Emerging Scholarship on the Middle East and Central Asia

Elisabeth Yarbakhsh is a research scholar at the Centre for Arab & Islamic Studies at the Australian National UniversityMaria Syed is a doctoral candidate at the Australian National UniversityKatlyn Quenzer is a doctoral student at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University

• ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Alternative Frameworks: Accounting for the Overlooked, Katlyn Quenzer and Maria SyedChapter One: Emerging Trends and Debates in Gulf Studies, Matthew GrayChapter Two: Impending Decline? A Reassessment of Saudi Power, Maria SyedChapter Three: Iranian Nationalism from its (Afghan) Margins, Elisabeth YarbakhshChapter Four: Between (Ethno-)Nationalism and Political Islam: The Kurdish Movement as a “Third Way” in Turkey, William GourlayChapter Five: State Formation and Social Conflict in Syria: Causalities, Unintended Consequences, and Analytical Trajectories, Harout AkdedianChapter Six: Seen from a Distance: Political Contexts for Middle Eastern Contemporary Art, Sam BowkerChapter Seven: The Afghan Threat to the Security of the Central Asian Nations: Myth or Reality?, Azam IsabaevChapter Eight: When East Looks West to the Middle East, Ian NelsonAbout the authorsIndex

The thought-provoking essays brought together in this volume address many of the most complex issues facing the contemporary Middle East and Central Asia. The meticulously researched and clearly presented papers within this volume not only provide rich empirical insights into these challenges, but also raise intriguing questions about the prospects of peace, stability, and prosperity across the region.