State-Building in the Middle East and North Africa: One Hundred Years of Nationalism, Religion and Politics

State-building projects in the MENA region have been difficult for a century due to the slow end of the Ottoman Empire, colonialism, and the rise of nationalistic and religious movements. The post-colonial state proved authoritarian and formed on the model of the colonial state, while nationalist and Islamist movements competed for political leadership. External powers reasserted their interventionism in the context of the Arab Spring and its conflict-filled aftermath, highlighting the deep connections between recent conflicts and crises and the foundational period of one century ago.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 18 November 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

State-building projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have faced significant challenges for a prolonged period. Following the end of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s, the countries of the region embarked on a tumultuous and fragmented process of state formation. However, a century later, state-building remains incomplete. This book delves into the origins and evolution of state-building in the MENA region, identifying the primary factors that hindered its success. The authors highlight the slow demise of the Ottoman Empire, the impact of colonialism, and the rise of nationalistic and religious movements. They reveal how the post-colonial state emerged as authoritarian and modeled after the colonial state, while also exploring the competing nationalist and Islamist movements that vied for political dominance within the nascent systems. The book further illustrates how external powers reasserted their interventionism during the Arab Spring and its aftermath, underscoring the interconnectedness of recent conflicts and crises with the foundational period of a century ago. Edited by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, the volume features contributions from esteemed scholars such as Faleh Abdel Jabar, Lisa Anderson, Bertrand Badie, François Burgat, Benoit Challand, Ahmad Khalidi, Henry Laurens, Bruce Rutherford, Jordi Tejel, and Ghassan Salamé.

Weight: 462g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780755601400