{"product_id":"what-really-went-wrong-the-west-and-the-failure-of-democracy-in-the-middle-east","title":"What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East","description":"An ambitious alternative history of the modern Middle East\n\nWhat Really Went Wrong offers a fresh and incisive assessment of American foreign policy’s impact on the history and politics of the modern Middle East. Looking at flashpoints in Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, and Lebanese history, Fawaz A. Gerges shows how postwar U.S. leaders made a devil’s pact with potentates, autocrats, and strongmen around the world. Washington sought to tame assertive nationalists and to protect repressive Middle Eastern regimes in return for compliance with American hegemonic designs and uninterrupted flows of cheap oil.\n\nThe book takes a counterfactual approach, asking readers to consider how the political trajectories of these countries and, by extension, the entire region may have differed had U.S. foreign policy privileged the nationalist aspirations of patriotic and independent Middle Eastern leaders and people. Gerges argues that rather than focusing on rolling back communism, extracting oil, and pursuing interventionist and imperial policies in Iran, Egypt, and beyond, postwar U.S. leaders should have allowed the Middle East greater autonomy in charting its own political and economic development. In so doing, the contemporary Middle East may have had better prospects for stability, prosperity, peace, and democracy.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0300259573\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.0300259573.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Gerges, Fawaz A.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43252503937085,"sku":"BVV.0300259573.G","price":10.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/0300259573-0.jpg?v=1780608225","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/what-really-went-wrong-the-west-and-the-failure-of-democracy-in-the-middle-east","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}