Middle East Contemporary Survey, Volume XV: 1991

This volume covers the year 1991, a watershed period in the Middle East. The Gulf War pitted regional and international forces of unprecedented might against each other in fierce confrontation. Local and global developments, such as the U.S.-led victory over Iraq and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, brought on the struggle for a “new order” in the region. The relevance of Western political modes for Middle Eastern societies was again raised for examination, highlighting the formidable complexities of such options. One of the local responses to these changes was a surge of Islamic sentiment—sometimes militant in nature—manifested primarily in Sudan, Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, and among the Palestinians.Spearheaded by the United States, the Middle East peace process entered a more dynamic phase, as a multilateral peace conference in Madrid ushered in a new era of direct Arab-Israeli negotiations. The Arab system was slow to recover from the painful impact of the Gulf War, and inter-Arab relations continued to be characterized more by mutual vindictiveness than by reconciliation.On the whole, this was a year of considerable flux and uncertainty, with some events promising the inauguration of a new course of development for the region and others passing without long-term impact. The period surveyed in this volume, unless otherwise indicated, is from January to December 1991. In order to avoid excessive repetition while achieving a comprehensive survey of the affairs of each country individually, extensive cross-references have been used.