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The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE
The contrast between Kuwait and the UAE today illustrates the vastly different possible futures facing the smaller states of the Gulf. Dubai's rulers dream of creating a truly global business center, a megalopolis of many millions attracting immigrants in great waves from near and far. Kuwait, meanwhile, has the most spirited and influential parliament in any of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies.
In The Wages of Oil, Michael Herb provides a robust framework for thinking about the future of the Gulf monarchies. The Gulf has seen enormous changes in recent years, and more are to come. Herb explains the nature of the changes we are likely to see in the future. He starts by asking why Kuwait is far ahead of all other Gulf monarchies in terms of political liberalization, but behind all of them in its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. He compares Kuwait with the United Arab Emirates, which lacks Kuwait's parliament but has moved ambitiously to diversify.
This data-rich book reflects the importance of both politics and economic development issues for decision-makers in the Gulf. Herb develops a political economy of the Gulf that ties together a variety of issues usually treated separately: Kuwait's National Assembly, Dubai's real estate boom, the paucity of citizen labor in the private sector, class divisions among citizens, the caste divide between citizens and noncitizens, and the politics of land.
In The Wages of Oil, Michael Herb provides a robust framework for thinking about the future of the Gulf monarchies. The Gulf has seen enormous changes in recent years, and more are to come. Herb explains the nature of the changes we are likely to see in the future. He starts by asking why Kuwait is far ahead of all other Gulf monarchies in terms of political liberalization, but behind all of them in its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. He compares Kuwait with the United Arab Emirates, which lacks Kuwait's parliament but has moved ambitiously to diversify.
This data-rich book reflects the importance of both politics and economic development issues for decision-makers in the Gulf. Herb develops a political economy of the Gulf that ties together a variety of issues usually treated separately: Kuwait's National Assembly, Dubai's real estate boom, the paucity of citizen labor in the private sector, class divisions among citizens, the caste divide between citizens and noncitizens, and the politics of land.
258 pages, Hardcover
First published November 13, 2014
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November 15, 2017
This is a useful introduction to the exceptional case of Kuwait's parliament. Herb explains the reasons for the development (and ongoing relevance) of Kuwait's National Assembly. Primarily this seems to come down to the threat posed by Iraq during the early 1960s and then enacted during the 1990s.
The outside view of Kuwait's democratic experiment is that it is chaotic / messy and that it blocks economic development and growth. Herb shows the moments when this simplification was born out in factual reality, but he also shows that Kuwait's democratic process is something that can only be encouraged.
This is a fairly theory-heavy book, not one written for non-academic audiences. Nevertheless, given the dearth of good and useful writing on Kuwait's history, this is still worth a read. (Note that Kuwait's case is compared / contrasted with that of Dubai and the UAE writ large, so if you're interested in why Dubai developed in the way that it did, this is probably also worth your time).
The outside view of Kuwait's democratic experiment is that it is chaotic / messy and that it blocks economic development and growth. Herb shows the moments when this simplification was born out in factual reality, but he also shows that Kuwait's democratic process is something that can only be encouraged.
This is a fairly theory-heavy book, not one written for non-academic audiences. Nevertheless, given the dearth of good and useful writing on Kuwait's history, this is still worth a read. (Note that Kuwait's case is compared / contrasted with that of Dubai and the UAE writ large, so if you're interested in why Dubai developed in the way that it did, this is probably also worth your time).
Displaying 1 of 1 review