The Powder keg of the Middle East

by Ibrahim Tabet

The book covers the history of the Middle East from the creation of its Arab states to the present day. Beyond a history of events, it aims to show that the instability and violence that it continues to experience are as much due to the interference of great powers as to internal factors: failures and divisions of its authoritarian regimes, religious and ethnic heterogeneity of most countries in the region, the rise of radical Islamism. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, no region has been the scene of so many crises and wars: American invasion of Iraq, chaos caused by NATO's military intervention in Libya, wars in Yemen and Syria involving regional and international powers, Israeli occupation and colonization of the West Bank, resurgence of antagonism between Sunnis and Shiites, emergence of terrorist organizations representing a threat extending beyond the region, influx of migrants into Europe, Iran's hegemonic ambitions, authoritarian drift in Turkey. In the context of a recomposition of alliances and the regional balance of power, the conclusion asks about its future, which does not encourage optimism.