Superpowers And Client States In The Middle East

This book, first published in 1991, examines in detail superpower-client relations in the Middle East. The Middle East, with its protracted and seemingly insoluble conflict and complex patterns of loyalty and hostility, is the ideal setting for the study of such relationships. Using the USSR and Syria, and the USA and Israel as case studies, this book illuminates the extent of superpower influence on client states but also the real constraints on their exercise of that influence. In analysing specific contexts over this period, the authors advance that tension between goals and constraints often favours the client state and that superpower relations are not those of dominance and subordination but bargaining relations in which clients have great leverage.

Strategically placed on the global chess board, as well as controlling vast oil resources, the Middle East was one of the main theatres of Cold War. In the 1950s the Soviet Union had taken advantage of Arab Nationalists’ disillusion with British and French Imperialism, along with the emerging Arab-Israeli conflict, to establish relations with Egypt, Syria and Iraq. The United States responded by moving in to shore up the Western position. Confrontation was inevitable. Superpower Intervention in the Middle East was written in 1978, when this confrontation was at its height. The book’s main theme focuses on how the superpowers became competitively involved in local Middle East conflicts over which they could exercise only limited control, and the risks of nuclear confrontation of the kind which occurred at the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The threat to Western oil supplies is also examined. This is a fascinating work, of great relevance to scholars and students of Middle Eastern history and political diplomacy, as well as those with an interest in the relationship between the Western superpowers and this volatile region.

The contributors to this book offer an explanation of Soviet and U.S. policy in the Middle East by exploring how the superpowers define their goals in the region, the factors that both stimulate and constrain the United States and the Soviet Union in the implementation of their objectives, and how their mutual perceptions influence behavior. The ch

This is an excellent first book by a young Lebanese scholar. He brings analytical sophistication and detailed knowledge of a wide variety of sources to bear on a crucial period when the Cold War was being fought out in the Middle East. He is quick to note that neither the United States nor the Soviet Union was particularly successful in exerting its influence in the region. In addition, the local powers quickly learned to exploit the superpower rivalry. He also vividly conveys how the Israeli challenge exacerbated inter-Arab relations. Finally, relying on Arabic sources, he gives a glimpse into the internal decision-making of Egypt and other Arab states, noting that they often overestimated their importance to outside powers. This well-researched and objective study is a welcome addition to serious history written by Middle East scholars from the region. -- from Foreign Affairs (May/June 1995).

This text presents an overview of the actions and policies of the United States and the Soviet Union in the Middle East, revealing how their intense rivalry on a global level led to self-defeating ignorance of important regional considerations.

Middle Eastern politics of the 1990s have been characterized by a drive towards peace. Whether this is successful or not will depend on the negotiating process. These articles discuss the challenges, and provide some practical advice on how risks of failure could be avoided.

"A valuable contribution to the existing literature on Anglo-American relations in general and on the International Relations of the Middle East in the 1950s in particular. The `special relationship' between Britain and the United States has been a persistent theme in public discourse since the Second World War but it is rarely treated with analytical rigour. It is refreshing therefore to come across a critical and unsentimental account of how this relationship works out in practice." Avi Shlaim, St. Antony's, Oxford --