ABSTRACT
Despite abundant social, cultural, and economic differences within and among states in the Middle East, they are all bound to reckon with either, or both, of the two dominant collective identities of Islam and Arabism. This is why the region’s most salient attribute is the compelling ‘core concern’ embodied by the Israel-Palestine conflict, which imposes varying levels of “rallying around the flag.” While processes of state formation evidently increased the ability of ruling elites to defy challenging supra-state ideologies and political claims, the rise of political Islam and non-state actors identified with Iran’s revisionist policies threaten the region’s achievements toward a ‘Westphalian’ order.
