Kuwait: The Transformation of an Oil State (Nations of the Contemporary Middle East) [Hardcover]

Jill Crystal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1992 | ISBN-10: 0813308887 | ISBN-13: 978-0813308883

Weaving two recurring themes in Kuwaiti history - the preservation of a sense of community in the face of economic, social and political transformations, and internal rivalry over forms of governance - into a broad profile of Kuwait, this book analyzes the country's transformation to an oil economy, its social structure and composition, political tensions, and its relations with other countries in the Gulf and Middle East. It also places Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the context of Kuwait's historical foreign policy and examines the invasion's legacy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This scholarly overview covers Kuwait's transformation from a poor British protectorate to an oil-wealthy independent state, untangling along the way the complicated Kuwaiti-Iraqi relationship. Crystal ( Oil and Politics in the Gulf ) contends that the recent Gulf crisis began not in August but in July 1990, when Saddam Hussein complained to the Arab League that Kuwait, besides producing too much oil, was siphoning from Iraq's side of the Rumailah oil field. She describes the effects of the Iraqi invasion and occupation on Kuwait's economy, society and politics, then analyzes the government's postwar goals, which include reducing the country's longtime dependence on foreign labor (non-Kuwaitis constitute more than 80% of the work force). The immediate impact of the Gulf war on Kuwait, the author avers, was to sharpen the conflicting impulses toward democratic reforms and authoritarian repression. This is an important addition to the literature of the Persian Gulf war. Illustrations.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Westview Pr (Short Disc) (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813308887
• ISBN-13: 978-0813308883
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,979,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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