Will the Middle East implode? By Mohammed Ayoob. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2014, pp. 192, ISBN: 978-0-7456-7924-2
As the title implies, Will the Middle East Implode? is a book written by renowned scholar on the Middle East, Mohammed Ayoob, to answer the question on the future of one of the most volatile regions in the world. The future of the Middle East is more unpredictable now than ever following the Ara...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IIUM Press, International Islamic University Malaysia
2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/63686/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/63686/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/63686/1/63686_Will%20the%20Middle%20East%20implode.pdf |
| Summary: | As the title implies, Will the Middle East Implode? is a book written by
renowned scholar on the Middle East, Mohammed Ayoob, to answer
the question on the future of one of the most volatile regions in the
world. The future of the Middle East is more unpredictable now than
ever following the Arab Spring which shook the world in 2011. Rather
than adding to the growing body of work trying to analyse the Arab
Spring in a wider theoretical framework, this book gives an important
overview of the current situation that some may overlook and what the
author believes to be the eventual outcome.
The author argues that, “given these interconnections and overlaps
[among conflicts], there appears to be a serious danger of a chain reaction
developing and leading to an implosion, or a number of mini-implosions,
that could engulf much of the region” (p. 4). After the euphoria felt by
proponents of democracy in 2012, the author is now pessimistic of the
prospect of a new order finally replacing the authoritarian regimes in
the Arab world. Ayoob based his arguments mostly on his own expertise
on the area and on previous literature covering a wide range of topics
regarding the political situation in the Middle East. |
|---|