Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf
Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf

Author: Joshua Teitelbaum

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13:

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The countries of the Persian (or Arab) Gulf produce about thirty percent of the planet's oil and keep around fifty-five percent of its reserves underground. The stability of the region's autocratic regimes, therefore, is crucial for those who wish to anchor the world's economic and political future.Yet despite its reputation as a region trapped by tradition, the Persian Gulf has taken slow steps toward political liberalization. The question now is whether this trend is part of an inexorable drive toward democratization or simply a means for autocratic regimes to consolidate and legitimize their rule.The essays in this volume address the push toward political liberalization in the Persian Gulf and its implications for the future, tracking eight states as they respond to the challenges of increased wealth and education, a developing middle class, external pressures from international actors, and competing social and political groups.

Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf
Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf

Author: Joshua Teitelbaum

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13:

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The Persian (or Arab) Gulf countries produce about 30 per cent of the planet's oil, and keep in the ground around 55 per cent of its crude oil reserves, hence the stability of the region's autocratic regimes is vital to the world's economic and political future. Yet paradoxically, despite its reputation as the most traditional of regions, the Persian Gulf holds out great promise to those who support political liberalization. But is political liberalization in the region part of an inexorable drive toward democratization - or simply a means for autocratic regimes to consolidate and legitimize their rule? This book sheds new light on this fascinating trend, revealing varying levels of commitment to reform across eight Gulf states as they respond to the challenges of increased wealth and education levels, a developing middle class, external actors, and competing social and political groups.

Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf
Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf

Author: Lawrence G. Potter

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2014-06-01

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 0190237961

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Long a taboo topic, as well as one that has alarmed outside powers, sectarian conflict in the Middle East is on the rise. The contributors to this book examine sectarian politics in the Persian Gulf, including the GCC states, Yemen, Iran and Iraq, and consider the origins and con- sequences of sectarianism broadly construed, as it affects ethnic, tribal and religious groups. They also present a theoretical and comparative framework for understanding sectarianism, as well as country-specific chapters based on recent research in the area. Key issues that are scrutinised include the nature of sectarianism, how identity moves from a passive to an active state, and the mechanisms that trigger conflict. The strategies of governments such as rentier economies and the 'invention' of partisan national histories that encourage or manage sectarian differences are also highlighted, as is the role of outside powers in fostering sectarian strife. The volume also seeks to clarify whether movements such as the Islamic revival or the Arab Spring obscure the continued salience of religious and ethnic cleavages.

Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World
Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World

Author: Rex Brynen

Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9781555875794

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The Arab world is experiencing a variety of factors - internal and external - that are leading to change. This work examines such factors that are shaping political liberalisation and democratisation in the Arab context, as well as the role played by particular social groups.

Persian Gulf States
Persian Gulf States

Author: Library of Congress. Federal Research Division

Publisher: Division

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13:

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Research completed January 1993.

Gulf Politics And Economics In A Changing World
Gulf Politics And Economics In A Changing World

Author: Michael C Hudson

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2014-03-21

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 9814566217

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The wave of uprisings that has engulfed the Arab world since 2011 has impacted the Gulf significantly, however much the region appears to have remained unscathed. In Bahrain, the regime cracked down on protestors with the help of Saudi forces, and increasing Gulf tensions with Iran, political chaos in Yemen, and rumblings among unemployed youth throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states all complicate the facade of Gulf stability. In addition, ties with the United States appear to be weakening; regional politics are varied and changing, particularly with the rise of India and China; Gulf governance is often oppressive; and GCC economies are even more tied to rentier practices of distribution to keep populations satisfied and in check.Gulf Politics and Economics in a Changing World addresses these aspects of political and economic life in the GCC, Iran, and Iraq in order to assess the present situation. It also offers analysis and predictions as to what the future of this important area of the greater Middle East may hold. The volume, which features contributions from some of the best scholars in the field of Gulf studies in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, provides an in-depth and critical look at the region.

