Taking account of the Gulf War and the events that followed, this updated paperback provides a country-by-country account of the Gulf in the post-war era. It provides analysis of the social, economic and commercial developments as well as the political history of the region. The book considers the effects of the seventies oil boom on Gulf societies, and shows how the prosperity of that period was followed by a period of economic stagnation which was exacerbated by the Iran-Iraq war. The book also examines the nature and consequences of the economic dependence of the West on the region for oil supplies, and how this governed the response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Finally, there is an account of the Kurdish and Shia uprisings and the attempts to bring peace to the region.