Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface ix
4. Acknowledgments xiii
5. Introduction: The Struggle for Political Change and Social Progress 1
6. 1 The Original Sin: The Formation of the Arab State System 21
7. 2 The Great Betrayal: What Was Promised and What Was Delivered 35
8. 3 Rhetoric versus Reality: The Contradictions of the Colonial State 50
9. 4 Life after Independence: The Search for a Foundational Myth 68
10. 5 The Collapse of the Foundational Myth: Where It All Went Wrong 89
11. 6 From Colonialism to the Cold War: The Subversion of the Postcolonial State from the Outside 114
12. 7 The Winter of Discontent: The Pauperization of the Arab People 141
13. 8 How and Why Did the Middle East Fail to Achieve Its Potential? 162
14. 9 The Nation versus the Umma 190
15. 10 The Subversion of the Nation from Within and Without 220
16. 11 The Arab Spring Crushed 244
17. 12 The End of Empire, or Is History about to Repeat Itself ? An Empire by Proxy 261
18. Conclusion: Reimagining the Middle East 292
19. Notes 307
20. Index 353