Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State

Combining in-depth political analysis, historical scholarship, and theoretical reflection, Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State: Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East will be of interest to the following readership:

1. The first is political scientists working on the Middle East who adopt a broadly historical-sociological perspective. This approach is well-established in UK-based scholarship on the Middle East, among them seminal works by Ayubi (1995), Halliday (2005), and Owen (2013), as well as by Charles Tripp (e.g. Chubin and Tripp 1988; Tripp 1996; 2000) himself. Although this approach continues to be popular in the UK and beyond, it lacks a recent focal point. This volume aims to fill that gap.

2. The second group comprises those interested in the substantive case studies from the Middle East that are analyzed in the edited volume. Each of the chapters presents a novel contribution to its own field of study. Toby Matthiesen, for example, offers a provocative comparison of Iraq and India to provide unique insights into sectarian identities and imperial power; Jamil Mouawad investigates the paradoxes of state-building in the geographical periphery of Lebanon, ostensibly one of the weakest states in the region; and Evaleila Pesaran transcends old cliches about Islamic government in Iran by focusing on a new wave of entrepreneurialism in the form of 21st-century 'start-ups.' The unusual diversity of these cases will be of interest to academics teaching 'generation Z' students, who profess different interests and motivations for studying the region than in the past.

3. Finally, the volume will appeal to scholars from a range of backgrounds - politics, international relations, history, cultural studies, and beyond - who have an interest in social theory. Several of the chapters take up the thread of Tripp's ongoing engagement with classical and contemporary social theory. Toby Dodge's analysis of patrimonialism and power in Iraq draws on Tripp's encounter with the field theory of Pierre Bourdieu, while Daniel Neep's discussion of secular logics and symbolic politics offers a theoretically informed analysis of Tripp's oeuvre as a whole.

Power, Resistance, Ideology and the State: Charles Tripp and the Comparative Politics of the Middle East cuts across the political science/ Middle East Studies divide and will appeal to a range of scholars working across disciplinary borders. Individual chapters and the volume as a whole will be appropriate for use in advanced undergraduate and postgraduate seminars in Politics, History, Sociology, International Relations and Cultural Studies.

The work of Charles Tripp -prof 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. This volume brings together eleven contributors, each of which takes Tripp's work as an intellectual point of departure for studying politics in the region.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: an analytical sensibility that is empirically rich, theoretically insightful, and historically sensitive. This volume brings together contributions from eleven 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 politics in the region.

The contributions focus on four central themes - power, resistance, ideology, and the state - that are central in the field of Middle East politics 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 seeks to present a new understanding of a region of unprecedented volatility, where post-colonial projects of state-driven development have now expired, old ruling elites have been delegitimised, and political Islam discredited. 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. Examining topics such as the rise of elite-promoted sectarianism in Iraq, thwarted attempts to manage neoliberalism in Lebanon, and new grassroots social movements in Syria, this volume offers a wide-ranging, innovative and essential exploration of the politics of today's Middle East.