ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the obstacles to democracy that are rooted in the mentality of the people who live in the Gulf. It explores political and economic forces, including the complex relations between oil, politics and economic development, the role of religion, cultural factors, and the mentality of the people themselves. The oil-producing countries of the Gulf need modernity and its values, to help them deal with the problems their oil economies are creating. The book offers an original analysis, based on new research, of the relationship between domestic political forces, religion, culture and identity, the role of the petroleum industry, economic development, and geopolitics in the core region of the global oil industry. It focuses on the new strategy pursued by foreign oil companies in the field of human rights and corporate social responsibility.
