A Political Economy of the Middle East: Third Edition

The third edition closely examines the sometimes profound changes in demography, education, labor markets, urbanization, water and agriculture, and international labor migration in the Middle East in recent years. It considers the effect of rising oil prices on reinforcement of authoritarian governance, refines its assessment of "the Washington Consensus" and the shifting balance of state and market in economic growth and reform, and presents Islamism as a vital force in the region that is nonetheless a vast, diverse social movement with many conflicting participants.

Recommended for students and professionals seeking specialized knowledge of the M. E. which presents a solid framework for seeing the interelatedness of many aspects of Mid. East society. Casual readers will be overwhelmed by it analytical style and attention to detail. A general knowledge of economics as well as politics is of course recommended before reading this as well.


Essential and Excellent textbook   November 8, 2001
Alessandro Bruno (Toronto, Canada)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have read and used sevral books in my research on the Middle East. I find this book to be the best to gain a bird's eye view of many social, political and economic problems in the region. R & W discuss problems of nation - building, state types and formation, competing ideologies, socio-economic crisis and oil politics (among other things). It's an excellent place to start for serious approaches to the subject. I have read both editions and look forward to future books form these authors.

I


A Good Survey   February 23, 2003
Benjamin Doty (Mountain View, CA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book starts to fill a gap sorely lacking on political economy in the Middle East. At times, it suffers from what most surveys of regions do - overlooking particular experiences of individual countries and other important factors determining important cause and effect relationships.

Nevertheless, it provides a good starting point for the student of the Middle East and the general reader who has a curiosity concerning the lack of non-oil wealth in the Middle East.


A Good Survey   February 23, 2003
Benjamin Doty (Mountain View, CA)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book starts to fill a gap sorely lacking on political economy in the Middle East. At times, it suffers from what most surveys of regions do - overlooking particular experiences of individual countries and other important factors determining important cause and effect relationships.

Nevertheless, it provides a good starting point for the student of the Middle East and the general reader who has a curiosity concerning the lack of non-oil wealth in the Middle East.