This Op/Ed was published first on February 3, 2010 by McClatchy Tribune.
The bipartisan Kerry Lugar Bill provides a multi-year, super-sized economic aid program to the people of Pakistan. This is the right approach to improved US-Pakistan relations. The majority of Pakistanis distrust the US because they believe we favor military dictators over civilian democrats and are quick to abandon promised economic aid programs once we have achieved our security goals.
Over the past decade, migration to the wealthy states of the Arabian Peninsula has emerged as an increasingly central facet of scholarly attention to the region. This attention has resulted in the exponential expansion of our collective knowledge, and the near future promises even more nuanced and microcosmic analyses as recent and current fieldwork in the region bears fruit. Nevertheless, there has been little discussion of the “labor camps” in which many of the unskilled migrants dwell during their sojourn in the Gulf states.
Families and Bachelor: Visa Status, Lives, and Community Structure among Bahrain's Foreign Residents
Formal and informal practices of immigration and employment in the Gulf render inappropriate the classic image of an individual immigrant arriving to set stake and soon send for family. The majority of the foreigners in Bahrain reside there without family and until the 1980s were overwhelmingly male. Nonetheless, over the past century, the unique histories and circumstances of the various nationalities resident in Bahrain have led to the emergence and entrenchment of communities of foreigners.
Migrant Workers in Kuwait: The Role of State Institutions
The treatment of migrant domestic workers is one of the defining stories told about the Arab Gulf states. Every year hundreds of news media and human rights reports detailing migrant domestic workers’ experiences of exploitation and abuse circulate globally. The narratives of these accounts are remarkably consistent. They often begin with the story of an impoverished woman from the global South, who, in order to improve the situation of her family, migrates to the oil-rich Gulf states in search of work and a more prosperous future.
Secretary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan has been a serious attempt to use public diplomacy to help the troubled US Pakistan relations. Her reaching out to people with a mix of soft power and hard talk was refreshing. It is time to ‘clear the air’ she said. But a lot more work needs to be done in the realm of policy to bring about a meaningful change in the relationship. The problems between Pakistan and the United States, referred to as the “trust deficit” for want of a better word, are many and mask much complexity at the heart of policy and systemic issues on both sides.
Kuwait Looks towards the East: Relations with China
Originally posted September 2009
There is a growing tendency among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to benefit from the favorable conditions in the rapidly growing economies of the East. As was amply demonstrated at a symposium organized by the Centre for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies at Kuwait University in May 2009 on the “Reality of GCC-Asian Relationship — opportunities and challenges,” Kuwait exemplifies this trend.
The Arab world, especially the Gulf countries, face many environmental threats and problems such as desertification, biodiversity loss, marine and coastal areas pollution, air pollution, and water scarcity and quality. Beside these traditional environmental threats, various other environmental problems have begun to emerge in the last few years, related to military conflicts, construction and demolition debris, and climate change.
Climate Change Threats, Opportunities, and the GCC Countries
Originally posted April 2008
Oil and gas revenues for GCC countries have enabled exceptional and accelerated development in all aspects of life. These countries have become a hub of intense activity in many spheres—geopolitical, military, economic, industrial, construction, and tourism, to name a few. However, the scale of oil and gas production and use has also led to severe environmental problems.
