Persistent Permeability? Regionalism, Localism, and Globalization in the Middle East

With the collapse of the Middle East peace process, the 'war on terrorism' and US-led intervention in Iraq, the question of Middle East regionalism(s) has reached a new salience. Will such developments usher in a new wave of transnational politics, as events reverberate through a Middle East made even more permeable by new information technologies and transregional religious networks? Or will authoritarian states successfully insulate themselves from such effects? What impact will globalization have on local identities and local politics? To what extent might issues of regional permeability be mediated by class, gender, ethnicity, population migration, or other factors? The contributors to Persistent Permeability? address such questions from a variety of analytical perspectives. In doing so, they offer a valuable contribution, essential for all those interested in Middle East politics and international relations.

Contents: Pondering permeability: some introductory explorations, Bassel F. Salloukh and Rex Brynen; Theory and system in understanding Middle East international politics: rereading Paul Noble's 'The Arab System: Pressures, Constraints and Opportunities', F. Gregory Gause, III; Systemic factors do matter, but... reflections on the uses and limitations of systemic analysis, Paul Noble; Between conflict and cooperation: accommodation in the post-Cold War Middle East, James Devine; Regime autonomy and regional foreign policy choices in the Middle East: a theoretical exploration, Bassel F. Salloukh; Regional dynamics of refugee flows: the case of Iran, Asya El-Meehy; Permeability revisited: reflections on the regional repercussions of the al-Aqsa Intifada, Rex Brynen; Globalization of a torn state: Turkey from the Middle East to European integration, Ersel Aydinli; American hegemony and the changing terrain of Middle East international politics, Michael C. Hudson; Index.

Bassel F. Salloukh is a Professor in the Department of Arab and International Studies at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. Rex Brynen is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, Canada.