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Oil is the lifeblood of modern economics. It is the precious resource at the heart of empire-building, from the British empire to the American empire today and underpins the world's financial markets. But seventy per cent of the world's oil supplies lie under the sands of the Middle East, which begs the question: did the US invade Iraq to grab Iraq's oil? Written by an influential oil consultant, with experience of working in both the US and Arab oil industries, this book provides a rare insight into the real motivations behind US intervention in the Arab world, and the relationship between the US and the Arab states. Zalloum provides a historical account of the roots of today's involvement, analysing US intervention in the Arab World since the 19th century. The book offers a unique perspective on how the US is viewed in the Arab region and how progress should be made if real peace and stability are to be brokered.

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. InThe 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.

The most recent region-wide initiative, the 1997 Executive Program for Arab Free Trade, which was signed by 17 of the 22 member states of the Arab League, is no exception to this pattern. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alone has had a discernible degree of success in terms of trade integration, creating labor and capital mobility and setting common standards in various areas of regulation. The 2003 customs union is still not ftilly implemented, as GCC members request exceptions and U.S. bilateral agreements with individual GCC states undermine the coherence of its external tariff regime.

The family that owns the company that makes OxyContin is calling a Massachusetts' lawsuit false and misleading. This is the Sackler family's first court response to allegations that individual family members helped fuel the deadly opioid epidemic. Attorneys for the Sackler family say the claims must be dismissed. Massachusetts was among the first state government to sue the family as well as the company last year.

Plus de 50 ans après leur indépendance, la majorité des pays de la région Afrique du Nord et Moyen-Orient reste tributaire des revenus des hydrocarbures. Confrontés au chômage, à la corruption, à l'économie informelle, ainsi qu'à l'épuisement certain, dans les années à venir, du pétrole, ces pays doivent préparer l'après-pétrole, à travers la promotion des investissements nationaux et étrangers et le développement des autres secteurs d'activités. Par-delà les freins et les rivalités entre certains pays de la région, il est nécessaire pour le monde arabe de s'allier et de coopérer, en matière économique comme politique, afin de développer l'économie de l'ensemble de ces pays.

The official Saudi position has left no doubt that Riyadh strongly condemns the attacks and supports the war on terrorism. Still, given that more than a dozen of the hijackers were Saudi citizens, and in light of mounting accusations that Saudi private money was a main source of financing for the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, there has been strong criticism of Riyadh's role in combating terrorism. Several U.S. news organizations have questioned the level of Saudi cooperation in the new war. Furthermore, prominent senators such as John McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Joseph Biden (D-DE) have joined the media in raising doubts about Saudi enthusiasm in prosecuting the war on terror. 1 On the other side, the [George W. Bush] administration has refrained, at least in public, from criticizing Saudi policy. Instead, many top officials have repeatedly expressed satisfaction with Riyadh's approach to the crisis, particularly with regard to sharing intelligence. Second, the nationalization of foreign oil companies' assets was much smoother in Saudi Arabia than in neighboring countries. For example, the bitter dispute in the early 1950s between the Iranian authority and British Petroleum was very different from the close cooperation between Aramco and the Saudi government, which reached an agreement in 1950 on a modified system of profit sharing, introducing the fifty-fifty division between the host country and the concessionaire. In 1973, the Saudi government took a 25 percent stake in Aramco. A year later, in 1974, its share was increased to 60 percent, and in 1980 it was amicably agreed that Aramco should become 100 percent Saudi-owned, and ownership backdated to 1976. 7 The friendly and nonconfrontational change of ownership helped the two sides to maintain their cordial cooperation. Despite the Saudi takeover of Aramco, U.S. administrators and technicians, side by side with their Saudi counterparts, continued to occupy important positions in the company. Finally, in April 1989, the last American to preside over Aramco, John J. Kelberer, handed over power to its first Saudi boss, [Ali] al-Naimi, who became oil minister several years later. Finally, in the war against terrorism the United States and the Saudi government need each other. President Bush has repeatedly and correctly stated that the United States is at war with terrorism, not Islam. The political support of major Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan (and the silent support of Iran or at least its failure to object) is essential to legitimize the military campaign against terror. On the other hand, one of Osama bin Laden's chief goals is toppling the Saudi monarchy, which he regards as corrupt and un-Islamic because it is allied with the United States and has allowed American troops to be stationed there since the Gulf War. Militant Islam is a threat to the Saudi government just as it is to the United States. The two sides are together in the same fight against one enemy--militant Islam. Therefore, I argue, in spite of criticism of the kingdom in the U.S. Congress and American media, the Saudi government is a reliable partner to the United States in the effort to defeat terrorism. Riyadh's apparent reluctance is due to the attempt to reconcile the two contradictory pillars of its survival: a military alliance with Washington and the conservative Islam that dominates its society.

IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY, THE WORLD ECONOMY IS EXPERIENCING A TREND TOWARD REGIONAL INTEGRATION OF NATIONAL ECONOMIES. IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD IN PARTICULAR, INTEGRATION CAN BE VIEWED AS A DIRECT POLICY RESPONSE TO MOUNTING PRESSURES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY AND THE ASCENDANCE OF NEOLIBERAL THINKING SINCE THE 1980S. THIS ESSAY FOCUSES ON THE UNDERLYING REASONS FOR THE FORMATION OF TWO COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AMONG LATE DEVELOPERS: THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL AND THE ARAB MAGHREB UNION. THE AUTHOR HOPES THAT EXAMINING THESE CASES WILL SHED LIGHT ON THE PRINCIPAL BASES OF THE TREND TOWARD REGIONALIZATION IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD. THE ARTICLE BEGINS WITH AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REGIONALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION, DRAWING ON ANALYTICAL APPROACHES LINKING THE TWO PHENOMENA, AND REVIEWS SEVERAL THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION. IT CONCLUDES WITH A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE TWO CASES, ANALYZING THE REASONS FOR A SIMILAR OUTCOME IN TWO RELATIVELY DIFFERENT SETS OF COUNTRIES.