In the issue, Prof Fawcett brings together 15 articles published between 1926 and 2017 which provide an insight into the key political events affecting the region.
In her introduction, Prof Fawcett reflects: "The region has witnessed a series of 'moments', whether British, Arab nationalist, Islamist or American. Yet the overriding story here is that none of these moments have endured. An imposed order is unworkable: neither major external nor regional powers and their accompanying ideologies have devised a stable regional system. The articles selected here expose the complexity of a region whose colonial past continues to resonate with a troubled present."