This major new study provides the best general account to date of the recent political history of the Middle East. Roger Owen, a leading authority on Middle Eastern politics and history, presents a unique comparative treatment of central topics such as the growth of the Middle East state system, the place of the military, the role of religious organizations, the return to greater democracy, and the political response of Middle Eastern regimes to the economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s. The book provides a political history of all the Arab countries, as well as Israel, Iran, and Turkey, from the post-World War I period up to the present day. It will be important reading for those studying modern history and the Middle East, and for journalists, politicians and anyone who wants to know more about the current politics of the region.