This book is a major contribution to our understanding of the Gulf Emirates, illuminating many aspects of the socio-economic forces and processes operating on and in the region. It assesses actual oil revenues received and shows the impact oil revenues have had on economic development.

As the price of oil fell in the eighties the pressures on the Arab Gulf States to speed up the diversification of their economies into non-oil sectors increased. This book, first published in 1984, examines this problem and many other issues connected with the impact of oil revenues on development in the Gulf States. It considers changing oil production policies and developments in other sectors of the economy including agriculture, industry and banking. It explores population problems, moves towards Gulf economic coordination and the impact of oil on society, culture and education. This book provides an assessment of just how much the region depends on oil for its economic prosperity and development and some indication of the enormous problems that would face the region should the demand for oil decease still further.

This thought-provoking study measures and critically examines the effects that an average population growth rate of 2.8% could have on the development of the Arab Gulf States. It questions the ability of Gulf governments to continue providing relatively high standards of education, health and employment under conditions of rapid population growth, an undiversified economic base, and a tribal political framework. Within this context, population growth is identified as one important variable that hinders long-term development. The book will appeal to all those interested in the Middle East, demography, development and sociology.

Tracing the development journey of the Arabian Gulf region with a forward-looking perspective, this book describes how a combination of good fortune, creative experimentation, and determination has enabled the region to achieve prosperity. Today, the Arabian Gulf is well positioned to assume a pivotal role in the new global order. Forced to balance an extreme climate and acute resource constraints, but also an exceptional location, the region’s progress and prosperity have historically been precarious and vulnerable to external shocks. Efforts to transcend resource dependency have typically involved proactive attempts to enable other economic activities. This book argues that, while conventional economic diversification is making headway, the Gulf region is in fact amidst a far more holistic transformation that positions it for a pivotal role in the emerging multipolar global order. It now offers globally competitive regulations and world-class infrastructure at the heart of the Old World, flanked by two fast-growing continents. It has become the hub of choice for a growing share of inter-continental flows of people, trade, and capital, and has established strong economic ties in all directions. This book shows how, despite many risks and challenges, the region possesses the forward-looking vision and necessary resilience that can finally liberate it from its long-standing "resource curse" and a development paradigm that looks likely to provide the foundation for sustained well-being in the decades ahead. The scope and rigor of the book make it suitable as a reference on the Arabian Gulf and for those interested in global affairs and economic development, as well as policymakers and the business community.

Some vols. include supplemental journals of "such proceedings of the sessions, as, during the time they were depending, were ordered to be kept secret, and respecting which the injunction of secrecy was afterwards taken off by the order of the House".

First Published in 1992 Reconstruction and Regional Diplomacy in the Persian Gulf goes beyond a description of the recent events by analysing the social, political, and economic patterns of interaction between the Gulf states. The argument is strengthened by a consideration of the role of the superpowers in the region’s political discourse, and of religion as a force for a change. Not only do the authors provide an easily accessible basis for explaining the current problems in the region, but they also offer their own, sometimes provocative policy prescriptions. This book is an important read for scholars and researchers of Middle East politics and Middle East history.

This book is an analysis of how oil has affected governance and human, political, and economic development in the countries of the Persian Gulf and shaped these countries' relations with the rest of the world.

After the oil discoveries of the early 1930s, Bahrain rapidly became an oil exporting country with a relatively high income per capita. More recently Bahrain has succeeded in diversifying its oil dominated economy by developing regional banking and other services, and a variety of light and heavy industries. Various circumstances have combined to make Bahrain a leader among the Arab Gulf States in the transformation of traditional Arabic tribal societies into modern social and economic structures. This book, first published in 1985, in exploring the past, present and possible futures of Bahrain and the Gulf, attempts to describe the nature of this transformation. It estimates to what extent Bahrain has merely an outward appearance of modernity, and explores the conflicts between the compelling power of modern values and the pervasive traditional religions. Bahrain is not typical of the Arab countries of the Gulf; it may, however, serve as a gauge of their current position and likely future. It will therefore be valuable to those interested in gaining more insight into the history and politics of the Middle East during this period of rapid change.