Sinews of war and trade : shipping and capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula / Laleh Khalili.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Khalili, Laleh, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shipping--Arabian Peninsula.

Shipping.

Capitalism--Arabian Peninsula.

Capitalism.

Economic conditions.

Commerce.

Arabian Peninsula--Commerce.

Arabian Peninsula.

Arabian Peninsula--Economic conditions.

Economic history.

Physical Description:

xvi, 352 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Verso, 2020.

Summary:

"On the map of global trade, China is now the factory of the world. A parade of ships full of raw commodities-iron ore, coal, oil-arrive in its ports, and fleets of container ships leave with manufactured goods in all directions. The oil that fuels China's manufacturing comes primarily from the Arabian peninsula. Much of the material shipped from China are transported through the ports of Arabian peninsula, Dubai's Jabal Ali port foremost among them. China's 'maritime silk road' flanks the peninsula on all sides. Sinews of War and Trade is the story of what the making of new ports and shipping infrastructure has meant not only for the Arabian peninsula itself, but for the region and the world beyond. The book is an account of how maritime transportation is not simply an enabling companion of trade, but central to the very fabric of global capitalism. The ports that serve maritime trade, logistics, and hydrocarbon transport create racialised hierarchies of labour, engineer the lived environment, aid the accumulation of capital regionally and globally, and carry forward colonial regimes of profit, law and administration"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Route-making p. 9

Admiralty Charts and the making of routes p. 16

The emergence of steam p. 22

'The seas inlaid with eloquent, gentle wires' p. 24

Pilgrimage p. 28

The Suez Canal p. 31

Port management of routes p. 37

Freight rates p. 40

Speculative routes p. 43

Chapter 2 Harbour-making p. 49

Curzon's 'prancing in the Persian puddle' p. 50

Dammam p. 53

Creeks and harbours of the Trucial Coast p. 57

Dubai p. 63

Aden p. 69

Making and remaking the land and the sea p. 75

Chapter 3 Palimpsests of Law and Corporate Sovereigns p. 87

Weaponising arbitration tribunal p. 92

Dubai Ports World p. 94

Geophysical features into legal categories p. 97

The offshore p. 100

The global struggle over subsea resources p. 105

Free zones p. 108

Jabal Ali p. 112

Saudi economic cities p. 116

Chapter 4 Roads and Rails Leading Away p. 121

Oil roads and rail p. 126

Roads as economic pacification weapons p. 130

Competing powers and roads p. 134

Federating transports p. 138

Peninsular connections p. 141

Chapter 5 'Mechanic, Merchant, King' p. 143

Tanker and cargo shipping companies p. 147

Merchants and capitalists p. 153

Insurance and banking p. 163

Advisers, bureaucrats, and experts p. 171

The technopolitics of managing ports p. 176

Chapter 6 Landside Labour p. 181

Conditions of work p. 187

Migration p. 191

Protests in the Peninsula p. 201

Politics or workplace protests? p. 202

Forms of protest p. 207

Unions as channels for protest p. 210

Chokepoints and counterlogistics p. 214

Chapter 7 Shipboard Work p. 219

Lascars, Asiatics, and others p. 227

Circulation of revolt p. 231

Global hierarchies aboard ships today p. 233

Working on tankers p. 234

Flagging p. 236

Chapter 8 The Bounties of War p. 243

Routes of war; wars of routes p. 243

The utility of regional wars for the Peninsula p. 247

Tankers, wars, and Tanker Wars p. 250

Desert Storm and after p. 253

The importance of bases p. 255

The riches of military construction and logistics p. 260.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-299) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Khalili, Laleh. Sinews of war and trade

ISBN:

9781786634818

1786634813

OCLC:

1113112811