Unipolarity and the Middle East

Book excerpt: The end of the Cold War profoundly affected Middle Eastern politics. In "Unipolarity and the Middle East," a neorealist model for unipolarity is put forward in order to explain the effects of the end of the Cold War as well as the subsequent international dynamics. The new international dynamics are analyzed as "unipolar" and the theoretical model conceptualizes these dynamics and their implications for international politics. The model is applied to Middle Eastern politics from 1989 to 1996, examining the series of international political events which took place during this period. Besides launching the first model of unipolarity, the book thus provides both a survey and an explanation of the changes in the Middle East since 1989, and the emergence of the new, unipolar world order.