Millennial Dreams in Oil Economies
Millennial Dreams in Oil Economies
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USDThis book shifts the analysis of economic development in Oman from the traditional focus on oil to the perspective of labour. Focusing on the experiences of workers, jobseekers, and the governance of labour markets, Crystal A. Ennis offers a fresh perspective on regional development and rentier neoliberalism in the Gulf. Highlighting Oman's position within global capitalism, Ennis makes a compelling case for de-exceptionalising the Gulf, arguing that the region's labour markets are global and subject to similar pressures as other global economies. Moving beyond oil also allows Ennis to focus on the social conditions of Oman, where over sixty four percent of the population are under the age of thirty. Ennis offers a rich analysis of historical lineages of labour governance, class formation; and, following protests after 2011 as youth unemployment soared in the region, how authoritarian states react to public pressure and social unrest around perceived economic decline.
- Presents to the reader how to take labour seriously in Gulf development discourses and introduces new ways of bringing the Gulf region into comparative and international political economy scholarship
- Offers nuanced insights into the transitions and changes in local and regional labour markets within global transformations
- Uses a range of Arabic-language primary sources, archival, and deep ethnographic research to explain the labour economy of Oman, and the experience of young people in the region
Reviews & endorsements
'Millennial Dreams in Oil Economies presents a compelling challenge to scholars of Middle Eastern political economy, urging a deeper understanding of labour's role - alongside oil - in the Gulf's economic evolution. Crystal A. Ennis draws upon extensive research conducted in Oman, situating Gulf labour markets within a global political economy characterized by uneven development and the proliferation of low-paying, insecure employment, which perpetuates a highly stratified labour landscape.' Juanita Elias, University of Warwick
'As it addresses two important forms of marginalisation – of Oman within Middle East Studies scholarship, and of labour in the political economy of Gulf rentierism – Ennis’ book both enriches our empirical knowledge and expands our research horizons, showing how Oman’s labour market is shaped by its global entanglements. These are crucial to understanding both ‘the rentier-neoliberal marriage’ and the millennial aspirations of young Omanis Ennis details so successfully in this illuminating book.' Roberto Roccu, King’s College London
Product details
January 2025Hardback
9781009499477
364 pages
235 × 160 × 24 mm
0.646kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Bringing citizen labour into IPE scholarship on the Gulf
- 2. Making global labour markets and national dreams
- 3. Rereading Omani work history and labour market governance
- 4. Promising Dubai in Sohar: radical transformations and job creation from Sohar to Duqm
- 5. Constructing belonging and contesting economic space
- 6. Pursuing entrepreneurship for employment: SMEs for women and youth
- Conclusion: studying the global political economy of labour
- Bibliography.
