Sovereignty After Empire: Comparing the Middle East and Central Asia

by Sally N. Cummings (Editor), Raymond Hinnebusch (Editor)

Overview

How does empire affect the route to successor sovereign state systems and the features of the sovereignty of these systems? This unique systematic comparison of empires and of their consequences for sovereignty in the Middle East and Central Asia brings theory on empire and sovereignty to bear on empirical variation across the two regions. The novel approach to understanding the political structures of states in two significant areas of the non-European world offers an important comparative discussion of post-imperial development and sovereignty. It raises a clear set of research questions about variations of imperial practice and puts forward an attractive and persuasive case that imperial legacy has been an important variable in the post-independence period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780748668557
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	09/11/2012
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sally N. Cummings is Senior Lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. Her publications include Domestic and International Perspectives on Kyrgyzstan's 'Tulip Revolution' (ed.) (Taylor & Francis, 2009), Kazakhstan: Power and the Elite (IB Tauris, 2005), Oil, Transition and Security in Central Asia (ed.) (Routledge, 2003) and Kazakhstan: Centre-Periphery Relations (Brookings Institution, 2000).

Raymond Hinnebusch is Professor of International Relations and Middle East Politics at the University of St Andrews. His books include The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences, co- edited with Rick Fawn (Lynne Rienner Press, 2006), The International Politics of the Middle East (Manchester UniversityPress, 2003), The Foreign Policies of Middle East States, edited with A. Ehteshami (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Press, 2002), Syria: Revolution from Above (London: Routledge, 2001), The Syrian-Iranian Alliance: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System, with Anoushiravan Ehteshami (London: Routledge, 1997), Syria and the Middle East Peace Process, with Alasdair Drysdale (Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1991), Authoritarian Power and State Formation in Ba‘thist Syria: Army, Party and Peasant (Westview Press, 1990), Peasant and Bureaucracy in Ba‘thist Syria: The Political Economy of Rural Development (Westview Press, 1989) and Egyptian Politics Under Sadat (Cambridge UniversityPress, 1985).

Table of Contents

Notes on the Contributors v

Implications of the Arab Uprising for "Empire and Sovereignty" ix

1 Introduction Sally N. Cummings Raymond Hinnebusch 1

Section I Histories of Empire and After

2 Russian Empires Dominic Lieven 25

3 The British and French Empires in the Arab World: Some Problems of Colonial State-formation and its Legacy James McDougall 44

4 Ottoman Legacies and Economic Sovereignty in Post-imperial Anatolia, Syria and Iraq Fred H. Lawson 66

Section II Paths to Sovereignty: Views from the Core and Periphery

5 Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire and After Benjamin C. Fortna 91

6 Mandated Sovereignty? The Role of International Law in the Construction of Arab Statehood during and after Empire Michelle Burgis 104

7 Reluctant Sovereigns? Central Asian States' Path to Independence Mohira Suyarkulova 127

Section III Empire and Domestic Sovereignty

8 The Middle East after Empire: Sovereignty and Institutions Louise Fawcett 157

9 Sovereignty after Empire: The Colonial Roots of Central Asian Authoritarianism David Lewis 178

Section IV Empire and Popular Sovereignty

10 Culture, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Central Asia Laura L. Adams 199

11 Culture in the Middle East: The "Western Question" and the Sovereignty of Post-imperial States in the Middle East Morten Valbjørn 222

12 Pathways of Islamist Mobilization against the State in the Middle East and Central Asia Frédéric Volpi 242

Section V Empire and External Sovereignty

13 Empire and State formation: Contrary Tangents in Jordan and Syria Raymond Hinnebusch 263

14 Rentierism, Dependency and Sovereignty in Central Asia Wojciech Ostrowski 282

15 Tajikistan: From de facto Colony to Sovereign Dependency Muriel Atkin 304

16 Conclusions Sally N. Cummings Raymond Hinnebusch 326

Bibliography 346

Index 391

What People are Saying About This

This is an excellent study of the impact of empire on the post-colonial state and challenges the idea of a sharp break between empire and sovereignty. With its cutting-edge comparison of the Middle East and Central Asia, this is an impressive comparative historical and political analysis which will be a valuable and lasting contribution to the academic literature.

Professor Roland Dannreuther

This is an excellent study of the impact of empire on the post-colonial state and challenges the idea of a sharp break between empire and sovereignty. With its cutting-edge comparison of the Middle East and Central Asia, this is an impressive comparative historical and political analysis which will be a valuable and lasting contribution to the academic literature.

Eugene Rogan

In this innovative book, leading international scholars compare notes on the experiences of post-Soviet Central Asia and the successor states of the Ottoman Empire. Theoretically rigorous and informed by important new research, each contributor sheds original light on these diverse Muslim states' transition from empire to sovereignty. A common cultural legacy grounded in Islamic history and a present reliance on hydrocarbons makes this study of two geostrategic regions required reading for scholars and decision makers alike.

William Fierman

This rich collection provides a thoughtful analysis of imperial rule and the meaning of sovereignty in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The contributions investigate the impact of the colonial experience on the subsequent trajectories of the ruled, and for their place in a dynamic and changing world.

Roger Owen

Offering a novel way to understand the political structures of states in two significant areas of the non-European world, this book will make a significant contribution to thinking about the development of the state systems in the former colonial world.

Editorial Reviews

Offering a novel way to understand the political structures of states in two significant areas of the non-European world, this book will make a significant contribution to thinking about the development of the state systems in the former colonial world.

Roger Owen

In this innovative book, leading international scholars compare notes on the experiences of post-Soviet Central Asia and the successor states of the Ottoman Empire. Theoretically rigorous and informed by important new research, each contributor sheds original light on these diverse Muslim states' transition from empire to sovereignty. A common cultural legacy grounded in Islamic history and a present reliance on hydrocarbons makes this study of two geostrategic regions required reading for scholars and decision makers alike.

Eugene Rogan

This is an excellent study of the impact of empire on the post-colonial state and challenges the idea of a sharp break between empire and sovereignty. With its cutting-edge comparison of the Middle East and Central Asia, this is an impressive comparative historical and political analysis which will be a valuable and lasting contribution to the academic literature.

Professor Roland Dannreuther

This rich collection provides a thoughtful analysis of imperial rule and the meaning of sovereignty in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The contributions investigate the impact of the colonial experience on the subsequent trajectories of the ruled, and for their place in a dynamic and changing world.

William Fierman