Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies (Durham Middle East Studies) [Hardcover]

Anoushiravan Ehteshami (Editor), Steven M. Wright (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0863723233 | ISBN-13: 978-0863723230

The oil rich monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula are frequently dismissed as having no democratic systems compared to most other regions of the world. Indeed, the United States justified its action in Iraq by proclaiming that democracy and freedom must be adopted both in Iraq and throughout the wider Middle East, in order to counter the conditions which breed international terrorism. It has been argued that the countries of the Arabian Peninsula need to provide a system of democratic representation that fully takes into account their own history and culture. This raises many questions. Can their firmly established tradition of rule provide the basis for the evolution of an Arab form of constitutional monarchy? Should the West be seeking to encourage national indigenous evolution rather than working to impose Western systems? What are the risks of change and what has been achieved so far? Through articles by eminent academics and government officials, this book addresses these issues and examines the drivers, progress and challenges for future change in this vitally strategic area of the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is a valuable collection of papers, mostly by British and Arab scholars, on recent "reform in Arabian Peninsula monarchies". The emphasis is mostly on political changes, but with some treatment of economic matters also. ... While the authors that editors Ehteshami and Wright have selected do not stray far from establishment perspectives on these Western client autocracies and tend to portray them favourably, they make no bones about the fact that what has occurred during recent years is not democratization but only a kind of liberalization (perhaps cosmetic) that leaves royal power intact and arguably even strengthened. A careful reading sheds light on the reality that, US rhetoric about promoting democracy notwithstanding, real democratization would undermine these states' role as allies. The book is clearly written and will be useful to a wide variety of readers. ... Recommended.'Choice, September 2008, Vol. 46 No. 01

About the Author

Professor Anoushivaran Ehteshami is Head of the School of Government and International Affairs and Professor of International Relations at the University of Durham. Dr Steven Wright is currently Assistant Professor in International Affairs at Qatar University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: Ithaca (November 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863723233
• ISBN-13: 978-0863723230
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,131,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thin Book on a Thin Subject, November 24, 2009

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This review is from: Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies (Durham Middle East Studies) (Hardcover)

According to P. Clawson at the Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2009 edition, the six Persian Gulf monarchies--Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman--have for decades been undergoing sustained economic development that was matched by little if any political reform. Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies argues that this situation has changed. By far the most interesting essay is the introduction by Gerd Nonneman, which argues that the growing wealth of the local business communities is leading to emerging "post-rentier" dynamics in which state-controlled oil revenues are no longer the sole source of wealth. He goes on to describe the "liberalization without democratization" that each ruling family hopes to accomplish.

Successive essays look at reform by country. The essays by locals, on Oman and Kuwait, are short and thin. Those on Dubai and Saudi Arabia analyze economic reform in depth. They are interesting--full of information and sound analysis--but largely avoid the more difficult issue of what impact economic development will have on political life. Ahmed Abdelkareem Saif's essay on Qatar and even more so Neil Quilliam's essay on Bahrain explore in depth political changes in those countries. They show that there has been real liberalization--including freer expression and more public discussion--but only very limited democratization in the sense of popular control over the making of major decisions.

Three chapters deal with factors affecting political reform. Bahgat Korany denies the thesis that Islam impedes democracy. Steven Wright argues that the United States has done little to promote it. More plausible than either of those is Emma Murphy's argument that information and communication technologies are forces for modest change, rather than agents of revolutionary, political transformation.

In sum, a thin book on a thin subject--but that is still more than would have been true a decade or two ago when there would have been precious little to put in such a volume.