Reform in the Middle East oil monarchies / edited by Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Steven Wright.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ehteshami, Anoushiravan.

Wright, Steven M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic policy.

Political participation.

Democracy.

Politics and government.

Middle East--Politics and government--1979---Congresses.

Middle East.

Democracy--Middle East--Congresses.

Political participation--Middle East--Congresses.

Middle East--Economic policy--Congresses.

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

x, 309 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Reading, Berkshire, UK : Ithaca Press, [2008]

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Foreword / Donald Hawley

Political reform in the Gulf monarchies : from liberalization to democratization? a comparative perspective / Gerd Nonneman

Reform in the Arabian Peninsula world / Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Patterns of democratic deficit : is it Islam? / Bahgat Korany

Political reform in Bahrain : the turning tide / Neil Quilliam

Deconstructing before building : perspectives on democracy in Qatar / Ahmed Abdelkareem Saif

Oman's approach to development / Sayyid Badr bin Saʻud Al-Busaidi

Economic governance and reform in Saudi Arabia / Rodney Wilson

The impact of economic reform on Dubai / Christopher M. Davidson

ICT and the Gulf Arab states : a force for democracy? / Emma Murphy

The future of reform in the societies of the GCC countries / Mohammad Al Rumaihi

US foreign policy and the changed definition of Gulf security / Steven M. Wright

Synergies in reform : case studies of Saudi Arabia and Iran / Mahjoob Zweiri.

Notes:

"This book .. [is] the fruit of a ... conference at Durham University in September 2005 under the auspices of the Sir William Luce Fund and the Institute of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies"--P. vii.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-282) and index.

ISBN:

0863723233

9780863723230

OCLC:

153580751