Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State
Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East
9781914983306
9781914983313
Distributed for Gingko
Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State
Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East
A wide-ranging, innovative, and essential exploration of the politics of today’s Middle East.
Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State: Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East seeks to present a new understanding of a region of unprecedented volatility, where postcolonial projects of state-driven development have now expired, old ruling elites have been delegitimized, and political Islam discredited. The work of Charles Tripp, professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) for over three decades, has shaped a distinct approach to the study of Middle East politics with an analytical sensibility that is empirically rich, theoretically insightful, and historically sensitive. This volume brings together contributions from ten political scientists and historians from across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, each of which takes Tripp’s work as an intellectual point of departure for studying Middle East politics.
Against this background, the contributors explore the contemporary developments that have emerged to fill the intellectual and material shortcomings created by the systemic failures of economics and politics in the region.
The contributions focus on four themes that are central to an understanding of Middle East politics—power, resistance, ideology, and the state—to examine political trends in cases ranging from Iran and Iraq to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Each chapter combines extensive field research and a knowledge of regional politics with methodological and philosophical reflexivity to produce a collection of papers at the cutting edge of contemporary Middle East Studies.
Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State: Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East seeks to present a new understanding of a region of unprecedented volatility, where postcolonial projects of state-driven development have now expired, old ruling elites have been delegitimized, and political Islam discredited. The work of Charles Tripp, professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) for over three decades, has shaped a distinct approach to the study of Middle East politics with an analytical sensibility that is empirically rich, theoretically insightful, and historically sensitive. This volume brings together contributions from ten political scientists and historians from across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, each of which takes Tripp’s work as an intellectual point of departure for studying Middle East politics.
Against this background, the contributors explore the contemporary developments that have emerged to fill the intellectual and material shortcomings created by the systemic failures of economics and politics in the region.
The contributions focus on four themes that are central to an understanding of Middle East politics—power, resistance, ideology, and the state—to examine political trends in cases ranging from Iran and Iraq to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Each chapter combines extensive field research and a knowledge of regional politics with methodological and philosophical reflexivity to produce a collection of papers at the cutting edge of contemporary Middle East Studies.
296 pages | 6.02 x 9.21 | © 2025
History: Middle Eastern History
Political Science: Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, and International Relations
Table of Contents
1. Symbolic Politics and Secular Logics in the Middle East and
North Africa: Charles Tripp as Social Theorist 1
Daniel Neep
2. States, Elites, and the Management of Change in Beirut’s
Post-Civil War Reconstruction 29
Hannes Baumann
3. Digital Entrepreneurs and State Resilience under Sanctions
in Iran 55
Evaleila Pesaran
4. ‘My Dream and My Country Walked Away from Each Other’:
Youth, Education and Political Agency in Asad’s Syria 83
Aurora Sottimano
5. Performing the Jordanian State: Intervention, Aid Dependence
and Eternal Reform 123
Benjamin Schuetze
6. Producing the ‘Weak’ State in Lebanon: The Shadow State
at Play 147
Jamil Mouawad
7. Charles Tripp, Pierre Bourdieu and Writing a Modern
History of Iraq 177
Toby Dodge
8. The British Empire, the Modern State and the Institutionalisation
of Sectarian Difference 207
Toby Matthiesen
9. Myths of the Iran–Iraq War and the Development of the
Praetorian State in Iran 241
Ali M. Ansari10. The Middle East and International Relations: History Lessons
Not Learned 265
Louise Fawcett
Acknowledgements 287
North Africa: Charles Tripp as Social Theorist 1
Daniel Neep
2. States, Elites, and the Management of Change in Beirut’s
Post-Civil War Reconstruction 29
Hannes Baumann
3. Digital Entrepreneurs and State Resilience under Sanctions
in Iran 55
Evaleila Pesaran
4. ‘My Dream and My Country Walked Away from Each Other’:
Youth, Education and Political Agency in Asad’s Syria 83
Aurora Sottimano
5. Performing the Jordanian State: Intervention, Aid Dependence
and Eternal Reform 123
Benjamin Schuetze
6. Producing the ‘Weak’ State in Lebanon: The Shadow State
at Play 147
Jamil Mouawad
7. Charles Tripp, Pierre Bourdieu and Writing a Modern
History of Iraq 177
Toby Dodge
8. The British Empire, the Modern State and the Institutionalisation
of Sectarian Difference 207
Toby Matthiesen
9. Myths of the Iran–Iraq War and the Development of the
Praetorian State in Iran 241
Ali M. Ansari10. The Middle East and International Relations: History Lessons
Not Learned 265
Louise Fawcett
Acknowledgements 287