This book discusses the emergence of the modern Middle East over the last two centuries, starting with the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt in 1798, to the present. It examines the Ottoman legacy in the region and the Western imperial impact on the creation of the Arab state system. It then addresses rise and retreat of Arab nationalism, the problems of internal cohesion of the Arab states, issues of religion and state, and the evolution of Islamist politics. It also focuses on the evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and its impact on the region and concludes with an in depth analysis of the Arab Spring by placing these contemporary revolutionary events in their historical context.