The Middle East and North Africa between regional autonomy and international intervention

In this new DIIS-book New Conflict Dynamics, Between Regional Autonomy and Intervention in the Middle East and North Africa 10 scholars from DIIS and the American University in Beirut analyze the current patterns of power and politics in the Middle East and North Africa. The book covers vast empirical grounds from France and the US to most of the states in the Middle East and North Africa. Thematically it moves through security infrastructure, arms exports and environmental crises to regional competition, domestic politics and foreign military interventions. As a whole the book goes beyond confirming the picture of a region in crisis and turmoil. It also demonstrates that the recent American withdrawal form the region, which was accelerated under president Obama, did not lead to a linear increase in the autonomy of regional powers in the region. By pointing out the dilemmas, contradictions and unintended consequences associated with the American withdrawal, the book suggests that we may very well be witnessing an incoherent emergence of a new regional order that in spite of carving out increased maneuver room for regional actors, remains deeply embedded in larger global trends.

The book includes contributions from Rasmus Alenius Boserup, Waleed Hazbun, Karim Makdisi, Helle Malmvig, Vibeke Tjalve, Lars Erslev Andersen, Manni Crone, Bashir Saade, Coralie Pison Hindawi & Alex D. Barder.