The Attempt to Uproot Sunni-Arab Influence: A Geo-Strategic Analysis of the Western, Israeli and Iranian Quest for Domination

In the aftermath of popular uprisings that unleashed the quest for freedom, Arab governments scrambled to limit sectarian divisions, though much of these efforts came to naught. Regrettably, weak governments fell into carefully laid traps, aimed to divide and rule. Protracted wars further destroyed Arab wealth and cohesiveness, and Sunni communities saw their power bases marginalised. On cue, and predicted by some commentators, extremist movements like the so-called Islamic State emerged, targeting Sunnis with extreme violence. In 2014 Nabil Khalife, an established Lebanese thinker, published a widely praised thesis that identified the root causes of renewed sectarian tensions at a time when confrontations polarised awakened Arab societies. Based on an extensive discussion of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that toppled the Shah, Khalife advanced the notion that the revolution was not Islamic but an Iranian-Shiah rebellion that ended the Pahlavi military monarchy, and that the post-2011 Sunni-Shiah stru

Author: Joseph A. K'Echichian
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Published: 01/24/2017
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781845198541
ISBN10: 1845198549
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | International Relations | General
- Political Science | Political Ideologies | General

About the Author
Joseph A. Kéchichian is the author of eleven published books, including Faysal: Saudi Arabia's King for All Seasons (2008), Succession in Saudi Arabia (2001), Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies, (2008), and Legal and Political Reforms in Saudi Arabia (2013). His most recent publications are 'Iffat al Thunayan: An Arabian Queen (2015), From Alliance to Union: Challenges Facing Gulf Cooperation States (2016) and the forthcoming The Nationalist Al Sa'ud Advisor: Shaykh Yusuf Yassin of Sa'udi Arabia.