State Failure In The Middle East (syria, Lebanon, Iraq And Yemen)

This book is invaluable for anyone seeking to understand how the state does, or rather does not, operate, in these four Middle Eastern examples, including academics, students and postgraduates, and professionals with an interest in the Middle East.

The collapse of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria begs the question as to why that country so lacked institutional and organized capacity that the Syrian state melted away. In neighbouring Lebanon, the state has been absent in any meaningful sense for much of the country’s independent history, while powerful sectarian interest groups dominate governance and maintain their own armed options. In Iraq, the state has collapsed twice since the US-led invasion of 2003 and is currently existing in parallel with armed sectarian militias whose political wings utilize governmental apparatus to further their narrow interests. In Yemen, there is no single state encompassing its internationally recognized boundaries, but instead there are three competing authorities ruling different parts of the country.

This book assesses why the state is failing in these four particular cases and, where relevant, examines common explanatory themes, while remaining mindful of each country’s distinct domestic and international context. Much of the material is based on research carried out in the countries themselves, involving interviews with existing or former state officials, their advisers, senior analysts, or those seeking state authority. Through this process a debate is conducted as to where power lies in each of the four cases.

This book will be invaluable for anyone seeking to understand how the state does, or rather does not, operate, in these four Middle Eastern examples, including academics, students and postgraduates, and professionals with an interest in the Middle East.

List of Figures

The Author

Acknowledgements

Glossary

Introduction

1 Syria

2 Lebanon

3 Iraq

4 Yemen

Conclusion

Index

“An invaluable, and urgently needed, guide to the most significant conundrum facing the contemporary Middle East: why and how are so many Arab states failed or failing entities? By examining in detail state failure in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, he (Partrick) has sketched an invaluable roadmap to the political crisis that has rendered so many Arab countries hotbeds of instability, extremism, foreign meddling, terrorism and refugee flight. Anyone seeking to understand the cascading disasters in the Arab world need to look no further than this crucial volume. It is an indispensable addition to the literature on one of the world’s most important yet troubled regions, and will remain required reading for decades.”

Dr Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar, AGSIW (Arab Gulf Studies Institute in Washington)

“This cutting-edge study explores power contestations between nominal state and non-state actors, focusing on the Middle East’s ‘weakest’ states where the genealogical lines of power relations have been broken due to civil war and external nation-building. Partrick, a foremost expert in the field, offers a sophisticated and highly informative analysis of the intricacies of state dysfunctionality which will be indispensable for scholars and policy makers.”

Gabriele vom Bruck, SOAS, University of London

“Collapse of the state devastates lives. Partrick looks through the eyes of people on the ground to show the dynamics of power inside and outside the state bodies of very different countries in the Middle East. This is first class research that explains clearly the events, the causes and the consequences of state failure.”

Sir Richard Dalton, former UK Consul-general in Jerusalem and Ambassador to Libya and Ir