This book sets out to examine why the world regards the Gulf as important. Chapters either treat the way in which individual countries view their vital interest in the Gulf, or deal with specific themes such as the question of militarization and the international arms-trade.









The book makes the point that different countries and continents are conscious of possessing a variety of practical interests in the region: for some, the Gulf represents a market for manufactured goods; for some a field of expatriate labour; for some a source of oil; and, for the Superpowers, an area of conspicuous political and strategic importance. This last topic, closely linked as it now is with changes in Eastern Europe and the former USSR, is analyzed at some length in this collection.

Contributions by: Dr J. Stace Birks, Professor Anthony H. Cordesman, Peter A. Davies, Dr. Willem van Eekelen, Anoushiravan Ehteshami, Dr Susumu Ishida, Dr Rolf Muller-Syring, The Hon. Richard W. Murphy, Vitaly Naumkin