Asia constitutes the hub of the transformation of global economic power today. The Gulf, itself part of Asia, is of increasing importance in this transformation. This book documents the growing interactions between the economies of the Gulf states and those of the rest of Asia. These relationships are critical to how the world economy develops over the next decade, and how economic (and perhaps strategic) power is distributed. This volume assembles cutting-edge thinking by 16 specialists on a wide variety of topics covering Arab Gulf relations with China, Japan, ASEAN, Korea and India, as well as with Russia, Iran and Turkey.
This study offers a vital reappraisal of the trade relationship between north-east Asia and the Gulf. Writing from a non-western standpoint, Dargin and Lim make a compelling case for how these regions became economically integrated in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.
Over the last two decades the relations between the countries of the Gulf and Asia have expanded beyond the economic domain to include political and even security arrangements. While oil and non-oil trade are still the fulcrum of their association, 'strategic' partnerships are fast becoming the norm. The contributors of this book argue that, along with economic diversification, the Gulf countries have also diversified their foreign policies, especially with China, India, Japan and South Korea, among others. Together with Russia, this could eventually alter the current US-centric security paradigm. This opens up the prospect for a 'collective' security architecture in the Gulf, which is key to regional and global stability.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) vision, heralded as an attempt to revive the pre-modern Silk Route, is intended to strengthen West Asia’s economic links with China through ambitious infrastructural projects. Central to this are fast-track rail links, funded by the newly-established Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), which has its headquarters in Beijing. This book explores the implications of OBOR and the AIIB for the Middle East/West Asia, and addresses a number of key strategic questions arising from China’s new initiatives. These include: how far are the strategic imperatives underpinning China’s policies connected to the political dynamics of Xinjiang and the spread of radical Islam in Central Asia? How are Middle Eastern stakeholders’ views of China affected by the new initiatives? How does China’s increasing involvement in the Middle East/West Asia affect other regional powers with ambitions in the region, notably Russia? The book also considers the impact of China’s increasing presence on individual countries, including Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The Asian economic "meltdown" that began in 1997 has demonstrated the urgent need for a post-cold war reappraisal of U.S. policy priorities in this critical region.American policy rests on the premise that the United States does not have to choose between economic and security priorities in Asia, because the American military presence is valued by regional powers in its own right. But is this premise justified?This timely book presents mini-debates on the key issues facing the United States in Asia, together with the recommendations of an Economic Strategy Institute Study Group composed of leading scholars, businessmen, diplomats, and military leaders with Asian experience. Among the wide-ranging recommendations are controversial proposals for a gradual disengagement of U.S. combat forces from Japan and Korea. The sixteen specialists who debate U.S. policy options in background papers prepared for the Study Group present conflicting perspectives on U.S. interests in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.In a policy-challenging Overview, editors Selig S. Harrison and Clyde V. Prestowitz, Jr., focus on the impact of the cold war on U.S. economic relations with Asia today, and on the diminishing need for the forward deployment of U.S. forces resulting from improvements in U.S. airlift and sealift capabilities.The contributors are Doug Bandow, Barry Bosworth, Ted Galen Carpenter, James Clad, Rear Adm. Eugene Carroll, Jr., Charles W. Freeman, Jr., Chalmers Johnson, Geoffrey Kemp, Paul H. Kreisberg, Nicholas R. Lardy, Martin L. Lasater, Mike Masato Mochizuki, William J. Taylor, Ezra Vogel, Allen S. Whiting, and Jeffrey Winters.Selig S. Harrison is a senior scholar of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a fellow of The Century Foundation. His many books on U.S. relations with Asia include The Widening Gulf: Asian Nationalism and U.S. Policy. Clyde V. Prestowitz, Jr., is president of the Economic Strategy Institute and former counselor to the Secretary of Commerce. He is the author of Trading Places: How We Allowed Japan to Take the Lead.
