The Return of the Past: State, Identity, and Society in thePost–Arab Spring Middle East

This book argues that the Arab Spring brought to the forefront numerous societal, political, and historical problems in the Middle East that scholars and practitioners throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century have continually glossed over or reduced in their analysis and analytical frameworks when studying the Middle East. These include the prevalent and persistent impact of Islam on political life, an impact of transnational and subnational identities, including sect, tribe, and regional identity, as well as the overuse of the state as the fundamental unit of analysis when studying the region. As a result, this book asserts that primordial identities including religion, sect, and tribe have, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the conduct of politics in the Middle East.

Table of Contents:
Chapter One: The Despotism of the Revolution Chapter Two: On States and their Disintegration – An Anatomy of Failed States Chapter Three: The Shi’i Revival – The Rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran Chapter Four: The Islamic State: The Caliphate’s Iraqi Roots Chapter Five: Arab Spring and Regional Politics Chapter Six: The Middle East and Outside Powers

About the Author :
Uzi Rabi is director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African studies and senior researcher at the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University.

Review :
In a region proverbial for political turmoil the current decade has been particularly tumultuous. Professor Rabi takes the reader expertly through the complex history of The Arab Soring and its aftermath combining clarity with profound analysis. His book is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the current state of the Middle East, the roots of its instability and its future prospects. The descent of Syria, Libya and Yemen into a ‘heart of darkness’ has shattered many Western preconceptions over what change can and should look across the Arab Middle East. In this penetrating new study, Professor Uzi Rabi argues that the West has failed to fully appreciate the gamut of primordial identities that can and indeed have usurped the appeal of a more liberal state-based order. Often provocative, but always informed, this book is a must for all those wishing to understand the mosaic of competing actors and social forces that now shape Arab dispensations across the Middle East. Almost a decade on from the Arab Spring, Uzi Rabi presents a mature reflection on the changes – and the resistances to them – that it has inspired. He dispassionately shows that, despite the predictions of liberalization and a youth and social media-driven revolution, familiar patterns of social formation, religious and ethnic identity, and political culture have proven resilient within regional states, even as troubling constellations of interstate relations have emerged. The perspective he so adroitly presents is a sobering counterpoint to assumptions of, and prescriptions for, a ‘new Middle East’. Uzi Rabi undertakes to answer in this book the impelling question, how did the Middle East change following this dramatic eruption of the "Arab Spring" almost a decade ago. His knowledgeable and insightful response to the question covers such issues as the fragmentation of states, the widening of the sunni-shi'i schism, the expansion of Iranian intrusions, the vicissitudes of Islamist movements, the transformation of the regional system and the declining influence of the United States - all of which leading to the author's persuasive conclusion that new paradigms and roadmaps are now needed for comprehending this volatile and complex region.