The Persian Gulf States
The Persian Gulf States

Author: Kenneth Katzman

Publisher: Nova Publishers

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 9781590339367

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The Bush Administration has said that the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003 will ease the security challenges the Persian Gulf region faces. The US-led war has ended Iraq's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and virtually ended any Iraqi conventional military threat to the region. However, some of the Persian Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates) fear that Iraq might no longer serve as a strategic counterweight to Iran and they fear that pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim groups might obtain a major share of power in post-war Iraq. Substantial administration concern remains about Iran's WMD programs, particularly what appear to be rapid advances in its nuclear program, and the potential for Iran to transfer that technology or materiel to the terrorist groups it supports. Over the longer term, with Iraq no longer a major power and the United States likely to sharply reduce its Gulf presence once Iraq is stabilised, the Gulf states might try to fashion a new security architecture for the Gulf that is based more on regional states and less on the United States. On the other hand, a reduction of the U.S. military presence in the Gulf might benefit the Gulf states by easing internal opposition to close co-operation with the United States. This new book presents the latest issues of the post war Persian Gulf states.

Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics
Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics

Author: Mehran Kamrava

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-05-31

Total Pages: 628

ISBN-13: 0429514085

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The Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of Persian Gulf politics, history, economics, and society. The volume begins its examination of Ottoman rule in the Arabian Peninsula, exploring other dimensions of the region’s history up until and after independence in the 1960s and 1970s. Featuring scholars from a range of disciplines, the book demonstrates how the Persian Gulf’s current, complex politics is a product of interwoven dynamics rooted in historical developments and memories, profound social, cultural, and economic changes underway since the 1980s and the 1990s, and inter-state and international relations among both regional actors and between them and the rest of the world. The book comprises a total of 36 individual chapters divided into the following six sections: Historical Context Society and Culture Economic Development Domestic Politics Regional Security Dynamics The Persian Gulf and the World Examining the Persian Gulf’s increasing importance in regional politics, diplomacy, economics, and security issues, the volume is a valuable resource for scholars, students, and policy makers interested in political science, history, Gulf studies, and the Middle East.

Qatar and the Arab Spring
Qatar and the Arab Spring

Author: Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2014-12-15

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 0190257520

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Qatar and the Arab Spring offers a frank examination of Qatar's startling rise to regional and international prominence, describing how its distinctive policy stance toward the Arab Spring emerged. In only a decade, Qatari policy-makers - led by the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and his prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani - catapulted Qatar from a sleepy backwater to a regional power with truly international reach. In addition to pursuing an aggressive state-branding strategy with its successful bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar forged a reputation for diplomatic mediation that combined intensely personalized engagement with financial backing and favorable media coverage through the Al-Jazeera. These factors converged in early 2011 with the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolts in North Africa, Syria, and Yemen, which Qatari leaders saw as an opportunity to seal their regional and international influence, rather than as a challenge to their authority, and this guided their support of the rebellions against the Gaddafi and Assad regimes in Libya and Syria. From the high watermark of Qatari influence after the toppling of Gaddafi in 2011, that rapidly gave way to policy overreach in Syria in 2012, Coates Ulrichsen analyses Qatari ambition and capabilities as the tiny emirate sought to shape the transitions in the Arab world.

Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf Political Economy, War and Revolution
Dynamics of Change in the Persian Gulf Political Economy, War and Revolution

Author: Anoushiravan Ehteshami

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0415657571

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The Persian Gulf has come to represent one of the most strategically significant waterways of the world. In terms of geography, geopolitics, resources, global political economy, and regional influence, the Gulf is perhaps home to the world's most significant group of countries. Focusing on the complexities of the interplay between domestic-level changes and region-wide interactions, this book presents the reader with the first comprehensive survey of the dynamics of change in this crucial area. Systemic-oriented in its approach, the impact of war and revolution on the countries of the sub-region is discussed, and the ways in which these factors have shaped the security dilemmas and responses of the Gulf States is also explored. The role of oil is examined in terms of the impact of its income on these states and societies, and the manner in which oil has shaped the integration of these states into the global system. Oil has shrunk developmental time in these countries, and has accelerated generational shift. At the same time, it has created the dialectical relationship which now characterizes the difficult balance between prosperity and instability which is at the heart of the sub-region. Casting new light on the workings of a strategically significant part of the international system, this book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of international relations, international security and Middle Eastern politics.