The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Economics of the New World Order
KPC, according to the author, was founded during a period of great turmoil in the world petroleum market as a consequence of the revolution in Iran (p.2). The author asserts that oil plays a special role in Kuwait's domestic politics. The primary purpose of Kuwait's oil industry is to generate welfa...
| Publicado en: | DOMES: Digest of Middle East Studies Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 44 - 45 |
|---|---|
| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Book Review |
| Publicado: |
Wiley-Blackwell
O 31, 1996
|
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | KPC, according to the author, was founded during a period of great turmoil in the world petroleum market as a consequence of the revolution in Iran (p.2). The author asserts that oil plays a special role in Kuwait's domestic politics. The primary purpose of Kuwait's oil industry is to generate welfare benefits for Kuwaitis, and this welfare state provides the citizens of Kuwait with one of the highest standards of living in the world. “This remains a potential drag on KPC's autonomy with respect not only to its foreign investment policy but also to the way the company is run inside Kuwait” (p. 5). Tetreault describes the struggles between the ruling family and other Kuwaiti elite which often take the form of struggles over Kuwait's oil policy. In describing KPC's successes and failures, Tetreault shows how KPC continues to be overshadowed by the complex effects of the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait and the organized efforts by Iraqi military forces to destroy Kuwait's oil production and processing capacity. She also reveals how the invasion and occupation heightened the conflicts inside Kuwait over the country's investment strategy -- conflicts embedded in social strains that themselves were aggravated by declining oil revenue and growing state authoritarianism. |
|---|