ソ連の崩壊、米国のイラク侵攻を経て、2010年から11年にかけての騒乱の余波の中、新たな中東が出現しました。シリア（内戦で人口の半分が避難）とイラクの政治的空白地帯ではISIS（通称「イスラム国」）をはじめとするイスラム過激派組織が勢力を増し、政治活動が暴力的な手段に傾倒していく方向性が決定的になりました。一方、エジプトとバーレーンの政権は反乱後さらに抑圧的になって、リビアとイエメンは事実上国家として存在しなくなっています。
「新しい中東」を特徴づけるのは、反乱と抑圧、代理戦争、宗派間抗争、ISISの台頭、そして地域内の分極化です。国際的・地域的主体はこの炎をかき立て、米・露はこの地域における自らの位置づけを変えようとし、サウジアラビアとイランは覇権を争っています。長期的な視点では、気候変動、食糧・水不足、人口増加などの危機に加え、悪政や経済の停滞がこの地域の命運を左右することになるでしょう。
本書は、社会的、政治的、経済的輪郭を明らかしながら中東の現在の危機を照らし出し、今後数十年の間にこの地域がどのように変化していくかを探ります。
   

• Written in a lively and clear style by one of the leading scholars in modern Middle Eastern history
• Explores the ramifications of the 2010-2011 uprisings in the Arab world for the regional order and for the populations there
• Pays special attention to "crisis states"—Syria, Libya, and Yemen—and to states under extreme duress (Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon)
• Examines the rise and fall of American hegemony in the Middle East and the effects of that fall on regional and international stability
• Appraises the effects of conflicts old (Israel-Palestine) and new (Saudi Arabia-Iran) on the region as a whole
• Highlights new concerns about human security that come from threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, bad governance, stagnant economies, poor healthcare and education, climate change, population growth, food and water insecurity, population growth, sectarianism, and war

New to this Edition:

• Features a new chapter on the international and regional dimension of the New Middle East, particularly the rise and fall of American hegemony
• Highlights new concerns about human security that come from threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, bad governance, stagnant economies, poor healthcare and educational delivery systems, climate change, population growth, food and water insecurity, population growth and imbalance, and war

In the second edition of The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know, renowned Middle East scholar James L. Gelvin explains how in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR, the American invasion of Iraq, and the Arab uprisings of 2010-11, a new Middle East has emerged. Syria, Libya, and Yemen have become "crisis states," where warlords vie against governments and each other. The economies of Iran, Turkey, and Lebanon, weakened by corruption, sanctions, and neoliberal economic policies, have imploded. Some states have doubled-down on repression, while others intervene in the internal affairs of their neighbors with impunity.
   
The revised and expanded edition explores these hallmarks of the New Middle East, along with the end of American hegemony in the region, the expansion of "conflict zones," the continued centrality of the Saudi-Iranian competition, and the ramifications of the breakdown of the Israel-Palestine peace process. It also highlights the crisis of human security brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, bad governance, stagnant economies, poor healthcare and educational delivery systems, climate change, food and water insecurity, population growth and imbalance, and the unprecedented displacement of populations. In a concise question-and-answer format, Gelvin outlines the social, political, and economic contours of the New Middle East, illuminating the current crisis in the region and exploring how it is likely to evolve in the decades to come.