During the Cold War regional conflicts allowed the superpowers to cement their influence within the framework of superpower rivalries. Some of these conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, escalated to destabilizing wars with an indirect superpower involvement. For this reason there was a common belief that the end of the Cold War and the related superpower competition would lead to the end of armed conflicts. However, the cessation of East-West conflict could not prevent the outbreak of the Gulf War.

In contrast to the majority of studies dealing with regional conflicts, this book does not view conflicts in the Middle East as an extension of the global conflict. Tibi argues that regional conflicts, in particular in the Middle East, have their own dynamic and that therefore the end of superpower competition does not bring an end to war in regional conflicts. The change lies elsewhere: from interstate war to new security.