What began as a struggle between East and West later emerged as a struggle between Islam and Christendom, and has now re-emerged as a new war -which is not new at all but is the continuation of the Long War that was fought for centuries and then forgotten by the West with its rise to world dominance.
Teh Eastern Question portrays this story as a drama with stock characters improvising their lines in a plot the action of which has been determined by the dynamics of Desert & Sown, East & West, and Order & Fragmentation.
The first half of the book is thematic, exploring the three dynamics. The second half focuses on one of the six characters, the ottoman Empire -ofwhich the modern countries of the Middle East are mere fragments- its rise, decline, and fall, which opened the Eastern Question: and the concurrent rise of the West to world dominance, now being challenged by the revolt of Islam. With vast perspective and extensive view, The Eastern Question seamlessly connects today´s events to dynamics that have been active from the beginning of history.