Foreign Policies of Middle East States

Although this collection of ten separate studies of the foreign policies of Egypt, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Iran, and Turkey have different authors, significant consensus was worked out prior to publication on the theoretical framework to be used in all the studies. Described by editors Hinnebusch (international relations and Middle East politics, U of St. Andrews, UK) and Ehteshami (international relations, U. of Durham, UK) as being a modified version of realism, the framework accepts the idea that the state is the main actor in foreign policy and that local elites are interested in maximizing the autonomy and security of states, but it accepts some of the structuralists' claims of constraints due to a hierarchical world economic system, as well as constructivists' arguments about how the way identity is constructed leads to constraints from sub- and suprastate identities leading to transstate movements. In addition to the country studies, three articles address the impact of the international system on the Middle East, the systemic issues of security in the region, and overall patterns of policy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)