Adham Saouli | University of St Andrews (original) (raw)

Books by Adham Saouli

Edinburgh University Press , 2019

Explains Hezbollah’s ceaseless drive for survival and the unintended, tragic consequences it has ... more Explains Hezbollah’s ceaseless drive for survival and the unintended, tragic consequences it has generated.

What drives Hezbollah’s political behaviour? For three decades we believed that the impetus of establishing an Islamic state in Lebanon was its main goal. This book disagrees. Drawn from over fifteen years of research, it traces Hezbollah’s political trajectory, or socialisation process, from its birth in 1982 to 2017. It identifies the religio-political identity and doctrine that inspire Hezbollah and the politico-strategic goals that motivate it. It argues that war-making with Israel has driven Hezbollah’s socialisation in Lebanon and the region, transforming the Islamist movement from a loose organization into one of the world’s most powerful and sophisticated armed political movements.

This book explores the conditions of state formation and survival in the Middle East. Based on Hi... more This book explores the conditions of state formation and survival in the Middle East. Based on Historical Sociology, it provides a model for study of the state in the Arab world and a theory to explain its survival.

Examining states as a ‘process’, the author argues that what emerged in the Middle East in the beginning of the twentieth century are ‘social fields’—where states form and deform—and not states as defined by Max Weber. He explores the constitutions of these fields—their cultural, material and political structures—and identifies three stages of state development in which different cases can be located. Capturing the dilemmas that ‘late-forming states’ face as regimes within them cope with domestic and international pressure, the author illustrates several Middle East cases and presents a detailed analysis of state developments in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

He maintains that more than the domestic characteristics of individual states, state survival in the Middle East is also a function of the anarchic nature of the international (and by extension the regional) states-system.

The first to raise the question on the survivability of the territorial states in the Middle East while engaging with both International Relations and Comparative Politics theories, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Middle East politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations.

Edited Volumes by Adham Saouli

The concept of and approaches to “middlepowerhood” have been key to explaining the identity, beha... more The concept of and approaches to “middlepowerhood” have been key to explaining the identity, behavior, and foreign policy roles of many states (such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia, or Brazil) in the international system. However, with the exception of a few studies, this literature has failed to examine cases from the Middle East region, despite the theoretical and empirical potential that regional dynamics offer for such an examination. Only a few studies have utilized the concept to understand or explain the behavior of regional actors. This volume addresses this major gap by offering several contributions that interrogate the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical underpinnings of the concept of “middle power” or “middlepowerhood” by examining several cases from the Middle East region.

The volume raises several core questions: What is a middle power, and what does it mean to be a middle power in the Middle East? What drives middle power behavior? Is it the identity, material attributes, or the position of a state in regional and international orders? Should we focus on the behavior or attributes of states to determine whether they fit the category of middlepowerhood? Empirically, why do some regional actors aspire to be middle powers, while others refrain from doing so? What induces or constrains the behavior of middle powers?

Peer-Reviewed Articles by Adham Saouli

The Arab State: A Historical Sociology Approach, 2022

This study presents a theoretical framework on and empirical accounts of state formation, develop... more This study presents a theoretical framework on and empirical accounts of state formation,
development, and deformation in the Arab world. Taking a comparative historical methodology, the article
raises several questions: What is the difference between a regime and a state? What kind of regimes
emerged in the Arab world and how do we explain variations in their formations and types? Why have some
state-building processes failed whilst others succeeded? The study's main finding is that state building in
the Arab world can be described as a bell-shaped curve rather than a linear approximation of Weberian or
Westphalian notions of statehood.

