War and State Building in the Middle East By:Rolf Schwarz

Abstract

The aim of this book' review is to offer a critical analysis to the key assumptions and themes presented by the author where the positive contribution as well as points of contention have been highlighted. The key theme of this book focuses on notion that in the Middle East, unlike Europe, wars didn’t make states but they destroyed them and they ended up as a hollow shell. This theme has been applied on different case studies in Arab World mainly Jordan, Iraq and UAE. The analytical review has discussed and analyzed author's arguments, methodology, systemization and demonstration, the theoretical and conceptual reflections on state and statehood as well as patterns of comparison between early modern European state and current Arab state. Eventually/ the review has concluded with offering alternative approaches in dealing with Arab states.