This collection of essays, first published in 1958, presents analyses by some 34 specialists on key political and social trends in the Middle East. They take the reader through the history of the Middle East to help reveal the background behind the changes that took place in the middle of the twentieth century – a time of fundamental political, economic and social change in the region.

Part 1. Social and Political Change 1. Social Reform: Factor X Sir Hamilton A.R. Gibb 2. Arab Unity and Arab Dissensions Hans E. Tütsch 3. Economic and Social Foundations of Democracy in the Middle East Charles Issawi 4. Social Awakening and Economic Development in the Middle East Sa’id B. Himadeh 5. The Middle Class in the Arab World Morroe Berger 6. Middle Eastern Development – Another Missing Link A.F. Mills 7. Egyptian Attitudes Towards Land Reform, 1922-55 Gabriel Baer 8. Pan-Arabism and British Policy Elie Kedourie 9. The Great Catastrophe G.F. Hudson 10. Political Trends in the Fertile Crescent W. Khalidi 11. The Ideology of the Egyptian Revolution Jean Vigneau 12. Arab Nationalism Nissim Rejwan 13. Sudanese Nationalism and Self-Determination P.M. Holt 14. Turkey and the Middle East Andrew J.A. Mango 15. Ideological Crisis in Iran F. Kazemzadeh 16. The Origins of Israel Sir Isaiah Berlin 17. Levant Dusk: The Refugee Situation Stewart Perowne 18. The Arab Refugees: A Study in Frustration Mizra Khan 19. Development in Iraq I Hal Lehrman 20. Development in Iraq II from The Economist 21. Islam and the Theory of Arab Nationalism Sylvia G. Haim Part 2. Communism, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East 22. Communism and Islam Bernard Lewis 23. Syria: Nationalism and Communism Walter Z. Laqueur 24. The Arab Socialist Movement Gebran Majdalani 25. The Islamic Community and Communism Dr. Nabih Amin Faris 26. The ‘National Front’ in Communist Strategy in the Middle East A. Bennigsen 27. Recent Soviet Attitudes Towards Islam Geoffrey Wheeler 28. Soviet Cultural Propaganda in the Middle East Iwar Spector 29. The Background of Soviet Policy in the Middle East H. Carrère d’Encausse 30. Sultan Galiev: the USSR and the Colonial Revolution A. Bennigsen 31. The Shamil Problem Paul B. Henze 32. Nationalism and Communism in the Arab World: A Reappraisal A.V. Sherman 33. The Future of Culture in Arab Society Dr. Muhammad Kamal Ayyad 34. The Egyptian Intelligentsia Georges Ketman 35. Two Soviet Views on the Middle East 35.1. The Growth of National Consciousness Among the Arab Peoples (1945-55) L.N. Vatolina 35.2. The Revolution of July 1952 in Egypt V.B. Lurskii