International Relations in the Middle East: Hegemonic Strategies and Regional Order by Ewan Stein

Abstract

In this ambitious work, international relations scholar and Middle East politics specialist Ewan Stein takes on nothing less than the causes of order and disorder in the international politics of the Middle East. In doing so, he succeeds by producing a theoretically informed, analytical, and rich historical overview of Middle East regional politics from the end of the First World War to the early 2020s. Unlike works that deal with the region only as a kind of strategic arena, this book takes domestic politics very seriously and shows how internal politics affect external affairs and vice versa. Stein focuses on two key themes in state behavior in the Middle East: competitive support-seeking and ideological externalization. Given the broad historical scope of the book, the author starts with state formation and the creation of the modern Middle East as a regional system. Regime consolidation, he notes, is a continuous process, and hence, one continuing even today, as regimes attempt to shore themselves up and generate domestic support for their own longevity and survival. These domestic drivers lead regimes to compete with one another for external support, from economic aid to military support and alliances. But Stein is also deeply mindful of nonmaterial factors in the domestic and international politics of the region, emphasizing ideological and ideational factors as well, as regimes seek external ideological validation and support to enhance their domestic credentials and legitimacy.