International Studies Perspectives, Dec 17, 2021

Can International Relations (IR) as it is taught in the Arab world be said to be an “American soc... more Can International Relations (IR) as it is taught in the Arab world be said to be an “American social science” or is it taught differently in different places? The forum addresses this question through an exploration of what and how scholars at Arab universities are teaching IR and how institutional, historical, and linguistic, as well as political and individual factors shape classroom dynamics in the Arab world. This forum attempts to bring the classroom into the Global/Post-Western debate by showing how IR can be taught differently in different places with a focus on a region under-represented in IR debates: the Arab world. The essays, exhibiting diversity in pedagogical strategies and theoretical perspectives, provide a window into how the “international” is perceived and taught locally by teachers and students in various Arab contexts. While the influence from the American “core” of the discipline is obvious, the forum documents how the theoretical and conceptual foundations of IR based on Western perspectives and history do not travel intact. The essays collectively provide evidence of different kinds of IRs not just across but also within regions and show that studying pedagogy can become a way to study how disciplinary IR varies contextually.

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 2021

Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 2019

The political trajectories of Iraq and Lebanon evoke interesting scholarly puzzles. Both cases ca... more The political trajectories of Iraq and Lebanon evoke interesting scholarly puzzles. Both cases can be categorised as ‘deeply divided societies’, but the 20th Century has pulled them in opposing directions on the authoritarianism-democracy continuum: a power-sharing, ‘consociational’ model in Lebanon and an authoritarian, ‘control’ regime in Iraq (Lustick 1979) . On the other hand, with the fall of the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraqi politics began to resemble Lebanon’s consociational politics. In this study I take a longitudinal approach to explain the roots and trajectories that led the Iraqi and Lebanese political regimes to first diverge and then converge. I do this by primarily focusing on the factor of sectarianism. My central concern is why and in what ways has sectarianism shaped the political trajectories and regime types in the two cases; and, inversely, how was sectarianism shaped by these trajectories and regimes.

To address this puzzle, I first offer a framework to analyse sectarianism. I argue that we need to locate sectarianism in its specific socio-political context and in relation to other factors (class, ethnicity, war) that shape political life. The aim is to examine how and to what extent when politicized sectarianism becomes a resource that shapes political dynamics, specifically the formation and deformation of political regimes.
Second, I demonstrate how varying processes of state formation have set Iraq and Lebanon on divergent trajectories that generated different political regimes. The drawing of national borders in Iraq and Lebanon formed new socio-political contexts for sectarian communities to interact and to negotiate varying political visions. I show that whilst Lebanon, following precedents in the 19th century, transformed sectarianism into a historical institution that established the basis for a consociational democracy that perpetuated sectarian expression, various Iraqi regimes, in attempting to advance their own concept of national community and to legitimise their own power, sought to repress sectarianism and pursued alternative authoritarian political models.

I then examine the conditions that led the two political regimes to converge. I illustrate that, unlike Lebanon where sectarian boundaries where drawn early on, sectarianisation in Iraq was gradual, when successive regimes activated kin and sectarian ties from above to secure their power and by the resistance to and mobilisation of various politico-sectarian forces from below, such as the Shi’a Dawa, to regime dominance.
Finally, I present an analysis of sectarianism in post-2003 Iraq and show how it shaped the contentious state (re-)building process. I also highlight the emergence of a consociational order in Iraq, whilst comparing it to Lebanon’s system.

This article contributes to debates that aim to go beyond the ‘democratisation’ and ‘post-democra... more This article contributes to debates that aim to go beyond the ‘democratisation’ and ‘post-democratisation’ paradigms to understand change and continuity in Arab politics. In tune with calls to focus on the actualities of political dynamics, the article shows that the literatures on State Formation and Contentious Politics provide useful theoretical tools to understand change/continuity in Arab politics. It does so by examining the impact of the latest Arab Uprisings on state formation trajectories in Iraq and Syria. The Uprisings have aggravated a process of regime erosion—which originated in post-colonial state-building attempts—by mobilising sectarian and ethnic identities and exposing the counties to geo-political rivalries and intervention, giving rise to trans-border movements, such as ISIS. The resulting state fragmentation has obstructed democratic transition in Syria and constrained its consolidation in Iraq.

