The Struggle for Supremacy in the Middle East

Simon Mabon is Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University. He is Director of SEPAD (the Sectarianism, Proxies and De-Sectarianization Project) which aims to trace the emergence and development of sectarian animosity in global politics. He has previously published Saudi Arabia and Iran: Soft Power Rivalry in the Middle East (2013), The Origins of ISIS (2016, co-author) and Houses Built on Sand (2020), along with several other edited collections. In 2016/17 Mabon served as academic advisor to the House of Lords International Relations Committee's inquiry into the UK's relationship with the Middle East.

• Introduction; 1. States, sects and order; 2. The story of a kingdom and a republic; 3. Iraq; 4. Bahrain; 5. Lebanon; 6. Syria; 7. Yemen; Conclusions.

'Challenging simplistic accounts of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Mabon highlights the multi-layered nature of the competition and offers a systematic account of its impact across the region. With flowing prose, personal accounts and conceptual engagement with theory, Mabon presents a thoughtful, nuanced must-read for anyone trying to make sense of the Middle East.' Shahram Akbarzadeh, Deakin University