Roger Hardy, a former BBC Middle East analyst, has written a commended book 'The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East'.

Last month Roger and three SME recorded a discussion (90 mins), which is an excellent overview and the impact of history:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYin...ature=youtu.be

A full review, sub-titled:
Deft character sketches illuminate a history of European rule over former Ottoman territories
Link:https://www.ft.com/content/d374b70c-...7-e7ada1d123b1

One review, alas mainly behind a "wall":
Readers of The Tablet may well be familiar with the voice of Roger Hardy, who for over 20 years was a Middle East analyst with the BBC World Service. Widely travelled in the region, softly spoken and thoughtful, with an acute historical understanding and a journalist’s eye and ear for telling detail, he is an outstanding commentator on a part of the world which, in Western eyes at least, has become a byword for misrule.
Link:http://www.thetablet.co.uk/books/10/...AO-HpI.twitter

The publisher's website and if you register there is a discount and worldwide free P&P:http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-poisoned-well/

Daniel Byman of Brookings has an article mixing history and today 'What year is it in the Middle East?' and the summary states:
Everyone agrees that the Middle East is in crisis, but the diagnoses of the problems—and the resulting remedies—are hotly disputed. Exact parallels are always lacking, writes Dan Byman, but different historical analogies offer insights into the region’s myriad problems and their implications for the United States
Link:https://www.brookings.edu/blog/marka...e-middle-east/