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"Politics and culture Persian Gulf States"
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Political Transformation of Gulf Tribal States
The reform movements and attempts to establish parliamentary institutions in the Persian Gulf states of Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai between the First World War and the independent era of the 1970s were not inspired by western example or by any tradition of civil representation. The move to a parliamentary system not only represented a milestone in the history of the region, creating a legacy for future generations, but was a unique transition in the Arab world. The transformation of these states from loose chiefdoms of minimal coherence and centralization, into centralizing and institutionalized monarchies, involved the setting up of primary institutions of government, the demarcation of borders, and establishment of a monarchical order. As this new political and social order evolved, ideas of national struggle and national rights penetrated Gulf societies. Gulf citizens who had spent time in Arab states, mostly in Egypt and Iraq, took part in the genesis of a public Arab-Gulf national discourse, enabling the Gulf population to become acquainted with national struggles for independence. As a result merchants of notable families, newly educated elements, and even workers, began to oppose the dominance of the rulers. Both the rulers and the commercial elites (including members of the ruling families) tried to formulate a new and different social contract with the rulers seeking to entrench their political power by using new administrative means and financial power. Opposition against this current crystallized in 1938 among the ranks of the commercial oligarchy as well as within the ruling families. In spite of its failure to create its own political institutions, the oligarchy remained the foremost social and economic class. But the ruling families could no longer treat national oil revenues as their private income, and they began to channel part of these funds to public needs. The most important consequence of the '1938' movement was the formation of a new social contract between the two traditional power centers: the governing structures were fitted into the political and economic reality brought about by the oil wealth, but remained essentially tribal and committed to the power division between the major Gulf families.
eBook
The political transformation of Gulf tribal states : elitism and the social contract in Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai, 1918-1970s
\"The reform movements and attempts to establish parliamentary institutions in the Persian Gulf states of Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai between the First World War and the independent era of the 1970s were not inspired by western example or by any tradition of civil representation. The move to a parliamentary system not only represented a milestone in the history of the region, creating a legacy for future generations, but was a unique transition in the Arab world. The transformation of these states from loose chiefdoms of minimal coherence and centralization, into centralizing and institutionalized monarchies, involved the setting up of primary institutions of government, the demarcation of borders, and establishment of a monarchical order. As this new political and social order evolved, ideas of national struggle and national rights penetrated Gulf societies. Gulf citizens who had spent time in Arab states, mostly in Egypt and Iraq, took part in the genesis of a public Arab-Gulf national discourse, enabling the Gulf population to become acquainted with national struggles for independence. As a result merchants of notable families, newly educated elements, and even workers, began to oppose the dominance of the rulers. Both the rulers and the commercial elites (including members of the ruling families) tried to formulate a new and different social contract with the rulers seeking to entrench their political power by using new administrative means and financial power\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Collaborative colonialism : the political economy of oil in the Persian Gulf
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.
eBook
Monarchies and nations : globalisation and identity in the Arab states of the Gulf
Despite their small populations, the Arab states of the Gulf exercise an enormous and global influence. But all-too-often, these states are treated as if their only importance were as pawns in a global strategic board game and are simply dealt with as mere models of the intersection of oil, wealth and power. Here, Dresch and Piscatori bring together a more nuanced picture: exploring how the citizen populations of these states define themselves in a wider context. The Gulf provides extreme examples of the nexus of identities, not only because these polities are so dependent on transnational flows of wealth and imagery, but because at home the citizen workforce is often outnumbered by migrant labour. Examining the issues such as Gulf-owned transnational media, the role of women in the Kuwaiti state and the way Saudi Arabia manages the yearly influx of pilgrims for the Hajj, Monarchies and Nations is essential reading for all those interested in the society, politics and the future security of the Gulf.
eBook
American Wars, American Peace
As a writer, Philip D. Beidler has often drawn on his combat experience in Vietnam and his deep engagement with American popular culture. His essays tap these sources in powerful, truth-telling ways. In American Wars, American Peace, another voice emerges, distinct yet also tied to Beidler's wartime memories and his love of literature, film, and music. It is the voice of one of the \"baby-boom progeny of the 'Greatest Generation' who at home and abroad became the foot soldiers\" not just in Vietnam but in the Peace Corps, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, and beyond. Beidler has experienced enough of history to question \"the kinds of peace that one empire after another has tried to impose on the world at whatever immense costs.\" As he reflects on terrorism, patriotism, geopolitics, sacrifice, propaganda, and more, Beidler revisits his generation's \"inherited vision of national purpose\"--and he asks what happened. These essays are a sobering wake-up call for even the most informed and conscientious citizen.