In January/February 2011, the world watched with admiration the Egyptian revolution that toppled ... more In January/February 2011, the world watched with admiration the Egyptian revolution that toppled President Housni Mubarak. The demonstration in Midan al-Tahrir (Liberation Square in central Cairo), which was the nucleus of the revolution, highlighted a largely spontaneous, civil and peaceful political performance. However, this performance was temporary, contradicting subsequent bloody conflicts in post-revolutionary Egypt. This article examines the socio-political origins of the Midan performance. It argues that the demonstrators exercised collective restraint, which was temporary but necessary, in order to topple Mubarak. Building on Norbert Elias’ civilising process theory and social movements literature, it is argued that the origins of this performance are found in a collective knowledge of regime strategy and narrative, Egyptian socio-political values and existing repertoires of contention. Drawing on primary sources and semi-structured interviews, the article contends that the demonstrators exercised collective restraint to reframe regime narrative and draw public support for the revolution.

This article examines the intellectual impact of Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (1935–2010)... more This article examines the intellectual impact of Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah (1935–2010) on Hizbullah's political behaviour. Many depicted Fadlallah as the ‘spiritual guide’ and ‘oracle’ of Hizbullah, while others accentuated his socio-political independence and the potential he represented as an ‘alternative’ to Hizbullah and Iran. This study argues that Fadlallah directly influenced Hizbullah's political worldviews, but the Islamic movement's socialisation in Lebanon, its dependence on Iran and its war with Israel have led it to pursue a separate path from Fadlallah. But despite the separation, the Ayatollah shared a common world vision with Hizbullah and the Islamic Republic, and would not have formed an alternative. The article is divided into two sections. The first examines the socio-political origins of Fadlallah and Hizbullah as an intellectual and a political movement, respectively, and conceptualises the discursive and political fields that motivate the behaviour of the two actors. The second section assesses the impact of Fadlallah's ideas on Hizbullah by focusing on three main themes: (1) Islamic liberation and resistance against injustice; (2) the Islamic state and Lebanon; and (3) Wilayat al-Faqih and Islamic Iran.

Syria’s war raises important questions about the interaction between the domestic and external di... more Syria’s war raises important questions about the interaction between the domestic and external dimensions of the conflict. What are the main areas of contention, and how do they relate to regional and international dynamics? Why has the conflict developed into a regional and international battle, and who are the main actors in this rivalry? And, finally, what are the realistic options for ending the Syrian war? The aim of this paper is to answer these questions. In the first, the author examines the domestic origins of the Syrian crisis by focusing on the process of state formation and deformation in Syria. Then, he considers the main areas of contention that shape the Syrian civil war and its regional and international dimensions. Finally, he assesses the conditions under which Syria – as a divided state in a polarised region – can end the war. He argues that in the absence of a military solution to the war in Syria, a political solution may be the only hope for ending the crisis; but such a solution is fraught by varying domestic and external interests in Syria.

This study builds on Norbert Elias's ‘civilising process’ theory to examine when, how and why Leb... more This study builds on Norbert Elias's ‘civilising process’ theory to examine when, how and why Lebanon's Hizbullah exercises self-restraint or violence in its political interactions. As opposed to studies that focus on how Hizbullah's ideological goals determine its political behaviour, this study argues that Hizbullah's political conduct should be understood by locating the Islamic party at the crossroads of war-making with Israel and state-making in Lebanon. Hizbullah's aim to minimise its vulnerability to Israel led it to rationalise its behaviour in Lebanon by exercising self-restraint and by remoulding its ideology. However, as the political divide in Lebanon has sharpened and the state there weakened, Hizbullah has advanced to fill the void by employing state-like measures, including violence.

Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2006

The aim of this article is to explain variations in the stability of Lebanon. Against synchronic ... more The aim of this article is to explain variations in the stability of Lebanon. Against synchronic and domestic treatments of state stability in the developing world, this article historicises state stability, arguing that there is a time gap dividing old states, which structure the international system, and states in late formation. It argues that variation in the stability of Lebanon is a function of early state formation and the country's position in the state system. This study finds a causal relation between the intensity of regional conflict and level of stability in Lebanon. Historical asymmetrical differences among Lebanon's communities meant that responses to regional crises in Lebanon varied in accordance with the position of each actor in the domestic balance of power. These multiple responses have led to internal instability. The more intense the regional conflict, the more unstable Lebanon has tended to become, and vice versa.

This article studies the political organization of the Arab minority in Israel up to the time of ... more This article studies the political organization of the Arab minority in Israel up to the time of the recent disturbances. The primary concern of the article is to shed light on the development of Arab political organization and Arab political significance on Israeli politics. The paper examines four main research components: (1) nature and scope of Arab political organizations, (2) Arab-Jewish relations in Israel, (3) level and significance of Arab political organizations, and (4) impact of the Arab-Israeli conflict on Arab political organizations and Arab-Jewish relations in the Israeli state. Until the current year there were indications that Arab political influence within the Israeli state was becoming more evident. The future cannot be foreseen at the present time.

Peer-reviewed Book Chapters by Adham Saouli

The Routledge Handbook to the Middle East and North African State and States System

The Middle East has failed to produce great powers, but has not been in short supply of influent... more The Middle East has failed to produce great powers, but has not been in short supply of influential regional middle powers. These influential actors have played key roles in shaping the regional political order and in both resisting and enabling international penetration of the region. In this chapter, I identify and examine the elements that induce or hinder a middle power behavior in the Middle East.

The behavior of regional middle powers offers useful challenges to and avenues for developing our conceptual and theoretical understandings of middle power behavior. Owing to its origins, the concept of “middle power” demarcated states that are neither great nor weak in their size, economic capability, and military power. However, an examination of Middle East regional rivalries questions this assumption; it reveals that regional influence can be exerted by actors that vary in size and capabilities. On the other hand, I find that although some actors possess middle power attributes, they choose to refrain from transforming this potential into real power.

In this study I show that while it is important to consider the constitutive elements of a state, it is more useful to focus on its foreign policy behavior to account for its ability to pursue middle power politics. My working assumption is that the constitutive elements—economic wealth, military capabilities, and normative powers—are partly or in total necessary to pursue middle power behavior, but not sufficient. A regime, I find, needs to have the will and interest to pursue middle power behavior.
The chapter divides into three sections. First, I discuss the constitutive and behavioral elements of middle powers in the Middle East and present a conceptual analysis that identifies six attributes a middle power should possess. Second, I identify four domestic variables that may hinder or induce middle power behavior in the Middle East. In the last section, I present a detailed empirical analysis of three types of middle powers in the region—The Aspirant, The Constrained, and The Hesitant—by examining representative cases of Iran, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Routledge, 2019

Towards the end of his book on Hezbollah, first published in 2002, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’... more Towards the end of his book on Hezbollah, first published in 2002, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General, considered two scenarios that would threaten his movement’s survival. The first was a domestic crisis with the Lebanese army or other political forces, that would threaten Hezbollah’s status as an armed movement; the second, an increase in pressure (international and regional) on Syria to abandon the Islamist movement. As Syria is a major ally of Hezbollah, he cautioned, the loss of its backing could expose the party and facilitate the targeting of its armed resistance. By 2012, Qassem’s fears had materialised.
In May 2013, Hezbollah announced to the world one of its most controversial decisions: military intervention in Syria. In this chapter I examine the causes and consequences of Hezbollah’s strategic intervention in Syria. I argue that Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria was due to the changing military balance in Syria in late 2012, which threatened to overthrow its ally, the Assad regime, and to dismantle the three-decade old alliance, the “Resistance and Refusal Axis,” which tied Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s survival was at stake. Attuned to the Iranian strategy in the region, Hezbollah’s military intervention aimed to preserve Assad’s regime as a countervailing force against the Syrian opposition (rather than seeking victory over this opposition), to control strategic areas on the Lebanese-Syrian border, and to gradually alter the strategic threat in Syria into an opportunity to fight Israel and constrain its actions. The emergence of the “Islamic State” and other al-Qaida-affiliated movements in Syria reinforced, but did not cause, Hezbollah’s strategic military intervention in Syria.
The chapter is divided into three sections. First, I examine the goals of and Hezbollah’s membership in the Resistance and Refusal Axis (henceforth, the Resistance Axis). Second, I assess the strategic challenge the Syrian uprising (notably in the period 2011-13) represented to Hezbollah and its allies against a background of strained Lebanese-Syrian relations since 2004. Finally, I examine the impact of Hezbollah’s intervention on the war in Syria and its consequences on Hezbollah’s status in Lebanon and the wider Arab world.

