The United Arab Emirates: A Study In Survival (Middle East in the International System) [Hardcover]

Christopher M. Davidson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 333 pages
• Publisher: Lynne Rienner Pub (January 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158826274X
• ISBN-13: 978-1588262745
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,001,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > History > Middle East > United Arab Emirates

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The UAE, February 28, 2005

By 

Arthur Stevenson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The United Arab Emirates: A Study In Survival (Middle East in the International System) (Hardcover)

The author has combined history with political science to make for something of a cutting edge book on one of the Gulf's most interesting countries. I just finished reading this, and being a veteran of the UAE for many years I found it to be very well researched with some extremely clever and original analysis, and in a completely different league to all previous books on the country.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something missing..., January 9, 2007

By 

Dr. Mervyn J. Morris (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The United Arab Emirates: A Study In Survival (Middle East in the International System) (Hardcover)

Overall I thought the book was very well put together and achieves what the author set out to achieve. Based on my knowledge (personal and professional) it is an accurate reflection on the UAE. However, two points I would like to make in relation to the book. First, while Davidson discusses the role Indians played in the early days of the UAE unfortunately they have been left out of modern developments. At the commercial level, expatriate Indians have been a very significant force in the overall development of the UAE. Second, Davidson wants to use quantity as an (almost) measure of quality. When he refers to the various public services available (notably hospitals and public schools) there are some questions about the quality of the services being provided, especially in some of the Emirates outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. But he does manage to capture and convey the dynamic and rapidly changing nature of the UAE.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of few available serious studies of the U.A.E., December 7, 2005

By 

Daniel Bond "Dan Bond" (Milford, Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The United Arab Emirates: A Study In Survival (Middle East in the International System) (Hardcover)

As a researcher at a major New York financial firm I needed to quickly find information to help me begin to assess the risks of doing business in the U.A.E. Fortunately I came across a reference to this volume. I found it extremely useful for my work, providing me with substantial up-to-date information on the politics and economics of a country quite different from most I have studied. In particular, Dr. Davidson provided some answers to one of my initial questions about the U.A.E.--what holds this group of seven monarchies together? While the book could have benefited from more editing (it still reads like a doctoral dissertation)it is full of information and easy to use.