The Politics of Change in the Middle East (review)

Book Reviews 123 intuitive expertise that "old area hands" acquire only through experience and mastery of the language. What today's Arabists need in addition to language and cultural understanding is systematic training in the cognate disciplines of international affairs: economics, political science, history, sociology, and anthropology. Certainly, ethnic and gender diversity is also desirable (though Kaplan might have reservations about gender), but origins are secondary to professional training. What is also needed-and here I am in full agreement with Kaplan-is the personal initiative, the ability to mix with the ordinary people, and a commitment to professional and ethical standards beyond the call of dury. It is increasingly difficult for the new generation of Arabists to meet these goals for reasons that are in part beyond their control. The typical American embassy in an Arab country today is literally a fortress, for reasons which the old ArabistsCassandras that they were-warned about in vain. It is not easy for a junior political officer in Sana'a, Khartoum, Cairo, Algiers, Beirut, or Riyadh to get out from behind the security curtain and get to know the society. One can only share Kaplan's hope (though maybe not his optimism) that an end to the Palestine problem and an end to decades of differences between Arabs and Israelis-and between Arabists and Zionists-is at last in sight. Michael C. Hudson Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies School of Foreign Service Georgetown University The Politics of Change in the Middle East, edited by Robert Sadoff. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993. 238 pp. $49.00 (c); $14.95 (p). Although the Middle East has an established reputation as an arc of instability with an everchanging cast of characters, since the late 1960s the region has witnessed remarkable regime continuity. The likelihood the Middle East will return to its earlier, less stable, days is the concern of 1be Politics o/Change in the Middle East. The essays, by a distinguished group of scholars, offer a thorough overview of the principal pressures faced, and survival strategies employed, by the governments ofIsrael, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and the PLO leadership. The essays raise a number of themes concerning the prospects of regime survival in the immediate future. Nearly all states are facing increasing domestic pressures that are challenging not only regime survival 124 SHOFAR Winter 1995 Vol. 13, No.2 but the very legitimacy of the state. A dizzying combination of political and economic crises, cultural and religious pressures, and longstanding political rivalries is pushing many regimes closer to the brink; yet the ultimate shove is likely to come from the call from society for Islamic and democratic reforms that demand a change not simply of the regime's policies but rather of the very character and purpose of the state. Alongside these domestic pressures are regional and international changes that offer little comfort to Middle Eastern governments. At the international level, the end of the cold war and the Gulf War have altered the geopolitical landscape in ways that narrow the state's room to maneuver. This is most apparent with the demise of the Soviet Union and the increased dependence of many regional actors on Western and U.S. sources of financial and military assistance. For instance, whereas Syria once received precious infusions of aid from the Soviet Union, the latter's demise has meant that Assad must now find favor in the West. While each essay discusses the government's stance toward the ArabIsraeli conflict and the effect of the Gulf War on domestic politics, each is relatively silent about how the emerging regional system(s) might affect regime foreign policy and survival. Specifically, the contributors pay little attention to the "new realism" in Middle Eastern politics-that is, the observed increased tendency ofArab leaders to proclaim that their policies are ruled by the state's interests rather than Arab interests. That said, the essays provide indirect evidence of this tendency as they generally downplay the impact of the Arab-Israeli conflict on domestic politics; although the conflict certainly reverberates within the frontline states, most notably Jordan, Arab leaders are less able to maintain their legitimacy by acting...