<div>This study of politics and the role of the state in the Arab world is aimed at students of Middle East politics, political theory and political economy. Ayubi's main objective is to place the Arab world within a theoretical framework that avoids both "orientalist" and "fundamentalist" insistence on the utter peculiarity and uniqueness of the region. He focuses on eight countries, and deals with such issues as the emergence of social classes, corporatism, economic liberalization and the relationship between state and civil society. <br></div>