Political Roles and Military Rulers

These essays, plucked from prior publications over the years, find Perlmutter jousting with rival scholars over the nature of the role of the military in the politics of the Middle East and, tangentially, the rest of the Third World. Concentrating on Egypt, he makes much of his concept of the praetorian army and the praetorian state. The theories invite controversy, but he is utterly realistic in seeing where political power lies.