ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I offer a generalized view of how the Gulf states fit into the wider picture of an internationalization globalization of the arenas of political interaction. This presentation and general analysis is taken from the views of Arab Gulf nationals. 1 The argument is constructed by observations, some seemingly anecdotal, on the changing position of the Gulf states in the continually shifting international sphere. The period since the 1960s was an especially tumultuous time of change in the Gulf and, indeed, throughout the Middle East. In this I include the GCC states, plus Iraq and Iran. The citizens of the Gulf have come to manage and dispose of enormous sums of oil revenues in the building of the infrastructures of modern states, but with fairly small populations (except Iraq and Iran). However, buildings and airports are easy to develop as the physical plants of society; the values, motivations, beliefs, and mental skills of an “informational society” basic to production in a globalist world necessitate more subtle and deeply penetrating strategies of development. With the current information revolution, the more information present, the more there needs to be a definition of quality, and the more there needs to be an absolute standard. Standards evaluating the information or the sources should be considered in a world with many voices and sources of authority. The same ethic applies to universities as official information producers. Everybody knows various educational institutions are not all of the same level. Standards allow evaluation and classification.
