Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945
One fundamental question should be asked of many contemporary accounts of the history and politics of the Middle East in the latter half of the twentieth century. Why does so much analysis of the region take as read that the Middle East, unlike most other regions of the globe, is characterized by a Hobbesian state of nature where war and conflicts are inevitable and endemic? This book sets out to address this perception through examining a series of examples by way of a variety of factors and conditions which have given rise to war and conflicts.
Rather than comparing the region with others with a similar history of conflict such as Africa or Latin America, we have kept our focus on the Middle East. Suffice it to say that conflict ridden though this area has been since the Second World War, its history of confrontation and instability is arguably little different than war-torn western and central Africa or the former Yugoslavia. Its also worth recalling that much of the genesis of conflicts in the region has arisen from the same factors such as the legacy of colonialism and superpower rivalry, as in other parts of the globe. Nevertheless, the dominant perception in the West fed by prejudicial images of bloodthirsty Arabs pitted against their enemies or fighting amongst themselves demands an explanation. We have sought to find one in this book without, from the outset, accepting Hobbesian assumptions but seeking instead to find a less ‘Orientalist’ and more rational explanation for the presence of conflicts within the region... | 