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Military Triumph, Racial Transcendence, and Colin Powell
A “black kid of no early promise,” Colin Powell became the youngest general in the U.S. Army, and then in short order national security advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the nation’s secretary of state. What does this extraordinary story reveal about contemporary American political life? Analyzing surveys supplied by the National Election Study and the National Black Election Study, we first establish that Powell’s rapid rise to prominence is matched by his remarkable popularity among the American public. Next, we develop and test two possible explanations for Powell’s popularity. One supposes that the secret to Powell’s high standing with the public lies in his association with success on the battlefield: Powell as the victorious general. The other explanation invokes racial progress, the disappearance of racism among whites, and the decline of identity politics among blacks: Powell as racially transcendent. In the final section of the article, informed by our results, we offer some speculations about American politics today—about the political implications of military accomplishment and about the multiplicity of conditions that are required for Americans to “see through” race.
Journal Article
The Myth of the Macho Military
The public debate about the incorporation of women in the U.S. Armed Forces has primarily included feminist-inspired critics, who denounce the hostility toward women they perceive is promoted in the military's masculinist culture, and, alternatively, opponents of the greater inclusion of women in the military, who valorize the exclusivist masculine qualities that many feminists criticize. Although these ideological adversaries differ in their estimation of military culture, they both share—and have reciprocally reinforced—a view of the military as steeped in the traditions and practices of aggressive masculinity. This article shows that the prevailing view of the military as hyper-masculine is misguided. Not unhindered aggressiveness, but camaraderie, discipline, and service are the qualities instilled in soldiers. These qualities foster military effectiveness and counterbalance sexist tendencies producing a complex institutional culture congenial to women in significant respects.
Journal Article
The Universal Exception
Slavoj Žižek is one of the world's foremost cultural commentators: a prolific writer and thinker, whose adventurous, unorthodox and wide-ranging writings have won him a unique place as one of the most high profile thinkers of our time.The Universal Exception brings together some of Žižek's most vivid writings on politics.
eBook
In Defense of the Bush Doctrine
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, shattered the prevalent optimism in the United States that had blossomed during the tranquil and prosperous 1990s, when democracy seemed triumphant and catastrophic wars were a relic of the past.President George W. Bush responded with a bold and controversial grand strategy for waging a preemptive Global War on Terror, which has ignited passionate debate about the purposes of American power and the nation's proper role in the world. In Defense of the Bush Doctrine offers a vigorous argument for the principles of moral democratic realism that inspired the Bush administration's policy of regime change in Iraq. The Bush Doctrine rests on two main pillars -- the inadequacy of deterrence and containment strategies when dealing with terrorists and rogue regimes, and the culture of tyranny in the Middle East, which spawns aggressive secular and religious despotisms. Two key premises shape Kaufman's case for the Bush Doctrine's conformity with moral democratic realism. The first is the fundamental purpose of American foreign policy since its inception: to ensure the integrity and vitality of a free society \"founded upon the dignity and worth of the individual.\" The second premise is that the cardinal virtue of prudence (the right reason about things to be done) must be the standard for determining the best practicable American grand strategy. In Defense of the Bush Doctrine provides a broader historical context for the post--September 11 American foreign policy that will transform world politics well into the future. Kaufman connects the Bush Doctrine and current issues in American foreign policy, such as how the U.S. should deal with China, to the deeper tradition of American diplomacy. Drawing from positive lessons as well as cautionary tales from the past, Kaufman concludes that moral democratic realism offers the most compelling framework for American grand strategy, as it expands the democratic zone of peace and minimizes the number and gravity of threats the United States faces in the modern world.
eBook