Food, Development, and Politics in the Middle East


Book Description

As the reality of a food deficit emerged in the Middle East, rural society and the agricultural sector – once viewed as peripheral to national development – swiftly rose up the policy agendas of nearly every Middle East country. This book, first published in 1982, looks at the complex interrelationships of food production, development schemes and politics in those countries. Dr Weinbaum considers the origins, nature, scope and political dimensions of the potential food shortfall and explores how food deficits could lead to changed international relations among states in the Middle East. He specifically examines the physical and technological limitations to increased food production, then assesses the major social, economic and political hurdles in the way of agricultural development, the effects of – and pressures for – agrarian reform, the bureaucratic policymaking process, and the domestic impact of foreign assistance policies. He concludes with an examination of the linkage between food supply availability and political stability.




Food Insecurity and Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa


Book Description

‘Food Insecurity and Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa’ studies the political economy of agrarian transformation in the eponymous regions. Examining Egypt and Tunisia in detail as case studies, it critiques the dominant tropes of food security offered by the international financial institutions and promotes the importance of small-scale family farming in developing sustainable food sovereignty. Egypt and Tunisia are located in the context of the broader Middle East and broader processes of war, environmental transformation and economic reform. The book contributes to uncovering the historical backdrop and contemporary pressures in the Middle East and North Africa for the uprisings of 2010 and 2011. It also explores the continued failure of post-uprising counter-revolutionary governments to directly address issues of rural development that put the position and role of small farmers centre stage.




Environmental Politics in the Middle East


Book Description

Offers a critical and realistic reassessment of the threats posed to the environment in the Middle East, and what can be done about them.




Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa


Book Description

The latest edition of this renowned textbook explores the states and regimes of the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting heavily revised, fully updated chapters contributed by the world’s leading experts, it analyzes the historical trajectory, political institutions, economic development, and foreign policies of the region’s nearly two dozen countries. The volume can be used in conjunction with its sister volume, The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa, for a comprehensive overview of the region. Chapters are organized and structured identically, giving insightful windows into the nuances of each country’s domestic politics and foreign relations. Data tables and extensive annotated bibliographies orient readers towards further research. Whether used in conjunction with its sister volume or on its own, this book provides the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the region’s varied politics. Five new experts cover the critical country cases of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. All chapters cover the latest events, including trends that have remarkably changed in just a few years like the gradual end of the Syrian civil war. As such, this textbook is invaluable to students of Middle Eastern politics.. The ninth edition brings substantial changes. All chapters also have a uniform, streamlined structure that explores the historical context, social and economic environment, political institutions, regime dynamics, and foreign policy of each country. Fact boxes and political maps are now far more extensive, and photographs and images also help illustrate key points. Annotated bibliographies are vastly expanded, providing nothing short of the best list of research references for each country.




The Middle East


Book Description




Development, Administration and Aid in the Middle East


Book Description

Successful development in the Middle East remains elusive, although considerable aid is poured into the region and extensive bureaucracies for managing development have been established. This book is a concise political economy of Middle Eastern development and its administration. A major focus is the nature and role of State and bureaucracy. Special attention is also paid to the relation between aid and development. In addition to providing an analytical framework, this book brings together a wealth of up-to-date information in an easily accessible format about the region's economic development and the structure of the countries' development 'machinery'. Extensive original research in the area, combined with a balanced use of Western and Arabic sources allow the author to present the most comprehensive overview of the subject available yet. The book encompasses most of the Arab countries plus Ethiopia. The Arab donors are also examined in detail. Especially valuable and not elsewhere available are the numerous organisational charts depicting the individual countries' development administrations and the Arab donors' aid administrations. This book will be of interest to all students of Middle East politics, economics and administration as well as to students of development.




Anthropology And Development In North Africa And The Middle East


Book Description

This book documents the function of social science analyses in the identification and evaluation of development programs in the Middle Eastern and North African countries. It demonstrates that anthropology and social sciences have a good deal to contribute to the understanding of domestic economies.




The Politics of Egypt


Book Description

This book addresses two important matters of current concern to Middle East scholars: firstly, the nature of the Egyptian state and society and the interactive process between them and secondly, how change, which would finally lead to development, can be initiated. The book argues that the Egyptian case represents a weak authoritarian state, which through its coercive and repressive policies towards various societal forces, political parties, professional associations and organisations and individuals, creates a weak society. Individual behaviour in urban and rural communities, sometimes viewed as signs of the strength of societal forces, is seen here as a symptom of a weak and fragmented society. The existence of a weak society in turn impedes government objectives and hinders the implementation of developmental policies and programmes, further weakening the state. This being the case, change has to be initiated externally in both the political and economic spheres.




Democracy in the Arab World


Book Description

Despite notable socio-economic development in the Arab region, a deficit in democracy and political rights has continued to prevail. This book examines the major reasons underlying the persistence of this democracy deficit over the past decades, drawing on case studies from across the Arab world to explore economic development, political institutions and social factors, and the impact of oil wealth and regional wars.




A Political Economy of the Middle East


Book Description

A Political Economy of the Middle East is the most comprehensive analysis of developments in the political economy of the region over the past several decades, examining the interaction of economic development processes, state systems and policies, and social actors in the Middle East. The fourth edition, with new authors Melani Cammett and Ishac Diwan, has been thoroughly revised, with two new introductory chapters that provide an updated framework with which to understand and study the many changes in demography, education, labor markets, urbanization, water and agriculture, and international labor migration in the recent years. The new edition also includes: a new chapter that charts the political economy of the Gulf states and, in particular, the phenomenal growth of oil economies; a new chapter on the rise of "crony capitalism;" and increased coverage of the changes in civil society and social movements in the region, including an exploration of the causes, dynamics, consequences, and aftermath of the Arab uprisings.