Life after Oil : The Survival Predicament of the Gulf Arab States

The Center for Arab Unity Studies published the book Life after Oil: The Survival Predicament of the Gulf Arab States by Mirza H. Al-Qassab.

Thanks to the sudden oil wealth, the six Gulf kingdoms went from poor to rich. Oil revenues were their entry card into modernity, and they became the lifeblood of their social and economic systems. But its future is threatened by the depletion of oil. This book sheds light on the reality of the economic weakness of the Gulf states without oil. The region depends on imports, which are financed by revenues from oil exports. Because oil is fading away, these countries must transform economically and produce goods and services to be exported and compete globally to cover their imports. But the opportunity to achieve this is fading while capital assets are being liquidated at breakneck speed.

The author of this book aims to sound the alarm about the existential challenges that will face Gulf societies in the post-oil era, and to stress the urgent need for a political will to carry out reforms and radical changes in matters of governance, politics, and the economy. Several facts ring an alarm, such as declining oil revenues, rising population numbers, rampant unemployment, growing military spending, and resorting to austerity measures. The Gulf states must step into the future with a realistic vision, and the goal of sustainable development is its guide, so that they are not subject to a possible collapse after oil, and the prosperous Gulf region becomes a fleeting paradise.