Challenges for America in the Middle East

Richard W. Mansbach (BA Swarthmore College, DPhil Oxford University) is a former Marshall Scholar and three-time Fulbright Scholar. He has authored, co-authored, or edited seventeen books and numerous articles and book chapters largely concerning theory in global politics and foreign policy. His scholarship has extended our understanding of global politics beyond the traditional notion of territorial states interacting in an anarchic system to encompass a wide variety of actors complexly related across a variety of issues. Increasingly, his work has moved from the dominant role of "states" in international relations theory to encompass a changing cast of actors in a globalizing world and toward the concept of "identity" and the role of psychological, as opposed to geographic, distance in determining loyalties and behavior. His scholarship focuses on the critical role of history and norms in understanding change and continuity in global politics and in the movement from pre-international to international and, ultimately, post-international politics in a globalizing world. Among his books several are routinely used in major graduate programs, notably, The Web of World Politics, In Search of Theory: Toward a New Paradigm for Global Politics, The Elusive Quest:  Theory and International Politics, Polities: Authority, Identities, and Change, The Elusive Quest Continues: Theory and Global Politics, Remapping Global Politics, Globalization: The return of borders to a borderless world?. In addition, Professor Mansbach was the co-editor of the field's flagship journal International Studies. He has also served as department chair at Rutgers University (New Brunswick) and at Iowa State University.

Challenges for America in the Middle East offers a comprehensive and contemporary analysis of the foreign policy challenges the United States faces in the Middle East. It takes a close look at the critical policy dilemmas posed by radical Islam, the Arab Spring, the Shia Crescent, and Israel-Palestine relations. Authors Richard W. Mansbach and Kirsten L. Taylor examine the issues from a historical perspective and in the context of the current state of affairs, and analyze options for future action. Throughout the text, they emphasize the interplay of foreign and domestic issues in the United States and overseas, and show how that interplay shapes American policy towards the region.

Chapter 1: Sources of American Foreign Policy The Linkage of Domestic and Foreign Policies Sources of U.S. Foreign Policy ConclusionChapter 2: Competing Currents in U.S. Foreign Policy Competing Currents The Past: Competing Currents in Historical Perspective The Present: The Impact of 9/11 Conclusion: Engagement or Disengagement?Part I: Arab Spring or Arab Winter?Chapter 3: America and the Arab Middle East before the Arab Spring Sources of American Policy toward the Arab Middle East The Arabs: World War One and After The Middle East and Oil The Cold War and the Arab World Political Islam Conclusion: Political Islam and DemocracyChapter 4: America and the Evolution of the Arab Spring The Arrival of Spring Conclusion: The Middle East in an Era of Declining American PowerChapter 5: American Options in a Changing Arab World Egypt Syria Conclusion: Spring or Winter?Part II: Radical IslamChapter 6: Radical Islam: Origins and Evolution Sources of American Policy toward Radical Islam Early Islam Sources and Meaning of Radical Islam The Origins and Early Evolution of al-Qaeda ("the Base") Conclusion: American Foreign Policy and the "Green Menace"Chapter 7: America and the War on Terror The War on Terror Begins Al-Qaeda and Islamic Extremism after 9/11 Regional Terrorist Groups Iraq and Syria The "War on Terror" Human Rights and the War on Terror ConclusionChapter 8: An End to the War on Terror? Al-Qaeda and Its Regional Affiliates Islamic State of Iraq and Syria "Lone Wolves" Surveillance Human Rights: Drone Strikes The War on Terror Conclusion: Terrorism PersistsPart III: Israel and PalestineChapter 9: America and the Evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conundrum, 1948-1967 The Birth of Israel Sources of U.S. Policy toward Israel and the Palestinians The Yom Kippur or October War The Six-Day War and Its Consequences Conclusion: Consequences of the Six-Day WarChapter 10: America, Israel and Palestine: The Elusive Road to Peace American Policy and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Conclusion: What Next?Chapter 11: Is Israel-Palestinian Peace Possible? Two States or One? Israeli Settlements Refugees Hamas and Gaza Economic and Resource Issues Conclusion: Will It Ever End?Part IV: The Shia CrescentChapter 12: Early American Relations with Iran and Iraq Sources of American Policy toward Iran and Iraq Iran, America, and Britain until the Iranian Revolution The Birth and Evolution of Iraq ConclusionChapter 13: America and the Shia Crescent: Iraq and Iran Iraq Iran ConclusionChapter 14: American Options in Iran and Iraq Combatting Insurgency in Iraq Growing Iranian influence in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East America and Its Sunni Friends Oil Interests Iran's Nuclear Ambitions Israel and Iran's "Existential Threat" ConclusionChapter 15: Conclusion: America and the Complex Middle East The Evolution of American Foreign Policy before the Cold War After the Cold War Contemporary Middle East Challenges What Next?