Unity, Justice and Power: A Comparative Study of Deterrence Theory and Islamic Philosophy Paperback – March 28, 2026

The Middle East does not lack power — it lacks the architecture to coordinate it.On February 28, 2026, coordinated strikes on Iran triggered retaliation across eight Gulf states, closed the Strait of Hormuz, and sent oil prices surging. The crisis exposed what this book argues with precision: the region’s vulnerability is not cultural or civilizational, but structural — the direct legacy of the fragmentation engineered by the Sykes–Picot Agreement and the mandate system.In Unity, Justice, and Power, Hussein M. Muhsin presents the first disciplined synthesis of Thomas Schelling’s deterrence theory and Qur’anic strategic philosophy. Though developed in entirely different intellectual traditions, both converge on the same conclusion:collective security requires disciplined coordination, credible restraint, and enforceable commitments.This book builds the operational bridge between them.Across nineteen chapters, Muhsin outlines a complete institutional architecture for regional stability grounded in three pillars:Unity — coordination without political merger, enabling sovereign states to act collectively.Justice — Palestinian sovereignty as a structural requirement for legitimacy and cross‑sectarian cohesion.Power — the organized use of geography, energy, and three maritime chokepoints (the Strait of Hormuz,Bab El‑Mandeb, and the Suez Canal) under unified institutional management.The framework includes:• The New Quadrilateral — Türkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan as the founding core, with Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent extending protection to all member states.• The Iranian Pivot — a structured Grand Bargain that transforms Iran from spoiler to stakeholder through a security guarantee, Gulf investment, and a seat on a new Middle East Security Council.• The Palestinian Anchor — sovereignty, a regional security guarantee, a Levantine reconstruction plan, and a Jerusalem Holy Sites Authority.• The Open Architecture — membership criteria for all 57 OIC states, extending coalition reach to the Indo‑Pacific through Indonesia’s Strait of Malacca.• The 25‑Year Roadmap — phased institutional milestones modeled on NATO, the EU, and ASEAN.• The Enforcement Architecture — the Joint Islamic Verification Coalition (JIVC), the Enforcement Ladder, and the Coalition Arbitration Panel.• A Methodological Appendix — a transparent account of the comparative analysis integrating Schelling with Qur’anic jurisprudence.Addressing the entrapment dilemma for smaller states, the role of the United States in the transition, and the structural obstacles that have defeated every previous unity project, Unity, Justice, and Power offers both a scholarly contribution and a practical roadmap.This is a book for policymakers, diplomats, strategists, and scholars who understand that the next twenty‑five years in the Middle East will not be shaped by sentiment, but by architecture.Hussein M. Muhsin holds a Master of Arts in International Relations with a concentration in Middle Eastern Politics and Economic and Political Developmental Strategies, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with professional experience at the United Nations through the World Assembly of Youth. Read more