Letters (May 1985) Martin van Bruinessen’s response in MERIP Reports 127 (October 1984) contains innuendos and inaccuracies which make it an unacceptable last word on the Armenian question. Van Bruinessen equates Armenian and Turkish views of the mass killings of Armenians under the heading of “dogmatized versions.” (Author not identified) • 5 min read
Khuri, Tribe and State in Bahrain Fu’ad Khuri, Tribe and State in Bahrain (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980). Fu’ad Khuri has provided us with a sensitive analysis of the recent history of Bahrain. He captures the broad sweep of socioeconomic and political change brought about by the colonial bureaucracy and the discovery (Author not identified) • 4 min read
Labor Movements in Bahrain Labor activism has been a major feature of political life in Bahrain, going back to early industrial activities following the discovery of oil in 1928-1932. [1] These early efforts absorbed many destitute pearl divers, peasants and freed slaves, and paved the way for a new stratum of middlemen from 'Abd al-Hadi Khalaf • 18 min read
"The Rulers Are Afraid of Their Own People" “Isa” grew up in Bahrain and lived there until recently. He spoke with several MERIP editors in April 1985. He asked to remain anonymous in order to protect friends and family still living there. What sort of distinctions and divisions are there among expatriates? You’ve got the Europeans and Amer (Author not identified) • 7 min read
Class and State in Kuwait Over the past five years, Kuwait’s rulers have confronted a variety of crises. Declining oil revenues have forced the regime to engage in deficit spending, which may jeopardize both the state’s extensive system of social welfare programs and its efforts to encourage diverse industrial development pr Fred H. Lawson • 20 min read
The Palestinian Diaspora of the Gulf Editor’s Note: A longer version of this article appeared as a three-part series in Le Monde, June 15-17, 1982. It appears here by permission of the author. Since the article was written, the economic cutbacks in the Gulf have reduced jobs available to the Palestinians and also affected the Palestini Eric Rouleau • 9 min read
Migrant Labor and the Politics of Development in Bahrain Bahrain was, after Iran and Iraq, the first country in the Gulf to have its petroleum resources developed by Western companies. It has a longer history of economic and infrastructural development than any other state in the peninsula. Bahrain’s petroleum reserves and producing capacity are also the Rob Franklin • 24 min read
Prospects for the Gulf All of the small Arab states of the Persian Gulf are now well into their second decade as independent political entities. Bahrain, Qatar and the seven principalities making up the United Arab Emirates became independent in 1971. Kuwait’s independence goes back another decade. Oman, though never a co Joe Stork • 11 min read
From the Editors (May/June 1985) Ten years ago this April, the United States finally ended its military intervention in Vietnam. This marked a great victory for the Vietnamese national liberation movement and for the broad popular opposition movement in the US and around the world. MERIP’s own beginnings came out of that movement, The Editors • 3 min read
Thorpe, Prescription for Conflict Merle Thorpe, Jr., Prescription for Conflict: Israel’s West Bank Settlement Policy (Washington DC: Foundation for Middle East Peace, 1984). Ellen Cantarow • 3 min read
Benvenisti, The West Bank Data Base Project Meron Benvenisti, The West Bank Data Base Project: A Survey of Israel’s Policies (Washington: American Enterprise Institute, 1984). This book, by the former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, is the first major commercial publication of the small but industrious West Bank Data Base Project (WBDBP). The pro Alex Pollock • 4 min read
Cobban, The PLO Helena Cobban, The PLO: People, Power and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1984). Samih Farsoun • 3 min read