Edinburgh University Press , 2019

The Arab State: A Historical Sociology Approach, 2022

International Studies Perspectives, Dec 17, 2021

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 2021

Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 2019

Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2006

The Routledge Handbook to the Middle East and North African State and States System

Routledge, 2019

Routledge , 2018

This chapter argues that the multi-faceted process of state-building in Baathist Syria has genera... more This chapter argues that the multi-faceted process of state-building in Baathist Syria has generated the conditions of regime erosion and state disintegration by 2012. This, the chapter shows, is due to three interdependent processes. First, struggles for political and ideological domination at intra-regime and regime-society levels had led to the monopolisation of power by a narrow ruling elite, leading to mass political exclusion. Second, in its attempts to consolidate its power, the Baathist military elite, resorted, like previous Syrian regimes, to kinship (sectarian, tribal, familial) and regional ties, which have, intentionally or not, effectively activated identity and regional cleavages—social bonds which Baathist ideology had hoped to deconstruct. Third, domestic political exclusion coupled with identity divides have made Syria and its regime vulnerable to external threats and episodic intervention. These external threats reinforced the regime’s authoritarian drive and deepened domestic sectarian and political cleavages. When the uprisings took place in 2011, Syria was prone for popular mobilisation; its geopolitical location and the regime’s alliance with Iran and Hizbullah made it vulnerable for external intervention

One of the most interesting consequences of the Arab awakening has been the central role of Salaf... more One of the most interesting consequences of the Arab awakening has been the central role of Salafists in a number of countries. In particular, there seems to have been a move away from traditional quietism towards an increasing degree of politicisation. The arrival on the political scene of Salafist parties in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, as well as the seemingly growing desire of Salafists in other Arab countries to enter institutional politics through the creation of political parties, highlights quite clearly the debates around how to react to the awakening within Salafist circles.

This book examines in detail how Salafism, both theologically and politically, is contending with the Arab uprisings across a number of countries. The focus is primarily on what kind of politicisation, if any, has taken place and what forms it has adopted. As some of the contributions make clear, politicisation does not necessarily diminish the role of jihad or the influence of quietism, revealing tensions and struggles within the complex world of Salafism.

As fragmented states, Lebanon and Iraq suffer from what one may call political schizophrenia. Lik... more As fragmented states, Lebanon and Iraq suffer from what one may call political schizophrenia. Like schizophrenia, this is a personality split resulting from the coexistence of opposed sets of identities and pursuits. In the political world, this condition affects how a state responds to its environment. While sufferers of schizophrenia have a tendency to dissociate themselves from their environment, their political counterparts cannot afford such isolation. The geopolitical location of Iraq (in the heart of the Middle East) and Lebanon (a buffer-zone between Syria and Israel) has shaped the political development and foreign behaviour of these two states. As late comers to the international system and as states-in-the-making, Iraq and Lebanon share many of the dilemmas of other Arab states (Saouli 2012, 49-67). Their peculiarity, however, lies in their ethnic and sectarian compositions which have hitherto constrained state consolidation, making them vulnerable to external influence. The political struggles inherent in state making processes, and the politicisation of Iraqi and Lebanese identities, as I will argue in this chapter, make it impossible to talk about one foreign ‘policy’ in these cases. Although Iraq and Lebanon are units (nominally ‘sovereign states’) in the international system, their foreign behaviour is not unitary; rather each unit generates multiple foreign policies.

