This timely book demystifies the politics of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman, and focuses on the new pressures that have emerged since the Gulf War. Gause illuminates the foreign policy tightrope these states walk in the Middle East: self-defense is problematic, regional pressures translate directly into the domestic arena, and relations with the United States cause as well as solve many problems. Gause examines the interplay of Islamic fundamentalism, tribalism, and, most importantly, oil wealth that has determined the power structure of the Gulf monarchies. He shows what influences really drive politics in the Middle East as well as how U.S. foreign policy must respond to them in order to forge more meaningful ties with each country and preserve the stability of a fragile region that is vital to U.S. interests.

Oil lies at the heart of the modern history of the Middle East. For decades, the world’s largest oil reserves have enriched the region’s nations. But oil wealth has not brought with it universal prosperity. It has, though, transformed the Middle Eastern people and societies—enriching empires and engendering anarchies. Empires and Anarchies is an unconventional history of oil in the Middle East. In Michael Quentin Morton’s account the burnt-out remains of Saddam Hussein’s armaments and the human tragedy of the Arab Spring are as much of the story as the shimmering skylines of oil-rich nations. From the first explorers trudging through the desert to the excesses of the Peacock Throne and the high stakes of OPEC, Morton lays out the history of oil in compelling detail, arguing that oil simultaneously enriched and fractured the Middle East, eroding traditional ways of life, and eventually contributing to the rise of Islamic radicalism. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the promises and peril of the world’s oil boom.

For many years, vertical integration characterized the international oil industry, with the same company controlling the entire process from crude exploration and production to the retailing. This structure was radically transformed in the 1970s and this book, originally published in 1984, examines whether the dis-integration which resulted was a long-term trend or a temporary phase. It examines the attitude of the major international oil companies, discusses the policies adopted by oil producing and oil importing countries, and the limits of ‘government to government’ deals underlined. The political and strategic implications of re-integration are explored, and relations between oil exporters and importers, and between the USA, Europe and the Arab world discussed.

Shaped by the emotional climate of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, the controversies between the oil-producing and oil-consuming nations are of major international concern. Shwadran outlines the progressive rise in the power of the oil-producing countries and the decline in the control exercised by the concessionary foreign countries that has culminated in the almost total nationalization of the foreign oil companies. Because of the highly charged atmosphere surrounding the issues and their grave importance on world politics, the problems are, at once, highly difficult to encompass and enormously important to understand. Through a myriad of facts and figures the author sees the underlying patterns with precision. Often narrowly viewed as having only two sides —that of oil producers and consumers—the situation is reflected in this book in all its facets. Seen in this totality of conflicting needs, desires, abilities, and objectives, the Middle East oil crisis takes on the contradictory and explosive nature which has affected us all. Middle East Oil, born of the author's years of scholarship and exposure in the field, describes the problems of the past but, more important, it gives insight into how the problem will manifest itself in the future, and provides a direction for efforts toward a final resolution. Contents: Introduction / From the Six Day War to the End of 1970 / From the Teheran 1971 Agreement to the October 1973 War / The Producers Develop the Oil Industry / The Transporters / Nationalization and Participation / The Arab Oil Embargo / The Efforts of the Consuming Countries / Surpluses and Recycling / Solutions / Bibliography

Essays on economic implications and political aspects of Arab petroleum for Arab country and international economic relations - examines OAPEC pricing policies, production, industrialization, political development and cultural change with case studies of Saudi Arabia and North Africa; discusses trade policies, capital flows, surplus capital resources and global energy needs; considers USA and USSR foreign policy towards Middle East oil and the Arab-Israeli conflict. References, statistical tables.