A Political Economy of the Middle East

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.

Melani Cammett is professor of government at Harvard University. She is the author of Compassionate Communalism: Welfare and Sectarianism in Lebanon, and the co-editor of The Politics of Non-State Welfare.

Ishac Diwan is a visiting researcher at the Paris School of Economics and directs the Economic and Political Transformation Program at the Economic Research Forum. He is the author of Understanding the Political Economy of the Arab Uprisings.

Alan Richards is Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Emeritus, at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

John Waterbury is William Stewart Tod Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Emeritus, at Princeton University.

Editorial Reviews

“A Political Economy of the Middle East makes a valuable intellectual contribution to the field of Middle East Studies and allied disciplines and focuses the connections between economics, politics, and the social, which are obscured in standard media analysis. I would highly recommend this book for courses on the Middle East history, economics, and politics and as the standard reference book for students and scholars on the political economies of the region.” —Digest of Middle East Studies

“The volume remains by far the best single work on the political economy of development in the contemporary Middle East. Highly recommended.” —Choice

Praise for the previous editions:

“This book’s strength is its conceptual, rigorous approach– it is a real textbook of political economy, not a pseudo-journalistic descriptive text on the Middle East.”
—Jacek Lubecki, Georgia Southern University

“For those who wish to give a course on the Middle East that emphasizes economics, there really is no alternative book.”
—Michael Twomey, University of Michigan

"Given ongoing developments in the Middle East and North Africa, this updated edition is most welcome and remains a valuable resource for its comprehensive coverage of the relevant economic, political, social, and religious issues affecting the region…[T]his well-written book is the ideal text for a course on the political economy of the region and also for a variety of other courses in the growing field of Middle Eastern studies. Its nontechnical style makes it accessible to those new to the subject. Highly recommended."
—Choice