Global Discourse, 2019

This short piece responds to Saad’s ‘Challenging the sponsor-proxy model’. Saad’s article raises ... more This short piece responds to Saad’s ‘Challenging the sponsor-proxy model’. Saad’s article raises serious questions about the sponsor-proxy model. Saad successfully shows how the model reduces the ties between the sponsor and the proxy to material factors while striping the ‘proxy’ from its cultural and political agency. This, she shows, fails to capture the complex relationship that ties Iran to Hizbullah. While this attempt to problematise the model should be commended, the framework she proposes requires some further elucidation, which may offer important avenues to understand the Iran–Hizbullah connection.

British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2014

This paper examines the intellectual impact of Ayotallah Muhamad Hussein Fadlallah (1935-2010) on... more This paper examines the intellectual impact of Ayotallah Muhamad Hussein Fadlallah (1935-2010) on Hizbullah's political behaviour. Many depicted Fadlallah as the 'spiritual guide' and 'oracle' of Hizbullah, while others accentuated his socio-political independence and the potential he represented as an 'alternative' to Hizbullah and Iran. This study argues that Fadlallah directly influenced Hizbullah's political worldviews, but the Islamic movement's socialisation in Lebanon, its dependence on Iran, and its war with Israel have led it to pursue a separate path from Fadlallah. But despite the separation, the Ayatollah shared a common world vision with Hizbullah and the Islamic Republic, and would not have formed an alternative. The paper divides into two sections. The first examines the socio-political origins of Fadlallah and Hizbullah as an intellectual and a political movement, respectively, and conceptualises the discursive and political fields that motivate the behaviour of the two actors. The second section assesses the impact of Fadlallah's ideas on Hizbullah by focusing on three main themes: (a) Islamic liberation and resistance against injustice; (b) the Islamic state and Lebanon; and (c) Wilayat al-Fakih and Islamic Iran. Not ideas, but material and ideal interests, directly govern men's conduct. Yet very frequently the 'world images' that have been created by 'ideas' have, like switchmen, determined the tracks along which action has been pushed by the dynamic of interest. Max Weber 2 political party, nor did he affiliate to a public religious institution. 3 But misconceptions remain about Fadlallah's relationship with Hizbullah. Many in the Western and Arab worlds emphasised Fadlallah's attachment to Hizbullah, 4 arguing that Fadlallah's thought and guidance had been crucial for Hizbullah's birth and political evolution. 5 His endless calls for religious and political dialogue, modernist approach to religion, and politico-religious independence from Islamic Iran, on the other hand, led others to accentuate his autonomy. 6 After his death, many lamented the loss of the most influential 'alternative' to Hizbullah and Iran's political and religious clout in Lebanon. 7 Jamal Sankari describes Fadlallah's relation to Hizbullah as one of 'ambivalence and symbiosis'. 8 Interestingly, Hizbullah's characterization of its relations to Fadlallah reflects this opacity. In its founding manifesto (1985), Hizbullah identified Imam Khomeini, not Fadlallah, as its main ideological patron; after Khomeini's death, the movement expressed loyalty to Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. With Fadlallah's death, Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah's Secretary General, eulogised the Ayotallah as a 'merciful father, wise guide' and a teacher of dialogue and resistance against occupation and injustice. 9

Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism

Although Iraq and Lebanon are deeply divided societies, they have followed varying political traj... more Although Iraq and Lebanon are deeply divided societies, they have followed varying political trajectories. Whilst Lebanon has accommodated sectarianism within a consociational democracy since its inception, until 2003 Iraq had an authoritarian regime that ostensibly repressed sectarianism. However, after 2003, Iraqi politics began to converge with the consociationalism of Lebanon. Taking a longitudinal approach, the study explains this puzzle by focusing on one factor: sectarianism. It asks how and why sectarianism has shaped the political trajectories and regime types in the two cases and, conversely, how sectarianism has been shaped by these trajectories and regimes.

