From the First World War to the Arab Spring: What’s Really Going On in the Middle East?

Front Matter....Pages i-xiii
Introduction....Pages 1-5
Front Matter....Pages 7-7
Sarajevo: Sunday, June 28, 1914....Pages 9-14
The British Empire and the Arab World: Ambition, Austerity, and a Class Apart....Pages 15-24
The French Empire and the Arab World: From the Crusades to the Civilizing Mission....Pages 25-37
The Russian Empire and the Arab World: Religion, Royalty, and the New Rome....Pages 39-46
The German Empire and the Arab World: Family Feuds and Eastern Ambitions....Pages 47-54
The Ottoman Empire: How the Arab World Was Won and Lost....Pages 55-65
Front Matter....Pages 67-67
London: Tuesday, December 21, 1915....Pages 69-75
The Arab World before the War: The Facts on the Ground....Pages 77-88
The Remaking of the Middle East: Enter the Nation-State....Pages 89-92
From Sykes-Picot to the Treaty of Sèvres: Betrayals, Backstabbing, and Broken Promises....Pages 93-99
The Poisoned Legacy and the War’s Unanswered Questions....Pages 101-106
Front Matter....Pages 107-107
Where to Begin?....Pages 109-112
Jerusalem: The Temple Mount....Pages 113-127
Jerusalem: The Noble Sanctuary....Pages 129-144
Front Matter....Pages 145-145
Cairo: Wednesday, July 23, 1952....Pages 147-152
The Kings, the Colonels, and the Political Time Warp: The Return of the Middle Ages....Pages 153-165
I Am the State: Power, Politics, and the Cult of Personality....Pages 167-184
The Problem of Absolute Power: From Stability to Stagnation....Pages 185-191
Front Matter....Pages 193-193
Mecca: Tuesday, November 20, 1979....Pages 195-200
Front Matter....Pages 193-193
1979: The View from Tehran....Pages 201-212
1979: Holy War and Unholy Alliances....Pages 213-220
The Arab Spring and the Democratic Alternative....Pages 221-234
Epilogue....Pages 235-236
Back Matter....Pages 237-279