The Arab World Beyond Conflict is a collection of research essays on the causes of conflict in the Arab world and ways to address them. The book is based on the proceedings of ACW’s third annual conference of the same title, held in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2018. It evaluates the domestic conditions for the existence and perpetuation of conflicts in the Arab region and recommends strategies for mitigating them by highlighting the dual and dialectical relationship between the state, as the legal political entity, and the citizen, as the agent for legitimizing the state’s rule. Most importantly, this volume calls for strengthening the Arab peoples’ agency in helping not only to lessen the causes giving rise to conflict in their lives but to participate in building the states that work to prevent conflict from afflicting their societies in the first place.. A hard copy of the book can be ordered from ACW by writing to info@arabcenterdc.org.
Editors
Zeina Azzam and Imad K. Harb
Contributors
Noha Aboueldahab, Amatalalim Alsoswa, Sultan Barakat, Linda Bishai, Daniel Brumberg, Shadi Hamid, Imad K. Harb, Khalil E. Jahshan, Marwan J. Kabalan, Mehran Kamrava, Tamara Kharroub, Rami G. Khouri, Bessma Momani, Elly Rostoum, Sarah Leah Whitson
Preface
Khalil E. Jahshan
Introductory Remarks: The Path to Ending Conflicts: Prospects and Hindrances
Amatalalim Alsoswa
Foreword: Conflict in the Arab World and the Way Forward
Imad K. Harb
I. Addressing the Root Causes of Conflict in the Region
Deep Socioeconomic Disparities Exacerbate Arab Tensions
Rami G. Khouri
Government Survival Strategies in the Middle East
Sarah Leah Whitson
Chronic Insecurity in the Middle East: Causes and Consequences
Mehran Kamrava
The Legacy of the Pillared Arab State
Daniel Brumberg
II. State-Building in the Arab Region: Future Prospects
Time, Transition, and Justice in Arab States
Noha Aboueldahab
A Collaborative Regional Reconstruction Strategy in the Arab World
Sultan Barakat
Inclusive Economic Growth in Arab States
Bessma Momani
III. Toward Inclusive Citizenship in Arab Societies
Identity and Inclusion: Rethinking Citizenship in Arab Societies
Linda Bishai and Elly Rostoum
The Dilemma of “Normalization”: Can Islamists Participate without Polarizing Politics?
Shadi Hamid
Middle East Sectarianism: A Symptom to a Cause
Marwan J. Kabalan
Identity Politics 2.0: Cyber Geopolitics and the Weaponization of Social Media
Tamara Kharroub
Biographies of the Contributors