A perfect storm of economic, diplomatic, and cultural concerns have brought about the Asianization of Asia, uniting the continent's many countries under a dominant framework of interests and trends. Pushing Asia's domain even further is a new and abiding relationship between Asia's three most industrialized economies and the Persian Gulf's six monoarchies. What began as a basic, twentieth-century marriage of convenience, founded on the trading of hydrocarbon, has now evolved into a complex, long-term commitment guaranteeing continuous exchange of resources and need. This bond has also strengthened the non-hydrocarbon, bilateral trade that facilitates wealth investments on both sides, building lucrative opportunities for Pacific-Asian contruction and, in China's case, its vast forces of labor. Christopher Davidson, an acclaimed expert on the Middle East's rapidly changing economy, details the eastern and western factors that have brought Asia and the Gulf closer together. Athough this relationship has yet to include military arrangements, evidence suggests that the two regions have bolstered other noneconomic ties.Davidson unravels the confusing links between these emerging powers and shows how their unique economic, political, geographical, and cultural identities both strengthen and threaten their future partnership.
The Arab uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa in the period from 2011- 2012 left an indelible mark on the socio-political landscape of the region. But that mark was not consistent across the region: while some countries underwent dramatic popular social and political changes, others teetered on the brink, or were left with the status quo intact. Street revolutions toppled despotic regimes in Tunisia, Libya, and momentarily in Egypt, while mounting serious challenges to authoritarian regimes in Syria and Yemen. Algeria’s entrenched bureaucratic-cum-military authoritarian system proved resilient until the recent events of early 2019 which forced the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika before the end of his term on 28 April 2019. As in Algeria, protestors in Sudan succeeded, after months of demonstrations, in overthrowing the government of Omar al-Bashir. Several Arab monarchies still appear stable and have managed to weather the tempest of the Arab revolutions, albeit not without fissures showing in the edifice of their states, accompanied by some minor constitutional changes. Where Tunisians, Egyptians, Yemenis, Syrians, and Libyans demanded regime changes in their political systems, protesters in the Arab monarchies have called on the kings and emirs to reform their political system from the top down, indicating the sizeable monarchical advantage. Historical Dictionary of the Arab Uprisings contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on the terms, persons and events that shaped the Arab Spring uprisings. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Arab Uprisings.
This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the various dimensions of the relationship between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, and highlights how relations are yet to reach their full potential. Despite both parties sharing a number of common interests, including trade, energy, climate change, security and cultural cooperation, the multilateral cooperation framework remains limited, with most engagement taking place bilaterally, between individual European and GCC countries. The book reassesses the potential and prospects for the EU’s engagement with GCC countries based on the recalibration and reconciliation of both parties’ national and regional interests. Taking a thematic approach, each of the three sections of the book examines a key dimension of the relationship, its current status and its path forward.
Gulf stability is coming to play a larger role in the foreign policy calculus of many states, but the evolving role of Asian powers is largely under-represented in the International Relations literature. This volume addresses this gap with a set of empirically rich, theory driven case studies written by academics from or based in the countries in question. The underlying assumption is not that Asian powers have already become important security actors in the Gulf, but rather that they perceive the Gulf as a region of increasing strategic relevance. How will leaders in these countries adjust to an evolving regional framework? Will there be coordinated efforts to establish an Asian-centered approach to Gulf stability, or will Asian rivalries make the region a theater of competition? Will US–China tensions force alignment choices among Asian powers? Will Asian states balance, bandwagon, hedge, or adopt some other approach to their Gulf relationships? These questions become even more important as the western boundaries of Asia increasingly come to incorporate the Middle East. The book will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of International Relations, Security Studies, and International Political Economy, as well as area specialists on the Gulf and those working on foreign policy issues on each of the Asian countries included. Professionals in government and non-government agencies will also find it very useful. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
This book examines the changing relations between the Asian part of the Middle East and the rest of the continent during the 21st century. Written by leading experts, this ground-breaking volume utilizes a comprehensive and multi-dimensional perspective to offer a novel and unique outlook on the evolving shape of East-West Asia relations and their global impact. Critically, it demonstrates that the intensification and diversification of East-West Asia relations since the 1990s have altered them from a set of separated bilateral ties into complex interregional relations. The book presents a nuanced, comparative look at Asian countries’ responses to global developments, and China’s rise in particular, and offers a new perspective on the very concept of Asia itself. It will be of interest to scholars, students, and practitioners working in the fields of International Relations, Asian Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies.
