Abstract
Contemporaries face a daunting task when trying to understand the complex and fluid dynamics in the Gulf Region and the broader Middle East, which has been witnessing turbulences since 2010. This period has been one of uprisings and counter-uprisings, of civil wars and proxy wars, and of deliberate and destabilizing ideological and strategic crises. This book thematically explores this unfolding regional system. It addresses the major security alliances (i.e., subsystems); the most vigorous regional great powers, and non-state militant actors in the Gulf Region and the broader Middle East; in addition to the role of external actors, and ecological factors in regional dynamics.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
This outline draws on Elias Götz and Neil MacFarlane, “Russia’s Role in World Politics: Power, Ideas, and Domestic Influences,” International Politics 56, no. 6 (December 2019): 713–25, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-018-0162-0.
- 2.
To mention some exceptions: Barry Buzan, Ole Waever, and Jaap de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013); Barry Buzan and Ole Waever, Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003). However, the theoretical framework used in this book is (aside from one exception, Chapter 6) independent from these references.
- 3.
Jillian Schwedler and Deborah J. Gerner, Understanding the Contemporary Middle East (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2008), 2.
- 4.
Schwedler and Gerner, 2. At the time of writing this chapter, South Sudan was not among the member states of the Arab League.
- 5.
Michele Penner Angrist, ed., Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2010), 1, for instance, includes North Africa in his definition but not all Sub-Saharan countries.
- 6.
For instance: David E. Long, Bernard Reich, and Mark J. Gasiorowski, eds., The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa, 6th ed. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2011).
- 7.
Bruce M. Russett, International Regions and the International System (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR05652.v1.
- 8.
Nikki Keddie, “Is There a Middle East?” International Journal of Middle East Studies 4, no. 3 (July 1973): 255–71.
- 9.
Eliezer Chammou, “Near or Middle East? Choice of Name,” MELA Notes, no. 37 (Winter 1986): 6–8.
- 10.
Bruce Borthwick, Comparative Politics of the Middle East: An Introduction (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980), 14–16.
- 11.
This definition draws on William R. Thompson, “Delineating Regional Subsystems: Visit Networks and the Middle Eastern Case,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 13, no. 2 (May 1981): 213–35, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743800055306.
- 12.
See e.g., F. Gregory Gause, “Systemic Approaches to Middle East International Relations,” International Studies Review 1, no. 1 (June 1999): 11–31, https://doi.org/10.1111/1521-9488.00139.
- 13.
Louise J. Cantore and Steven L. Spiegel, The International Politics of Regions: A Comparative Approach (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970).
- 14.
Russett, International Regions and the International System.
- 15.
Tareq Y. Ismael, International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East: A Study in World Politics, Contemporary Issues in the Middle East (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986), 41–42.
- 16.
James Piscatori and R. K. Ramazani, “The Middle East,” in Comparative Regional Systems: West and East Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Developing Countries, ed. Werner J. Feld (New York; Oxford: Pergamon, 1980), 296.
- 17.
Ismael, International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East, 41–42.
- 18.
Karen A. Mingst and Ivan M. Arreguín-Toft, Essentials of International Relations, 6th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2014), 140–46.
- 19.
Paul R. Viotti and Mark V. Kauppi, International Relations Theory, 5th ed. (Boston: Longman, 2012).
- 20.
Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004).
- 21.
Joseph S. Nye, The Future of Power (New York: Public Affairs, 2012).
- 22.
See more in this regard Philipp O. Amour, “Revolutionary Changes, Power Dynamics, and Regional Rivalries since the Arab Spring: An Introduction,” in The Middle East Reloaded: Revolutionary Changes, Power Dynamics, and Regional Rivalries since the Arab Spring, ed. Philipp O. Amour, St. James’s Studies in World Affairs (Washington, DC: Academica Press, 2018), 1–21.
- 23.
The role of Egypt in the interstate system in the Middle East is largely explored. See e.g., Mustafa El-Labbad, “Egypt: A ‘Regional Reference’ in the Middle East,” in Regional Powers in the Middle East: New Constellations after the Arab Revolts, ed. Henner Fürtig, 2014, 81–99; For UAE see e.g., Rosa Vane, “Employing Militarization as a Means of Maintaining the ‘Ruling Bargain’: The Case of the United Arab Emirates,” in The Middle East Reloaded: Revolutionary Changes, Power Dynamics, and Regional Rivalries since the Arab Spring, ed. Philipp O. Amour, St. James’s Studies in World Affairs (Washington, DC: Academica Press, 2018), 225–83.
