MACMILLAN Socio-Political Order and Security in the Arab World: From Regime Security to Public Security

This book examines the connection between socio-politics and security in the Arab World. In an effort to understand the social and political developments that have been on-going in the Arab World since the 1990s, culminating in the Arab Spring, Krieg moves beyond liberal deterministic assumptions - most notably that the promotion of liberal values and democracy are the panacea for the structural problems of the region. Instead, this text advances the case that grievances related to individual security needs are at the heart of regional insecurity and instability. Looking towards the future, the author asserts that regimes can only be resilient if they are able to provide for individual security inclusively. When regimes fail to cater for public security, they might be replaced by alternative non-state security providers.  Review “Looking at individual and communal security as the key component of regional stability, the book builds on the “myth of authoritarian security” and explains why the scholarly community missed the Arab Spring. Krieg advances the debate in the literature by proposing new ways of defining security in the Arab world.” (Ibrahim Fraihat, author of “Unfinished Revolutions” and former senior foreign policy fellow at Brookings Institution’s Doha Center, Qatar)  About the Author Andreas Krieg is Assistant Professor for Defence Studies at King's College London. He is currently seconded to the defence academy of the Qatari Armed Forces in Doha. Dr Krieg's research in the field of security and conflict studies particularly focuses on the Middle East as a region in transition.