In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Middle East became one of the major theatres of the Cold War as a result of its strategic importance and its oil resources. In this compelling new book leading scholars analyze, for the first time, the impact of the Cold War on the behavior of individual local actors at three levels: international politics, regional politics, and domestic politics. The result is a highly informative and thought-provoking book which sheds a great deal of new light on the politics of the Middle East in the postwar era.

• Introduction


• 1.: Fred Halliday (Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics): The Middle East, the Great Powers, and the Cold War


• 2.: Adeed Dawisha (Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia): Egypt


• 3.: Patrick Seale (writer and former foreign correspondent for Reuters and The Observer): Syria


• 4.: Fawaz Gerges (Assistant Professor of International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies, Sarah Lawrence College, New York): Lebanon


• 5.: Lawrence Tal (Lecturer in Politics at Trinity College, Oxford): Jordan


• 6.: Yezid Sayigh: The Palestinians


• 7.: Efraim Karsh (Professor and Head of the Mediterranean Studies Programme at King's College, University of London): Israel


• 8.: Charles Tripp (Senior Lecturer in Politics with reference to the Near and Middle East in the Department of Political Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London): Iraq


• 9.: Shahram Chubin (Executive Director, Research, Geneva Centre for Security Policy): Iran


• 10.: William Hale (Reader in Politics with special reference to Turkey at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London): Turkey


• Conclusion