Series: Identities and Geopolitics in the Middle East

The year 1973 is usually considered the great equaliser among major oil producers. However, the "Visions" strategies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, regarded as a middle power and small state respectively in the Middle East regional system, highlight the enhancement of economic power through broader economic relations. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates explores the impact...

The events of the Arab Uprisings posed an existential challenge to sovereign power across the Middle East. Whilst popular movements resulted in the toppling of authoritarian rule in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, other regimes were able to withstand these pressures. Houses Built on Sand questions why some regimes fell whilst others were able to survive. Drawing on the work of...

By examining the PMU's self-positioning as a pillar of Iraq's defence infrastructure, Iraq's Shi'a Warriors offers a critical perspective on the prospects for Security Sector Reform (SSR) and highlights the limitations of externally driven Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) efforts. This book speaks to scholars of Iraq and the Middle East, as well as diplomats, security actors, and SSR practitioners....

This book provides a novel analysis of the conceptual sources and ideological contours of the Assad regime. Romanticizing Masculinity in Baathist Syria documents the Baathists' fascination with romanticised and 'muscular' ideas of the nation that emerged in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European social philosophy. It traces the implementation and impacts of these ideologies in the Syrian context. Emphasising the emergence of...

This book offers a nuanced snapshot of the complex geopolitical dynamics in the Persian Gulf, underlining the interaction between Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Examining their interwoven relations since the 1970s, Luíza Cerioli's framework reveals how changes in US-Saudi ties have ripple effects on Iran-US and Iran-Saudi relations and vice versa. Using a historical lens, she explores how enduring...