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding , 2021

Lebanon's turbulent history has seen many political assassinations, but only one, the assassinati... more Lebanon's turbulent history has seen many political assassinations, but only one, the assassination of PM Rafic Hariri, led to the establishment of an international tribunal-The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in 2009. Why was the STL created? This study suggests that the creation of the STL constituted a 'normative intervention': purposeful attempts by domestic and international actors to transmit norms and institutions to a country to realize political goals. Normative interventions, particularly in divided societies, trigger 'normative contestations', which are shaped by the identities and interests of various actors. The result reveals that normative interventions deepen existing political cleavages.

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 2021

Lebanon's turbulent history has seen many political assassinations, but only one, the assassinati... more Lebanon's turbulent history has seen many political assassinations, but only one, the assassination of PM Rafic Hariri, led to the establishment of an international tribunal-The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)in 2009. Why was the STL created? This study suggests that the creation of the STL constituted a 'normative intervention': purposeful attempts by domestic and international actors to transmit norms and institutions to a country to realize political goals. Normative interventions, particularly in divided societies, trigger 'normative contestations', which are shaped by the identities and interests of various actors. The result reveals that normative interventions deepen existing political cleavages.

The Routledge Handbook to the Middle East and North African State and States System

Book Teaser, 2020

The first of its kind, this volume addresses that major gap by interrogating the conceptual, theo... more 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.

المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات, Jul 2024

يبحث الكتاب عوامل تشكُّل الدولة وبقاءها في الشرق الأوسط، ويُقدّم نموذجًا لدراسةِ الدولة، ونظرية ل... more يبحث الكتاب عوامل تشكُّل الدولة وبقاءها في الشرق الأوسط، ويُقدّم نموذجًا لدراسةِ الدولة، ونظرية لتفسير بقاءها في العالم العربي، انطلاقًا من مُقاربة سوسيولوجية تاريخية. يعالج المؤلّف الدولة بوصفها سيرورة، ويُجادل بأنّ ما ظهر في الشرق الأوسط في بدايات القرن العشرين، ليس "دولًا" ناضجة بالمفهوم الفيبري (نسبة إلى ماكس فيبر)، بل فضاءات اجتماعية تتشكّل الدول فيها أو تتفكّك، ويستكشفُ المؤلف البنى الثقافية والمادية والسياسية لهذه الفضاءات، ويُحدّد ثلاثة مراحل لتطوُّر الدولة، والّتي يُمكن من خِلالها تصنيف حالات مُختلفة. وبرصده للمُعضلات الّتي تواجهها الدول "المُتأخّرة التّشكل" في أثناء محاولة أنظمتها الحاكمة التأقلُم مع الضغوط الداخلية والخارجية، يستعرض المؤلّف العديد من الحالات في الشرق الأوسط، ويُقدّم تحليلًا مُفصّلًا لنشأة الدولة وتطورها في المملكة العربية السعودية والعراق. ويؤكّد المؤلّف أنّ مسألة بقاء الدولة بحدودها القائمة في الشرق الأوسط لا تُعزى إلى العوامل المحلية لكل دولة فحسب، بل إن ثمّة دورًا أساسيًا تؤديه الطبيعة الأناركية للنسقين الإقليمي والدولي في إعادة إنتاج الدولة الوطنية. وبكونه أول كتاب يطرحُ مسألة بقاء الدول الوطنية في الشرق الأوسط، وباشتباكه مع نظريات العلاقات الدولية والسياسة المُقارنة، يُعدُّ هذا الكتاب مُفيدًا للطلبة والباحثين في سياسة الشرق الأوسط، والسياسة المُقارنة، والعلاقات الدولية.