How Capitalism Failed the Arab World: The Economic Roots and Precarious Future of the Middle East Uprisings (Economic Controversies)

Economic liberalization has failed in the Arab world. Instead of ushering in economic dynamism and precipitating democratic reform, it has over the last three decades resulted in greater poverty, rising income inequality and sky-rocketing rates of youth unemployment. In How Capitalism Failed the Arab World, Richard Javad Heydarian shows how years of economic mismanagement, political autocracy and corruption have encouraged people to revolt, and how the initial optimism of the uprisings is now giving way to bitter power struggles, increasing uncertainty and continued economic stagnation. A unique and provocative analysis of some of the key social and political events of the last decade. Annotation Economic liberalization has failed in the Arab world. Instead of ushering in economic dynamism and precipitating gradual democratic reform, it has over the last three decades resulted in greater poverty, rising income inequality and sky-rocketing rates of youth unemployment. In How Capitalism Failed the Arab World, Richard Heydarian shows how years of political autocracy, corruption and economic mismanagement have encouraged people to revolt, and how the initial optimism of the uprisings is now giving way to bitter power struggles and increasing uncertainty. A unique and provocative analysis of one of the key social and political events of the last decade About the Author; Title; Copyright; Contents; Figures and tables; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Foreword; Dedication; 1 A brave new Middle East: the birth of a new era; 2 The anti-development state: economic origins of Arab upheavals; 3 The advent of economic globalization: a prelude to crisis; 4 The Great Recession: the collapse of Arab crony capitalism; 5 The new power brokers: political Islam and the Arab summer; 6 Gulf exceptionalism: how the monarchies have reshaped the Arab Spring; 7 Peering into the abyss: the Arab Spring at the crossroads The first book to fully examine the long-term economic and geopolitical roots of the Arab uprisings.