The Middle East is in crisis. The shocking events of the war in the Gaza Strip have shaken the entire region. More than a decade ago, the Arab Spring had raised hopes for a new beginning, but instead triggered a series of civil wars, coups and even harsher autocracies. Tensions have been exacerbated by outside interference, as regional and global powers have sought to assert their interests. The United States, which had long played the dominant role, withdrew, leaving a power vacuum that is now being fought over. Christopher Phillips examines the geopolitical rivalries in the region and the key external powers vying for influence: Russia, China, the EU and the US. Drawing on ten key flashpoints, from Syria to Palestine, Phillips argues that the overstretch of the United States after the Cold War and its retreat in the 2010s have thrown the region out of balance. Today, the Middle East remains marked by conflicts of unprecedented violence and a post-American power struggle its fate uncertain.
Author
Phillips, Christopher
Title
Battleground
Details
English text, paperback. 328 pages.
State
new
Subtitle
Ten Conflicts that explain the new Middle East
Yale University Press 47 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP Vereinigtes Königreich
