Food, development and politics in the middle east. M. G. Weinbaum. Westview Press/Croom Helm, London, 1982, 205 pp
| Published date | 01 October 1984 |
| Author | Morton R. Davies |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230040410 |
| Date | 01 October 1984 |
384
Book Reviews
FOOD, DEVELOPMENT AND POLITICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
M.
G.
Weinbaum
Westview Press/Croom Helm, London,
1982, 205
pp.
This book focuses on important aspects of some of the pressing problems facing countries in a
widely defined Middle East-extending from Morocco to Pakistan and incorporating sixteen
states. Much has been written on the effects on the international monetary system and on the
industrialized West, of the exercise of their newly acquired economic power by the
oil
exporting countries
of
the Middle East. Professor Weinbaum however, looks in some depth at
the effects
of
their affluence after
1973
within
the Middle East. He is concerned with the
particular manifestations within the region
of
the global problems of maintaining adequate
food supplies. As
a
result of the wealth accruing from their oil revenues many of the countries
of the Middle East have become ‘leading competitors’ for the world’s food stocks. Countries
which until recently were self sufficient
or
shared
a
favourable net food trade balance have
now accelerated their demand for food to the point where they have become dependent on
international markets. Government projects and programmes, originally designed to
eliminate the gap between domestic food supplies and consumption, have had only the effects
of stimulating demand and increasing the Middle East’s reliance on imported technologies.
Like most of the less developed world, and despite their enormous revenues, Middle
Eastern governments have shown very limited ability to sustain effective, profitable
agricultural systems.
For
decades little was done to positively counteract low agricultural
productivity in the regions; in fact many government policies were disincentives to rural
development of any kind. Professor Weinbaum’s analysis suggests very strongly that
solutions to the food crisis, and an understanding merely of the developmental problems of
the region will not be found in an analysis of the physical and technological constraints, nor
even of the strictly socio-economic factors. The problems and their solutions are ‘inescapably
political’.
The dramatic events which reach the media headlines in the West-such as the factional
conflicts in Lebanon and Turkey, the Iran-Iraq war, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,
or
the Arab-Israeli struggle-obviously affect the development of the agricultural sector,
because they disrupt programmes, divert resources and distract the policy makers. However,
equally important in the long run are the political cultures, institutions, ideologies and
interests which shape policies and determine how they are executed.
This book explores how, in the context of the emergent shortfall of food supplies, the
development of the rural sector has emerged high on the recent policy agendas
of
most
of
the
region’s governments. It examines the dynamics of the relationships in the region between
food production, development projects and political pressures. The author concludes that
agrarian reforms and balanced sectoral priorities are unlikely to be achieved without
significant structural changes and a meaningful redistribution of power and income. The
achievement, or otherwise,
of
these goals is likely to have an impact way beyond the
geographical boundaries of the region.
This is an important book that adds significantly to our understanding of politics,
development programmes and priorities in the Middle East. It contributes, too, to a wider
debate of global significance, and it does
so
by transcending narrow academic, disciplinary
boundaries. It must be essential reading for any course on the politics, economies
or
society of
the Middle East.
MORTON
R.
DAVIES
University
of
Liverpool
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