The American Approach To The Arab World

"In few of its postwar policies has the United States been more ill at ease than in dealing with the Arab world...For two decades it has felt its way through the recurrent crises of the area, seldom entirely failing in its objectives, yet equally seldom quite reaching them. Bold initiative and sustained consistency have not been the hallmark of its approach." With these words John S. Badeau , who served as United States Ambassador to Egypt from 1961 to 1964, begins his reassessment of American policies in the Middle East. In setting forth the American approach to the area, Mr. Badeau carefully defines United States interests, primary and subsidiary. He evaluates the new forces of nationalism, non-alignment, and modernization in the Arab world, as well as national and personal rivalries, the tensions between the radical and conservative states, the residual onus of European colonialism, and the Soviet presence. In evaluating the instrumentalities and guidelines for the exercise of American foreign policy in the Middle East, Mr. Badeau also spells out the inevitable dilemmas that the United States must face. A case study of American diplomacy in Yemen illustrates both the opportunities for and the constraints on policy. He concludes that a reappraisal of United States policy in the area is in order, urging that our approach take into consideration not only our true interests and capabilities in the Middle East, but also the changing political realities of the Arab world.

"Events in the fall of 1973 made the American people suddenly aware of the importance of the Arab World to their well-being. The October War led to a brief but intense crisis with the Soviet Union, highlighted by a worldwide alert of American military forces, and a longer and more agonizing energy crunch created by the five-month oil embargo imposed by the Arab producers. People who had viewed the Middle East as a remote corner of the globe now realized how important this volatile area could be to American security and prosperity."--Foreword (p. v).

This comprehensive guide captures important trends in international relations (IR) pedagogy, paying particular attention to innovations in active learning and student engagement for the contemporary International Relations IR classroom.

A hard-hitting assessment of Obama's current foreign policy and a sweeping look at the future of the Middle East The 2011 Arab Spring upended the status quo in the Middle East and poses new challenges for the United States. Here, Fawaz Gerges, one of the world's top Middle East scholars, delivers a full picture of US relations with the region. He reaches back to the post-World War II era to explain the issues that have challenged the Obama administration and examines the president's responses, from his negotiations with Israel and Palestine to his drawdown from Afghanistan and withdrawal from Iraq. Evaluating the president's engagement with the Arab Spring, his decision to order the death of Osama bin Laden, his intervention in Libya, his relations with Iran, and other key policy matters, Gerges highlights what must change in order to improve US outcomes in the region. Gerges' conclusion is sobering: the United States is near the end of its moment in the Middle East. The cynically realist policy it has employed since World War II-continued by the Obama administration--is at the root of current bitterness and mistrust, and it is time to remake American foreign policy.

This book examines how ruling elites manage and manipulate their political opposition in the Middle East. In contrast to discussions of government-opposition relations that focus on how rulers either punish or co-opt opponents, this book focuses on the effect of institutional rules governing the opposition. It argues rules determining who is and is not allowed to participate in the formal political arena affect not only the relationships between opponents and the state, but also between various opposition groups. This affects the dynamics of opposition during prolonged economic crises. It also shapes the informal strategies that ruling elites use toward opponents. The argument is presented using a formal model of government-opposition relations. It is demonstrated in the cases of Egypt under Presidents Nasir, Sadat and Mubarek; Jordan under King Husayn; and Morocco under King Hasan II.

The Arab world is experiencing a variety of factors - internal and external - that are leading to change. This work examines such factors that are shaping political liberalisation and democratisation in the Arab context, as well as the role played by particular social groups.

The greatest danger to America’s peace and prosperity, notes leading Middle East policy analyst Kenneth M. Pollack, lies in the political repression, economic stagnation, and cultural conflict running rampant in Arab and Muslim nations. Pollack asserts that we must continue to make the Middle East a priority in our policy, but in a humbler, more realistic, and more cohesive way. In his long-term strategy, Pollack suggests that America engage directly with the governments of the Middle East and indirectly with its people by means of cultural exchange, commerce, and other “soft” approaches. He carefully examines each of the region’s most contested areas, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and explains how the United States can address each through mutually reinforcing policies. At a time when the nation is facing critical decisions about our continued presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, A Path Out of the Desert is guaranteed to stimulate debate about America’s humanitarian, diplomatic, and military involvement in the Middle East.