Area Studies and Social Science: Strategies for Understanding Middle East Politics

The volume edited by Mark Tessler addresses a set of critical issues confronting all social scientists whose field of inquiry is extra-American… . Tessler and his contributors succeed admirably in their goal. -American Historical Review

How should scholars construct knowledge about politics, economics, and international relations in major world regions? According to the contributors to this lively volume, the conflicting approaches of regional specialists and discipline-oriented social scientists must be combined to provide a firm foundation for studying the contemporary politics of the Middle East. Contributors are Lisa Anderson, Anne Banda, Laurie A. Brand, Laura Zittrain Eisenberg, John P. Entelis, Clement M. Henry, Magda Kandil, Baghat Korany, Jodi Nachtwey, Augustus Richard Norton, and Mark Tessler.