Gregory Gauses masterful book is the first to offer a comprehensive account of the international politics in the Persian Gulf across nearly four decades. The story begins in 1971 when Great Britain ended its protectorate relations with the smaller states of the lower Gulf. It traces developments in the region from the oil revolution of 1973-4 through the Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf war of 1990-1 to the toppling of Saddam Hussein in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, bringing the story of Gulf regional politics up to 2008. The book highlights transnational identity issues, regime security and the politics of the world oil market, and charts the changing mix of interests and ambitions driving American policy. The author brings his experience as a scholar and commentator on the Gulf to this riveting account of one of the most politically volatile regions on earth.
1. The Persian Gulf as a security region; 2. The emergence of the Gulf regional system, 1971-8; 3. The Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war; 4. The Gulf war and the 1990s; 5. 9/11, the Iraq war and the future of the Persian Gulf; 6. The Iraq war: American decision-making; 7. Conclusions: war and alliance in the Persian Gulf.