Unfulfilled Aspirations: Middle Power Politics in the Middle East

by Adham Saouli (Editor)

Overview

The concepts and theories of what constitutes a 'Middle Power' have played a key part in explaining the identity, behavior and foreign policy roles of many states in the international system, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Brazil. But, with a few exceptions, these frameworks have failed to travel to scholarship on the Middle East, despite the theoretical and empirical potential that they offer for understanding regional dynamics.

The first of its kind, this volume addresses that major gap by interrogating the conceptual, theoretical and empirical underpinnings of the concept of 'Middle Power' at a regional level. Composed of nine chapters, Unfulfilled Aspirations offers the conceptual and theoretical tools to examine 'Middle Powerhood' in the Middle East, as well as insightful empirical analyses of both 'traditional' Middle Powers in the region (Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Algeria) and new, aspiring ones (Qatar, the UAE). The contributors reveal that the Middle Powers of the Middle East have failed, despite their best efforts, to fulfill their regional aspirations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197521885
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Adham Saouli, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of St Andrews

Adham Saouli is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of St Andrews, focusing on the genesis, development and behaviour of Middle Eastern political actors. He is the author of Hezbollah: Socialisation and its Tragic Ironies and The Arab State: Dilemmas of Late Formation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

About the Contributors ix

Introduction: Middle Powers in the Middle East Adham Saouli 1

1 Middling or Meddling? Origins and Constraints of External Influence in the Middle East Adham Saouli 11

2 Middle Power Theory at the Regional Level: An Analytical Framework for the Middle East May Darwich 31

3 Middle Eastern Middle Powers: The Roles of Norms in Mediation and Conflict Prevention Marco Pinfari 49

4 'A Giant Afraid of its Shadow': Algeria, the Reluctant Middle Power Yahia H. Zoubir 67

5 Egypt's Middle Power Aspirations Under el-Sisi Nael M. Shama 91

6 Iran: Aspirations and Constraints Amin Saikal 113

7 The Kingdom and the Glory? Saudi Arabia as a Middle Power in the Contemporary Middle East Simon Mabon 135

8 Small-State Aspirations to Middlepowerhood: The Cases of Qatar and the UAE Robert Mason 157

9 The UAE: A Small State with Regional Middle Power Aspirations Islam Hassan 183

Notes 203

Index 259

Editorial Reviews

"Bringing a wealth of fresh empirical data to the table and substantially progressing the theoretical debate on 'middle powerhood', this expertly edited volume significantly expands our understanding of some of the most important established and emerging actors in the Middle East region. Essential reading." — Christopher M. Davidson, author of Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success and Abu Dhabi: Oil and Beyond

"Powerful in its critique, Unfulfilled Aspirations is an indispensable guide to understanding why Middle Power Politics now matters so much to a region where, increasingly, actor identities and claims to legitimacy have recast the boundaries of cooperation and conflict."— Clive Jones, Professor of Regional Security, Durham University

"The greatest strength of [Unfulfilled Aspirations] is its clear and in-depth conjunction of theory and case-studies. Saouli's edited volume is a timely study of an important subject for Middle East studies."—International Affairs

From the Publisher