Desert kingdoms to global powers

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Abbas Abdelkarim

This book analyses some important social, economic and political processes of change, stagnation and development in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council as a result of oil revenue. Part I addresses the impact of oil in redefining the distributive role of the state and in shaping economic policies. Lack of population policies, problems of national human resources development and the slow change in gender relations is presented in part II with reference to some country experiences. Part III deals with the impact of the Gulf War on causing limited change in the regional political systems and in raising security fears which have led to a huge increase in the already high military expenditure.

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Carl Minzner

"China's reform era is ending. Core factors that characterized it-political stability, ideological openness, and rapid economic growth-are unraveling. Since the 1990s, Beijing's leaders have firmly rejected any fundamental reform of their authoritarian one-party political system, even as a decades-long boom has reshaped China's economy and society. On the surface, their efforts have been a success. Political turmoil has toppled former Communist East bloc regimes, internal unrest overtaken Middle East nations, and populist movements risen to challenge established Western democracies. China, in contrast, has appeared a relative haven of stability and growth. But as [the author] shows, a closer look at China's reform era reveals a different truth. Over the past three decades, a frozen political system has fueled both the rise of entrenched interests within the Communist Party itself, and the systematic underdevelopment of institutions of governance among state and society at large. Economic cleavages have widened. Social unrest has worsened. Ideological polarization has deepened. Now, to address these looming problems, China's leaders are progressively cannibalizing institutional norms and practices that have formed the bedrock of the regime's stability in the reform era. Technocratic rule is giving way to black-box purges; collective governance sliding back towards single-man rule. The post-1978 era of 'reform and opening up' is ending. China is closing down. Uncertainty hangs in the air as a new future slouches towards Beijing to be born. End of an Era explains how China arrived at this dangerous turning point, and outlines the potential outcomes that could result."--

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Michael Breen

"Just a few decades ago, the Koreans were an impoverished, agricultural people. In one generation they moved from the fields to Silicon Valley. The nature and values of the Korean people provide the background for a more detailed examination of the complex history of the country, in particular its division and its emergence as an economic superpower. Who are these people? And where does their future lie? In this absorbing and enlightening account, Michael Breen provides compelling insight into the history and character of this fascinating nation "--

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Edward Luce

Luce diagnoses factors behind the country's waning global leadership such as the shrinking middle class; an ineffective and flawed educational system; the stagnation of innovation in business and technology; a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy; the virulent polarization of national politics; and the damage caused by the influence of money in politics, along with endless campaigning. In the end, he assesses the prospects for change and offers a bleak outlook.