Analyses the political and socio economic processes that led to the rise and fall of the UAR, as well as the ramifications of this episode on the Arab world. This book tells the story of this important, yet neglected, episode in Arab history. It is based on the archiveal material located in the US, Britain, Canada, Israel, and sources in Arabic.
British attitudes towards Arab unity have frequently been a source of controversy in the Middle East. From the Treaty of Versailles to the end of World War II, and the withdrawal of Mandates from the region, British involvement in Arab affairs has been well-documented from the British perspective. But here, Younan Labib Rizk provides a coherent Arab perspective. His analysis reveals not only how British government policy developed in this period but also the different influences on policy-making and implementation – from the changing situation on the ground to the state of Anglo-French relations and the concerns of the Cairo and India offices. He shows how all these factors coincided to produce a policy, repeated across several British administrations, which was consistently hostile towards the notion of Arab unity. While this conforms to traditional Arab views of British policy in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, the importance of Rizk's work lies in his extensive and meticulous research into British archives, through which he documents British attitudes and motivations. As he quotes the internal correspondence between departments and individual officials in the Foreign Office and its Eastern Department, the Colonial Office and several British Cabinets, Rizk shows that divisions within the Arab world – of which there were plenty – were initially exacerbated by British officials, and eventually acquired their own dynamic. This book enhances our understanding of how the international politics of the region evolved during a critical phase in the modern history of the Middle East.
Few empirical studies of Arab countries have dealt with political culture and political socialisation or focused on people's beliefs, values, and attitudes towards the government or political leaders, mainly because the regimes have been reluctant to allow opinion to be tested. The significance of this book is that it assesses the influence of state ideology on the new generation of Libyans, and examines their political culture.
One of the fundamental questions of Middle Eastern, and Lebanese studies in particular, is the history of the relationship between the Druze community and the state in modern Lebanon. Arguing that the Druze community has been politically alienated from the Lebanese state, this book explores the historical and political origins of this alienation. The Druze Community and the Lebanese State contends that the origins of this alienation lie in the state’s national ideology, its political confessional system, and the Druze’s historical background during the medieval period. Moreover, this book examines the extent to which the Druze’s attitude vis-à-vis the Lebanese state has been influenced by their historical rivalry with the Maronites. Particular emphasis is placed on the political and ideological practices adopted by the Druze leadership and intelligentsia as they dealt with the changes taking place in their community’s political status following the political settlements of 1920 and 1943 (the establishment of Greater Lebanon and the National Pact, respectively). A welcome addition to existing literature on Lebanon, this book will be an essential reference tool for students and researchers with an interest in nationalism, identity and Middle East Politics more broadly.
