Political Violence and Stability in The States Of The Northern Persian Gulf (1999) [Paperback]

Daniel L. Byman (Author), Jerrold D. Green (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 1999

Political violence threatens the lives of U.S. soldiers and the stability of U.S. allies throughout the world. This report examines the threat of political violence in the Persian Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates and the best means of reducing that threat. It assesses sources of discontent, common reasons for anti-regime politicization, potential triggers of violence, and the influence of foreign powers. The report then describes the strategies that regimes in the area have used to interfere with political organization and to counter violence in general. The report concludes by noting implications of political violence for both the United States and its allies in the Gulf, and by assessing the impact of various measures that could reduce violence: enacting political and economic re forms in the Gulf; changing the U.S. presence in the region through new basing and operational approaches;

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Political violence-terrorism and politically motivated killings ordestruction intended to advance a political cause-has taken thelives of hundreds of U.S. soldiers and civilians in the Middle East inthe 1980s and 1990s, and remains a serious threat for the comingdecades. Its dangers go beyond lost lives: Political violence cancreate a climate of unrest in a critical region, leading once-stablecountries such as Lebanon and Algeria to descend into an inferno ofstrife and civil war. In 1995 and 1996, terrorist attacks in SaudiArabia killed 24 U.S. soldiers, and the possibility for further violenceremains real. These terrorist attacks also raise a broader threat to thesecurity of the U.S. regional presence and the stability of arearegimes. In a worst-case scenario, terrorists also might act in conjunctionwith regional aggressors, helping them strike behind the lines of U.S. allies and impeding a U.S. military buildup.This report assesses the threat of political violence in the northernPersian Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UnitedArab Emirates. It examines general sources of discontent in the Gulf,common reasons for anti-regime politicization, potential triggers ofviolence, and the influence of foreign powers. The report then assessesthose strategies that regimes in the area have used to interferewith political organization and to counter violence in general. Thereport concludes by noting implications of political violence for boththe United States and its allies in the Gulf.This assessment is intended to inform both policymakers and individualsconcerned with Persian Gulf security. Policymakers can draw on the assessment in judging how to better protect U.S. forces and tounderstand the true level of threat to Gulf regime stability. This research was conducted for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict/Policy Planning) within the Center for International Security and Defense Policy of RAND's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies.

About the Author

Daniel L. Byman (Ph.D., political science, M.I.T.) is a policy analyst at RAND whose research interests include modeling ethnic conflict, assessing Middle East politics and security issues, developing countermeasures against terrorism, reevaluating air power theory, and other general issues related to U.S. foreign policy.

Jerrold Green (PhD, Political Science, University of Chicago) is Associate Chair, Research Staff Management Department; a Senior Political Scientist; and Director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy. Research interests and activities include U.S. Foreign Policy, Middle East Politics, Sociopolitical Change in Developing Countries, Impact of the Information Revolution, Terrorism and Political Violence, and Mediterranean Security.

Product Details

• Paperback: 146 pages
• Publisher: Rand Publishing (August 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833027263
• ISBN-13: 978-0833027269
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,142,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Daniel Byman is Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He has served on the 9/11 Commission staff and as an analyst with the U.S. government.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fast Read With Some Points of Interest, March 24, 2003

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Political Violence and Stability in The States Of The Northern Persian Gulf (1999) (Paperback)

The good news about the book is that it just gets over 100 pages thus you can finish it in a few hours. The first thing that struck me when starting to read this book was that it seamed like a report created for a government Agency that they decided to publish as a book. That is not all bad, it just makes for somewhat flat and dry reading. I really enjoyed the discussion on the current (as of 1999) political and economic issues of the Gulf States. With the current focus on this part of the world it is interesting to read about some of the underling factors to how and why they act the way they do.

The book was not the one source for your Middle East education, but it could be used as a primmer for Middle East reading. It gives the basic facts that many other sources scan over or skip. I especially liked the details on Iran, which proved to be very interesting. The authors made Iran look to be more of a threat then Iraq, with all the trouble they have caused during the 90's via Hezbollah. One hole in the document seams to me to be the complete lack of mention of Al Queda even though the test covers Non State sponsored security issues. I think they were mentioned all of tow times even though the attacks on Americans in Africa and Saudi Arabia were discussed a number of times. Overall the book is interesting but not the one and only book to read on the subject.