Exploring the history of the Persian Gulf from ancient times until the present day, leading authorities treat the internal history of the region and describe the role outsiders have played there. The book focuses on the unity and identity of Gulf society and how the Gulf historically has been part of a cosmopolitan Indian Ocean world.

The position of the Persian Gulf as the main highway between East and West has long given this region special significance both within the Middle East and in global affairs more generally. This book examines the history of international relations in the Gulf since the 1820s as great powers such as Britain and the US, and regional powers such as Iran and Iraq, vied for supremacy over this geopolitically vital region. It focuses on the struggle for control over the islands of the Gulf, in particular the three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb – an issue that remains highly contentious today. It describes how for 170 years Britain eroded Iranian influence in the Gulf, both directly by asserting colonial rule over Iranian islands and port districts, and also through claiming Iranian islands for their protégés on the Arab littoral. It shows how, after Britain's withdrawal, these islands became a pawn in the animosity and conflict that pitted, at one time, Arab radicals and nationalists against monarchical Iran, and, later, the conservative-moderate Arab camp against Islamic Iran. It goes on to explore the impact of the rise of American power in the Gulf since the start of the 1990s, its policy of containment of Iran and Iraq, and how this has provided encouragement to the ambitions of the Persian Gulf Arab littoral states, especially the UAE, towards the islands of the Gulf.

The Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of Persian Gulf politics, history, economics, and society. The volume begins its examination of Ottoman rule in the Arabian Peninsula, exploring other dimensions of the region’s history up until and after independence in the 1960s and 1970s. Featuring scholars from a range of disciplines, the book demonstrates how the Persian Gulf’s current, complex politics is a product of interwoven dynamics rooted in historical developments and memories, profound social, cultural, and economic changes underway since the 1980s and the 1990s, and inter-state and international relations among both regional actors and between them and the rest of the world. The book comprises a total of 36 individual chapters divided into the following six sections: Historical Context Society and Culture Economic Development Domestic Politics Regional Security Dynamics The Persian Gulf and the World Examining the Persian Gulf’s increasing importance in regional politics, diplomacy, economics, and security issues, the volume is a valuable resource for scholars, students, and policy makers interested in political science, history, Gulf studies, and the Middle East.

Over the past four decades the Arab nations have exercised an enormous political and economic influence on world events. Much of that impact has been exerted not through the direct actions of individual governments but collectively or indirectly through pan-Arab organizations, economic associations such as OPEC, or through international agencies including the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund. "Arab Regional Organizations "is a fully annotated bibliographic guide to the functions, infrastructures, and effectiveness of Arab organizational activity. The organizations covered in this volume have grown in importance in lockstep with developments in the Middle East. This is particularly so in the areas of economics and energy where there has been the establishment of national control over the oil industry and a consequent economic boom. Institutions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council have also become vital to the continued politcal stability of the member states and to the strategic importance of the region as illustrated by the Iran-Iraq war and the Persian Gulf War. The book also takes note of the special economic importance of organizations such as the Kuwait, Saudi, and Abu Dhabi Funds. These perform a major role among developing nations because of their project aid and technical assistance programs. "Arab Regional Organizations "covers a variety of subjects but concentrates on economics, energy, politics, and development subjects. A lengthy introductory section is designed to provide readers with the background of each organization and to direct them to other sources of information. A supplementary section deals with the effects of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf War. Researchers, librarians, economists, political scientists, and Middle East specialists will find this volume an invaluable guide to the literature of the region.

This book examines the history of the relationship between these two centuries during the past twenty years and attempts to dispel the misconception that the Soviet Union has enjoyed undue influence over Iraq.

The Gulf Cooperation Council represents both a model of development and unity in the Arab world and a working example of interstate cooperation to other nations. In this volume, contributors describe the rationale for Gulf unity and cooperation and analyze the financial, economic, and legal institutions of the GCC member states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar). They focus on the GCC's role in maintaining stability in the Arabian peninsula, an area that is clearly vital to U.S. interests. Contributors pinpoint the essential elements of GCC unity, including its efforts to obtain optimum economic self-sufficiency, to maximize market share and revenue from oil production, and to establish an integrated legal framework. The GCC's unique security needs, given the member states' vast combined area and thinly spread populations, are also discussed. An overview of the strategic interests and policies of both superpowers toward the region reveals a history of decline in their influence and prestige that is a result, it is argued, of misperceptions and misguided policies. Finally, documentation and bibliographic sections enhance the book's usefulness as a handbook on the GCC and the Arabian Gulf states.

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.