After the oil boom: The holiday ends in the gulf
The most unmanageable risk facing American interests in the Persian Gulf is the slow but sure decay of the economic and political structure of the United States` key regional allies. They are the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states: Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). External threats to these friendly governments and the direct risks to the continued flow of oil has blinded Washington to the end of these countries 20-year holiday from politics and economics. The holiday from economics was characterized by, among other syndromes, the lack of binding budget constraints, which reduced and sometimes even eliminated the need to set spending priorities and allocate scarce economic resources. It is no longer possible to cover up structural weaknesses and policy inconsistencies. All major interest groups, including governments, ruling families, merchant families, and the population at large, are under pressure to earn not only their privileges but their keep. The need for Washington to address these new threats is examined.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 284889
- Journal Information:
- Foreign Affairs, Vol. 74, Issue 6; Other Information: PBD: Nov-Dec 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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