The Middle East in 1958 - by Jeffrey G Karam (Paperback)

About the Book

This is the first book to explore this pivotal year in the modern history of the Middle East in its global, regional, and local contexts and from a wide range of linguistic, geographic, and academic specialties

Book Synopsis

The revolutionary year of 1958 epitomizes the height of the social uprisings, military coups, and civil wars that erupted across the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-twentieth century. Amidst waning Anglo-French influence, growing US-USSR rivalry, and competition and alignments between Arab and non-Arab regimes and domestic struggles, this year was a turning point in the modern history of the Middle East.

This multi and interdisciplinary book explores this pivotal year in its global, regional and local contexts and from a wide range of linguistic, geographic, academic specialties. The contributors draw on declassified and multilingual archives, reports, memoirs, and newspapers in thirteen country-specific chapters, shedding new light on topics such as the extent of Anglo-American competition after the Suez War, Turkey's efforts to stand as a key pillar in the regional Cold War, the internationalization of the Algerian War of Independence, and Iran and Saudi Arabia's abilities to weather the revolutionary storm that swept across the region. The book includes a foreword from Salim Yaqub which highlights the importance of Jeffrey G. Karam's collection to the scholarship on this vital moment in the political history of the modern middle east.

Review Quotes

[Sheds] new light on topics such as the Suez War, Turkey's position in the regional Cold War, the internationalization of the Algerian War of Independence, and the influence of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the revolutionary storms across the region
International Review of Social History

Jeffrey G. Karam's The Middle East in 1958 is an impressive examination of a revolutionary year whose impact still reverberates today. Drawing on a range of archival sources, Karam's volume benefits from the latest research by leading scholars. Its regional and global approach to the tumultuous events of 1958 makes it ideal for graduate and undergraduate courses.

With perceptiveness and authority, with impressive command of exciting new sources and methodologies, The Middle East in 1958illuminates this six-decades-old history, establishing its resonance and relevance for a new generation of readers

About the Author

Jeffrey G. Karam is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Lebanese American University. He is also an Associate at Harvard University's Middle East Initiative. He is the author of several articles, book chapters, and policy briefs on U.S. intelligence and foreign policy in the Middle East. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Christopher Andrew-Michael Handel Prize for the best article in Intelligence and National Security in 2017.