The Arab State as a Hostage of Interdisciplinary Politics

The region of the Middle East has for a long time been regarded as resistant to theory. While general theory remains too “general” for comprehending its regional particularities, attempts to explain its regional politics by drawing on models particular to the Middle East have only made little impact outside of the region. These problems are aptly manifested in discussions regarding the nature, origins and goals of discipline- and area-oriented production of knowledge. Within these barriers, the state remains an ambiguous concept. In order to e!ectively theorise the Middle East and circumvent the traps of “Orientalism” and cultural essentialism, a new structural theory of the state must be formulated, one that is capable of reconciling the two dimensions of the dual character of the state – its domestic and international dimension. The path towards such a theory is, however, beset by all manner of conflicts and intellectual dilemmas.