The Arab Gulf States And Reform In The Middle East

This analysis seeks to analyse the main trends in Gulf security in light of the changes in the regional and international arena, while examining the relationship between external and internal threats, which are intertwined in the Gulf security agenda.

How are authority and influence accumulated and wielded across the six Gulf states? Mixing theoretical and empirical insights, and utilising both historical and contemporary examples, this book offers a comparative analysis of military, political, economic and religious power in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as of the power of narrative. While many volumes examine each of these states individually, 'Centers of Power in the Arab Gulf States' assesses the Arabian Peninsula as a whole, filling a significant gap in the literature. It surveys the myriad factors which have influenced the emergence of these states, societies and political economies, which have become increasingly assertive actors in today's global order. Exploring domestic, regional and transnational pressures, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen sheds light on the varying concepts of power and authority, the different forms they take, the ways they are projected, and the practical constraints on their exercise. From whom does power derive? Is it something different from influence and ambition? Is decision-making top-down or bottom-up, or a mixture of both? From bureaucrats to scholars, and from royals to opposition figures, Coates Ulrichsen uncovers the power relations shaping the Gulf today.

Although reform movements have been prominent in varying degrees in most Middle Eastern countries for some time, the cascade of events following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has generated new pressures for democratization throughout the Arab World. Political Change in the Arab Gulf States explores the politics influencing the volatile situation in the region, as well as specific measures devised by regimes in power to adjust to the challenges of the current environment. The authors first focus on the politics of seven Gulf states: Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. They then consider four forces that are shaping current political attitudes and behavior across the region: movements to broaden womenʹs political participation, the media, current US national security policy, and regional defense cooperation. The result is an up-to-date assessment of the prospects for political reform in the Gulf and an important corrective to a simplistic domino theory of democratization. -- Publisher description.

This book examines the relations and image of the Arab Gulf states in the West. It explores how that image has been presented and curated, as well as the political, cultural and human rights dimensions.

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? This book addresses these issues and examines the drivers, progress, and challenges for future change in this vitally strategic area of the world.

This book opens with an interesting question: Why do monarchies, which seem to be dying out everywhere else, thrive in the Middle East? The answer by Peterson, an expert on the Arabian peninsula who has already written fine books on Oman and North Yemen, is that the Emirs of the Arab Gulf have sought to be accountable to their citizens through a flexible mixture of traditional assemblies like the diwan and modern instruments like parliaments and an independent press. Peterson illustrates his argument with detailed case studies of political institutions in Kuwait and Bahrain and with looser comparisons of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Lucid writing and fascinating anecdotes make the text accessible to undergraduates interested in the Gulf, modernization, or democratization in the Third World. Choice

Since the beginning of the 21st century the Gulf region has been faced political and security-related changes and socio-economic transformations that have placed enormous pressure on the Gulf countries, threatened their internal stability and, ultimately, left them with two options: either continue to follow previous methods and policies, or radically change methods, policies and institutions in order to preserve these countries’ existence and further progress and development. The Gulf countries have attempted to respond to these changes and challenges by perpetuating their old values, policies and institutions by amending and improving them as part of a gradualist approach. However, this approach has not bridged the wide gap between the realities of modern Gulf societies and their aspirations to establish development policies and popular and democratic participation, reform their development models and economic structures; improve educational systems, strengthen social building, enhance cultural movement, and empower women in public life. This book – which comprises the papers presented in the sessions of the 13th ECSSR Annual Conference convened between March 31 and April 2, 2008 – discusses the issue of continuity and change in the Gulf region, which is considered both one of the most vital and most problematic current challenges in the region. The book addresses the points of difference and aspects of contradiction that have emerged in a wide sphere among the Gulf countries between conservative and reformist trends in the political, economic, social, cultural, and educational domains.

Explores the politics influencing the volatile situation in the Middle East, as well as specific measures devised by regimes in power to adjust to the challenges of the current environment.