'Insecure Gulf' provides the first detailed assessment of the developments in the Persian Gulf sub-region in the post-oil era. It is the one of the few books of its kind not to be obsessed with the sub-region's energy riches, and in looking to highlight the uncertainties of a future from which oil income may not provide sufficient protection, warns of the sub-region's impending demographic, economic and environmental crises. Sympathetically written and meticulously researched, Kristian Coates Ulrichsen draws our attention to the dangers of a perfect storm forming in the Gulf Arab countries in which domestic challenges could combine with externally-induced security or economic shocks to expose these societies to crises of such magnitude that could test their very socio-political foundations. This is a must read.
Anoush Ehteshami, Professor of International Relations at Durham University Kristian Coates Ulrichsen's absorbing book is rich in detail and profoundly incisive. It is brilliant in its analysis and masterful in scope, tackling the most important and toughest questions on security in the Gulf region. Fascinating, fluently written and insightful, 'Insecure Gulf' offers a genuinely original perspective on this important subject. This is compulsory and highly engaging reading.
Dr Steven Wright, Department of International Affairs, Qatar University 'Insecure Gulf' offers a broad-ranging yet consistently cogent survey of the major trends that threaten the stability of the Arab Gulf states at the present moment and in the foreseeable future. It highlights not only the concrete, material challenges that confront regimes in this part of the world but also the ideational dynamics that shape how strategic realities get interpreted and prioritized. And the book accomplishes this while remaining accessible to non-specialists. An enlightening tour d'horizon.
Fred H. Lawson, Professor of Government, Mills College