In the context of the current US and Israeli wars on Iran (and Lebanon) and during what appears to be the eclipse of US primacy, we brought together a group of scholars with expertise on the “weak” states of the Middle East for a Project on Middle East Political Science workshop at the University of Alabama in March 2026. The essays from the collection show both the severity of the challenges confronting the weak states of the Middle East amidst regional turbulence and American decline, and the agency of those states (and non-state actors) in devising strategies to respond. Even the weakest of actors seek out the means to preserve their vital interests and advance their goals, often frustrating the expectations and ambitions of the powerful.
Waleed Hazbun, University of Alabama & Marc Lynch, George Washington University
The Shirking Hegemon: Authority and Insecurity in Trump’s Middle East
Sean Yom, Temple University
Small States, Protection, and US Bases
Pete Moore, Case Western Reserve University
With Friends Like These: Jordanian Security Amidst the US-Israel War on Iran
Curtis R. Ryan, Appalachian State University
Courtney Freer, Emory University
Deft Diplomacy: How Oman Thrives amid Turbulence
Tyler B. Parker, Mercer University
Syria’s New Security Entrepreneurs
Samer Abboud, Villanova University
Bureaucratic Entrenchment and Educating Yemen’s Next Generation
Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Kelly Stedem, Bucknell University