Global and Regional Strategies in the Middle East: In Pursuit of Hegemony

Global and Regional Strategies in the Middle East explores hegemony in the Middle East through understanding different dimensions of power politics and the consequences of the hegemonic ambitions of both global and regional powers.

The book adds new aspects to the extensive literature on grand strategies in the Middle East by exploring and evaluating competing strategies from an ＂insider＂ perspective. First, it highlights the main determinants of Global powers’ grand strategies, assesses the ones applied in the Middle East, and forecasts future strategies after the Ukraine war in alignment with other rival states’ capabilities and goals. It then underlines regional dynamics and the hegemonic quest of regional powers and their power politics’ determinants since the ＂War on terror,＂ the Arab Spring, and, more recently, the Russian intervention in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflict. The book broadens readers’ perspectives by clarifying the region’s dynamics that shaped the global and regional power rivalries, where security concerns, economic interests, oil supplies, and hegemonic ambitions make it complicated for the US to keep influence and the total control it had during the late 20th century.

This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of the MENA region, International Relations and Strategic Studies.

Leila Nicolas is a professor of international affairs and international law at the Lebanese University and two institutions at the Lebanese Army (the Command and Staff College and the Center of Research and Strategic Studies). Her research expertise includes international relations, Great Powers politics and Grand Strategies, Security and Conflict, Transitional Justice, and MENA politics. She is co-founder of the NGO ＂Lebanese for democracy and good governance＂ (LEDGE), and has been a member of the Advisory board for the Enacting Global Transformation project. She is also a writer and commentator on several media outlets about Global affairs and MENA issues.