- 24.
For the USA see e.g., Shahram Akbarzadeh and Kylie Baxter, Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone (London; New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2018), 117–64; Raymond Hinnebusch, The International Politics of the Middle East, 2nd ed. (Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2015), 225–71; and Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, “The United States, Iran and the Middle East’s New ‘Cold War,’” The International Spectator 45, no. 1 (March 2010): 75–87, https://doi.org/10.1080/03932721003661624.
Bibliography
Akbarzadeh, Shahram, and Kylie Baxter. Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone. London; New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.
Amour, Philipp O. “Revolutionary Changes, Power Dynamics, and Regional Rivalries since the Arab Spring: An Introduction.” In The Middle East Reloaded: Revolutionary Changes, Power Dynamics, and Regional Rivalries since the Arab Spring, edited by Philipp O. Amour, 1–21. St. James’s Studies in World Affairs. Washington, DC: Academica Press, 2018.
Angrist, Michele Penner, ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2010.
Borthwick, Bruce. Comparative Politics of the Middle East: An Introduction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980.
Buzan, Barry, and Ole Waever. Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Buzan, Barry, Ole Waever, and Jaap de Wilde. Security: A New Framework for Analysis. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2013.
Cantore, Louise J., and Steven L. Spiegel. The International Politics of Regions: A Comparative Approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970.
Chammou, Eliezer. “Near or Middle East? Choice of Name.” MELA Notes, no. 37 (Winter 1986): 6–8.
El-Labbad, Mustafa. “Egypt: A ‘Regional Reference’ in the Middle East.” In Regional Powers in the Middle East: New Constellations after the Arab Revolts, edited by Henner Fürtig, 81–99. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Gause, F. Gregory. “Systemic Approaches to Middle East International Relations.” International Studies Review 1, no. 1 (June 1999): 11–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/1521-9488.00139.
Götz, Elias, and Neil MacFarlane. “Russia’s Role in World Politics: Power, Ideas, and Domestic Influences.” International Politics 56, no. 6 (December 2019): 713–25. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-018-0162-0.
Hinnebusch, Raymond. The International Politics of the Middle East. 2nd ed. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2015.
Ismael, Tareq Y. International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East: A Study in World Politics. Contemporary Issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986.
Keddie, Nikki. “Is There a Middle East?” International Journal of Middle East Studies 4, no. 3 (July 1973): 255–71.
Leverett, Flynt, and Hillary Mann Leverett. “The United States, Iran and the Middle East’s New ‘Cold War.’” The International Spectator 45, no. 1 (March 2010): 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/03932721003661624.
Long, David E., Bernard Reich, and Mark J. Gasiorowski, eds. The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa. 6th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2011.
Mingst, Karen A., and Ivan M. Arreguín-Toft. Essentials of International Relations. 6th ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2014.
Nye, Joseph S. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2004.
———. The Future of Power. New York: Public Affairs, 2012.
Piscatori, James, and R. K. Ramazani. “The Middle East.” In Comparative Regional Systems: West and East Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Developing Countries, edited by Werner J. Feld, 274–99. New York; Oxford: Pergamon, 1980.
Russett, Bruce M. International Regions and the International System. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR05652.v1.
Schwedler, Jillian, and Deborah J. Gerner. Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2008.
Smith, Steve. “Dialogue and the Reinforcement of Orthodoxy in International Relations.” International Studies Review 5, no. 1 (March 2003): 141–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/1521-9488.501019_6.
Thompson, William R. “Delineating Regional Subsystems: Visit Networks and the Middle Eastern Case.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 13, no. 2 (May 1981): 213–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743800055306.
Vane, Rosa. “Employing Militarization as a Means of Maintaining the ‘Ruling Bargain’: The Case of the United Arab Emirates.” In The Middle East Reloaded: Revolutionary Changes, Power Dynamics, and Regional Rivalries since the Arab Spring, edited by Philipp O. Amour, 225–83. St. James’s Studies in World Affairs. Washington, DC: Academica Press, 2018.
Viotti, Paul R., and Mark V. Kauppi. International Relations Theory. 5th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Amour, P.O. (2020). Introduction: The Regional Order in the Gulf Region and the Middle East. In: Amour, P. (eds) The Regional Order in the Gulf Region and the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45465-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45465-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-45464-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-45465-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)