Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats

2011-04-27 Political Science

Author : Steffen Hertog
Release : 2011-04-27
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 53X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats by : Steffen Hertog

Download or read book Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats written by Steffen Hertog. This book was released on 2011-04-27. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats, the most thorough treatment of the political economy of Saudi Arabia to date, Steffen Hertog uncovers an untold history of how the elite rivalries and whims of half a century ago have shaped today's Saudi state and are reflected in its policies. Starting in the late 1990s, Saudi Arabia embarked on an ambitious reform campaign to remedy its long-term economic stagnation. The results have been puzzling for both area specialists and political economists: Saudi institutions have not failed across the board, as theorists of the "rentier state" would predict, nor have they achieved the all-encompassing modernization the regime has touted. Instead, the kingdom has witnessed a bewildering mélange of thorough failures and surprising successes. Hertog argues that it is traits peculiar to the Saudi state that make sense of its uneven capacities. Oil rents since World War II have shaped Saudi state institutions in ways that are far from uniform. Oil money has given regime elites unusual leeway for various institutional experiments in different parts of the state: in some cases creating massive rent-seeking networks deeply interwoven with local society; in others large but passive bureaucracies; in yet others insulated islands of remarkable efficiency. This process has fragmented the Saudi state into an uncoordinated set of vertically divided fiefdoms. Case studies of foreign investment reform, labor market nationalization and WTO accession reveal how this oil-funded apparatus enables swift and successful policy-making in some policy areas, but produces coordination and regulation failures in others.

The Wages of Oil

2014-12-18 Political Science

Author : Michael Herb
Release : 2014-12-18
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 689/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Wages of Oil by : Michael Herb

Download or read book The Wages of Oil written by Michael Herb. This book was released on 2014-12-18. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Oil, the State, and War

2022-06-01 Political Science

Author : Emma Ashford
Release : 2022-06-01
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 392/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Oil, the State, and War by : Emma Ashford

Download or read book Oil, the State, and War written by Emma Ashford. This book was released on 2022-06-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Oil, the State, and War, Emma Ashford explores the many potential links between domestic oil production and foreign policy behavior. By examining the behaviors of three types of petrostates–oil-dependent states, oil-wealthy states, and super-producers–Ashford sheds light on the diversity of petrostates and how they shape international affairs.

Engineers of Jihad

2017-11-28 Political Science

Author : Diego Gambetta
Release : 2017-11-28
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 123/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Engineers of Jihad by : Diego Gambetta

Download or read book Engineers of Jihad written by Diego Gambetta. This book was released on 2017-11-28. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking investigation into why so many Islamic radicals are engineers The violent actions of a few extremists can alter the course of history, yet there persists a yawning gap between the potential impact of these individuals and what we understand about them. In Engineers of Jihad, Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog uncover two unexpected facts, which they imaginatively leverage to narrow that gap: they find that a disproportionate share of Islamist radicals come from an engineering background, and that Islamist and right-wing extremism have more in common than either does with left-wing extremism, in which engineers are absent while social scientists and humanities students are prominent. Searching for an explanation, they tackle four general questions about extremism: Under which socioeconomic conditions do people join extremist groups? Does the profile of extremists reflect how they self-select into extremism or how groups recruit them? Does ideology matter in sorting who joins which group? Lastly, is there a mindset susceptible to certain types of extremism? Using rigorous methods and several new datasets, they explain the link between educational discipline and type of radicalism by looking at two key factors: the social mobility (or lack thereof) for engineers in the Muslim world, and a particular mindset seeking order and hierarchy that is found more frequently among engineers. Engineers' presence in some extremist groups and not others, the authors argue, is a proxy for individual traits that may account for the much larger question of selective recruitment to radical activism. Opening up markedly new perspectives on the motivations of political violence, Engineers of Jihad yields unexpected answers about the nature and emergence of extremism.

Salman's Legacy

2018 History

Author : Madawi Al-Rasheed
Release : 2018
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 748/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Salman's Legacy by : Madawi Al-Rasheed

Download or read book Salman's Legacy written by Madawi Al-Rasheed. This book was released on 2018. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timely look at the personalities and factions contending for power in Riyadh as one princely order crumbles and another asserts itself

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