Middle East Patterns
Subtitle: Places, Peoples, and Politics
Edition: 3rd edition
Publisher: Westview Press
Published: November 1, 2000
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 584
ISBN-13: 9780813334882
Subjects: Area / regional studies; Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law; Political geography; Middle East; History; Politics / Current Events; History: World; ASIA; International Relations - General; Middle East - General; International Relations; Comparative Politics; Geography; Reference; Demography
First sentence: Located at the tricontinental hub of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the Middle East possesses unique geopolitical significance.
Description: Middle East Patterns continues to be the only comprehensive regional study of the area written by a US geographer since 1960. This revised and updated third edition retains the basic framework of its predecessors, examining the Middle East from a topical and then a regional, country-by-country perspective. A thoughtful consideration of the physical environment lays the groundwork for emphasis on cultural-political and geopolitical patterns, which are the essence of the study. The book includes up-to-date thematic and regional maps, tables, and photographs.
Table of contents: title: Tricontinental junction : an introduction. Middle East preview -- The Middle East : definition -- Regional unity of empires -- Aims and concepts : a glance -- Patterns of time : historical-geographical foundations. Persistence of patterns -- Early patterns -- Historical-political evolution -- Some inferences: power cores -- The lands and the waters. An overview -- Survey of landforms -- Middle East seas -- Middle East lakes -- Major river systems -- Groundwater -- The skies and the winds : climate. Middle East climate factors -- Elements of Middle East climate -- Climate regions -- Soils, vegetation, and animal life. Ecological relationships and soils -- Middle East soil patterns -- Vegetation -- Middle East vegetation patterns -- Animal life -- Patterns of peoples and cultures. Patterns : population -- Patterns : peoples -- Patterns : languages -- Patterns : religions -- Patterns : ethnic groups -- The desert and the sown : land use. Agriculture -- Landholdings and land reform -- Rainfed crop farming -- Water in the desert : irrigation -- Role of animals -- Forest products -- Fishing -- Riches beneath the earth. Underground resources -- Petroleum : historical development -- Patterns of reserves -- Petroleum production -- Major oil facilities -- Markets and marketing -- OPEC : pricing and participation -- Other minerals -- Manufacturing and transportation. Preliminary view -- Cooperation and aid -- Regional development problems -- Patterns of industry -- Transportation -- Trade -- Where people congregate. Settlers and settlements -- Overall settlement pattern -- Urbanization -- Internal structures of cities -- Urban problems and prospects -- The earth and the state : geopolitics. Hub and heartland -- The state in the Middle East -- Peace treaties and mandates -- Present basic patterns -- Regional linkages -- Regional conflicts -- The Arab-Israeli problem -- The Iran-Iraq War, 1980 - 1988 -- The Gulf Crisis, 1990 - 1991 -- Strategic straits -- Great-power rivalry -- Syria : Middle East heartland. Regional keystone -- The physical challenge -- Syria -- The imprint of time -- The Syrian mixture -- Evolving economic patterns -- Transportation and trade -- Political geography -- Lebanon and Cyprus : a mountain and an island. The character of Lebanon -- Rich past, complex evolution -- Lebanon -- Lebanon and the Lebanese -- Disrupted economic patterns -- A subregional perspective -- Factions and territories -- Two mountains, three plains -- Cyprus -- Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean crops -- Nonagricultural economy -- Before division -- Divided Cyprus -- Jordan : the land beyond. Jordan -- Historical evolution -- Peoples: Arabs, minorities, and refugees -- Problems of population -- Physical resource base -- Water : the vital resource -- Economic geography -- International relations -- Israel, Palestine, and disputed territories. Historical note -- Israel -- Varied landscapes -- Population and peoples -- Settlements -- Economic patterns -- Commerce and services -- Relations -- Occupied territories -- From West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinian Authority -- Golan -- Iraq : modern Mesopotamia. Iraq and its antecedents -- Iraq  -- Regional patterns -- Population and peoples -- Economic patterns and problems -- Relations -- Saudi Arabia : development in the desert. Saudi Arabia :  a preview -- Saudi Arabia -- Historical-political geography -- Physical patterns -- Population and peoples -- Settlements -- Economic patterns -- Relations -- The Gulf and its oil states. Kuwait -- Bahrain -- Qatar -- United Arab Emirates -- Oman and Yemen : the southern fringe. Oman -- Yemen -- Egypt : a river and a people. A view of Egypt -- Egypt -- A rich history -- River, delta, and deserts -- The Egyptians and their society -- Changing economic patterns -- Relations -- Turkey : bridgeland in Anatolia. Between Europe and the Middle East -- Turkey -- Complex regional patterns -- A historical tapestry -- The Turkish population -- Village and city -- Economic development -- Relations -- Iran : complex republic on the plateau. Young state, ancient land -- Iran -- Plateau palimpsest -- A theocratic republic -- A mountain-rimmed plateau -- People : demography and ethnography -- Iranian economic patterns -- Regional and global -- Glossary -- Geological time chart -- Bibliography -- Epilogue.