The Middle East

In: PS: political science & politics, Band 34, Heft 4, S. 801-804

Abstract

For political scientists studying the Middle East, the invitation to
discuss the possible relevance of their work to comparative politics
in general is a welcome and rare opportunity. There is, one senses,
a gap between the Middle East political science community and the
mainstream disciplinary generalists. To the extent that they even
care about being part of the field, some Middle East political
scientists feel ghettoized—their region and their work are ignored.
Some feel as well that mainstream comparative politics theorizing
has not offered much toward better understanding to Middle East
politics. Such concerns motivated the establishment of the
Conference Group on the Middle East, which organizes sessions in
conjunction with, yet separate from, the main program at the APSA
Annual Meeting. It is noteworthy that some of the most imaginative
recent work on Middle East politics draws from anthropology,
political economy, social history, and critical cultural and
literary theory. "The Middle East political science community" is
not populated exclusively by political scientists.