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PREFACE As this volume goes to press, the decks are being shuffled in virtually every Middle Eastern state, and change is occurring rapidly in a region that many had thought was immune to it. But despite the daily headlines, the underlying factors that have shaped the broad outlines and direction of Middle East politics endure, as have many of the elements of conflict and division within individual states. And although the decks are being shuffled, the cards remain the same: Increasingly young, vocal, and technologi- cally connected publics entrenched regimes and power centers whose supporters are fighting to hold on to economic and societal privileges monarchies seeking new ways to maintain their legitimacy transnational, but locally flavored, religious movements ethnic and sectarian minorities and strong military establishments who often are more concerned about internal security and regime defense than about external threats. The focus of this book is these enduring elements of Middle East politics. After an introductory chapter that describes the critical factors that have shaped Mid- dle East politics over the past half century, the subsequent chapters will look at individual countries (or subregions, such as the Maghreb), assessing that country’s potential sources of internal conflicts and division as well as its external conflicts. In some instances, the internal conflicts may be played out via civil violence or even civil war in other in- stances, via the ballot box. The external conflicts may lead to everything from open war- fare, terrorism, and arms races to diplomatic agreements and peace accords. What will become clear is the indelible link between many of the internal and external conflicts. Two of the chapters were written by experts with a uniquely deep understanding of the country in question: Rafael D. Frankel wrote the chapter on Israel, and Mina Al- Oraibi the chapter on Iraq. Samuel Dolbee made extensive updates and revisions to the entire manuscript and contributed important insights. Maxine Taylor of ABC-CLIO ensured that the manuscript made it to publication. I alone bear responsibility for all errors of fact and omission.