Kuwait: The Transformation Of An Oil State (Nations of the Contemporary Middle East)

Description

From Publishers Weekly This scholarly overview covers Kuwait's transformation from a poor British protectorate to an oil-wealthy independent state, untangling along the way the complicated Kuwaiti-Iraqi relationship. Crystal ( Oil and Politics in the Gulf ) contends that the recent Gulf crisis began not in August but in July 1990, when Saddam Hussein complained to the Arab League that Kuwait, besides producing too much oil, was siphoning from Iraq's side of the Rumailah oil field. She describes the effects of the Iraqi invasion and occupation on Kuwait's economy, society and politics, then analyzes the government's postwar goals, which include reducing the country's longtime dependence on foreign labor (non-Kuwaitis constitute more than 80% of the work force). The immediate impact of the Gulf war on Kuwait, the author avers, was to sharpen the conflicting impulses toward democratic reforms and authoritarian repression. This is an important addition to the literature of the Persian Gulf war. Illustrations. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From the Back Cover Kuwait, unlike most of its neighbors, has a well-established national identity and a long history as a nation, dating back to the eighteenth century. In this book, Dr. Jill Crystal focuses on two recurring themes in Kuwaiti history: one, the preservation of a sense of community in the face of radical economic, social, and political transformations; the second, internal rivalry over the conventions governing relations among members of the community. Crystal skillfully weaves these themes into a broad profile of Kuwait, analyzing the nation's transformation from a pre-oil to an oil economy; its social structure and composition, including the country's tribal roots and key divisions involving class, gender, and immigrant labor; political tensions resulting from the nation's sudden wealth and the accompanying changes in social structure; and its relations with other countries in the Gulf and Middle East. In particular, she places Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the context of Kuwait's historical foreign policy and examines the invasion's legacy, arguing that it reinforced Kuwaiti nationalism while renewing public demand for greater political participation. Read more