Overview

Examining globalization in the Middle East, this book provides a much needed assessment of the impact of globalization in the ‘greater’ Middle East, including North Africa, in the context of the powerful geopolitical forces at work in shaping the region today. Written by a well-known authority in this area, this book demonstrates that, unlike in other regions, such as East Asia, geopolitics has been a critical factor in driving globalization in the Middle East. The author argues that whereas elsewhere globalisation has opened up the economy, society, culture and attitudes to the environment; in the Middle East it has had the opposite effect, with poor state formation, little interregional trade, foreign and interregional investment, and reassertion of traditional identities. This book explores the impact of globalization on the polities, economies and social environment of the greater Middle East, in the context of the region’s position as the central site of global geopolitical competition at the start of the twenty-first century.

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9780415477123

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Reviews

'Anoushiravan Ehteshami combines the rich contextual knowledge of an area specialist with a masterful grasp of the rapidly changing dynamics of international politics. The result is an indispensable study of the impact of globalization on the geopolitics of the Middle East. This book will be welcomed as a major addition by specialists on the region, but Ehteshami's lucid style also makes it an accessible -- indeed, inviting -- introduction for non-specialists. Hopefully, it will garner the attention of policy makers as well.' - Ian Shapiro, Yale University, USA and author of Containment: Rebuilding a Strategy against Global Terror 'This useful survey of the dilemmas that confront the vast and complex region between Morocco and Central Asia in this era of rapid and world-wide change -- and of the corresponding opportunities and challenges that the region itself represents for the world as a whole -- should be useful for both beginning students and long-time observers of the Middle East.' - Lisa Anderson, Columbia University, USA 'Anoushiravan Ehteshami brings together the disciplinary focus of the social scientist and the expertise of the Middle Eastern specialist to provide a uniquely area-specific study of globalization. Thoroughly informed and always lucid, this book examines globalization's impact on perhaps the most critical region of the world, and convincingly argues that geopolitics can explain both the uncertain unfolding of and resistance to wider changes in the local context. It powerfully demonstrates that the interdependence and transnationalism of the Middle East are dependent on strategic events such as the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq -- a perspective of immense analytical and policy significance.' - James Piscatori, University of Oxford, UK 'Anoushirivan Ehteshami's important study, which is set apart from other recent volumes by his vast knowledge of the region... represents a major contribution to our understanding of the negative way globalization is perceived in this critically important part of the world.' - Robert E. Looney, Middle East Journal, Vol. 62, No. 1, Winter 2008

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University of Durham, UK

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