Rethinking Statehood in the Middle East and North Africa

<p>Alternative forms of government and statehood exist in the Middle East and North African regions. The chapters in this volume demonstrate this and explore the notion of power from a non-statist perspective highlighting the limits of states and their governance.</p><p></p><p>Using empirical evidence from Syria Libya Lebanon Tunisia Iraq Yemen and Mali the authors explore non-standard cases where power may be retained by a state but must be shared with a number of local actors resulting in limited statehood and hybrid governance which leads to competition and sharing of symbolic and political power within a state.</p><p></p><p>This book is intended to prompt a critical reflection on the meaning of governance. It will illuminate informal structures which deserve attention when studying governance and power dynamics within a state or a region. This book was originally published as a special issue of <i>Small Wars & Insurgencies</i>.</p>