ABSTRACT
The Gulf War may mark the brutal beginning of the Third World War, following on the First and Second World Wars. This chapter examines the Gulf War and the new world order in the global context. It concentrates on the political economic motives, actions, and their consequences of the major actors in the unfolding of this tragic drama. The Gulf War fought against a ruthless dictator in the South by the great democracies in the West violated or subverted the most important bases and institutions of democracy. In the Gulf crisis, Western Europeans gave up all pretense at a unified and independent European foreign policy. The most obvious economic reason for the Gulf War was oil. The real price of oil had again declined, especially with the renewed decline of the dollar. Iraq had some legitimate demands, both on its own behalf against Kuwait and on behalf of other Arab states and oil producers.
