is unlikely to involve the same alliance-centric approach that has been the basis of Washington's policy since the 1990s. Instead, the United States should adopt a nimbler and less military-dominant strategy that relies on a diversified set of partners and a determination to establish priorities for American interests and the use of resources, both financial and military. In essence, the book calls for a new post-Obama and post-Trump approach to the region that reflects the fact that U.S. interests are changing and likely will continue to change. The book offers a fresh perspective in advance of the 2020 presidential election.