Arab Nationalism, Oil, and the Political Economy of Dependency

This survey covers the field from the emergence of modern Arab economic dependence to the present mid-Eastern impasse. Alnasrawi contends that Arab economic development was shaped by Arab nationalist thought, the emergence of the oil industry in the Arab region, and the integration of Arab economies into the international economic system. The volume takes a look at the evolution of each of the three forces and details their impact on the development of the Arab economies, along with their present status. The contradictions between the needs of the single state and the needs of Arab economic integration, Arab unity, and pan-Arab economic planning receive special attention. Alnasrawi develops the concept of derivative dependency, illustrating the extent to which the economies of the non-oil states are being affected by what happens to the economies of the oil-producing states. The final chapter presents a detailed picture of the forces that led to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and integrates the events of August 1990 with the main themes of the book.