The History and International Relations of the Gulf Region Reconsidered

Abstract

The Arab Gulf States: Beyond Oil and Islam. By Sean Foley . Boulder: Lynne Reinner, 2010. 315 pp., $26.50 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1-58826-706-1). The International Relations of the Persian Gulf. By F. Gregory Gause III . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 258 pp., $27.00 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-521-13730-0). The Arab Gulf region is of great geopolitical importance owing to its oil and natural gas deposits. Ironically, the history and international relations of the region had, for several reasons, been quite neglected by the academic arena for decades (see, e.g., Russell 2010:653). First and foremost, where political studies are concerned, this neglect had been linked with the development of the discipline itself and its debate in and toward non-Western states and societies specifically (see, e.g., Anderson 1987:1; Green 1993:517–518). Second, up until the late 1980s, studies on the Gulf region had been closely associated either with an examination of the Islamist role or with the Arab–Israeli conflict. Third, many orientalists and policy makers were more interested in examining the region to pursue their own national interests rather than understanding the special regional conditions. With the rise of new generations with the relevant academic expertise since the beginning of the 1990s, there have been new types of studies into the regional dynamics of the Gulf area (Nonneman 2001). The two reviewed books make use of this innovative approach. The Arab Gulf States is an ambitious and original work of analysis and insight written by Sean Foley, an assistant professor of history at the University of Tennessee. The book is enhanced by the author's educational background in history. Traditionally, many scholars analyzing the region have employed the normative rentier framework, or the so-called Islamist approach. The book is ambitious because it goes beyond these already exhausted and limited approaches. Foley points out that the information age and the emergence of a younger, educated elite are factors that have forced substantial developments in the GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) and have resulted in political and economic reforms. Such factors are worth analysis on …