List of Contents to follow

“In four stimulating chapters, Winckler examines the sources of demographic research, compares population growth in Arab countries with other developing countries, discusses the acute unemployment problem since the mid-1980s, and analyzes birth control policies to see why they have succeeded in some countries and failed in others… The lucid text is backed with appropriate tables, figures, and charts that are invaluable for understanding the subject. Highly recommended.” Choice

“This volume makes a valuable contribution to the Arab population policy literature by tracing the evolution of population policies in the Arab countries and by describing the factors that led to changes in these policies.” Studies in Family Planning

“This volume should be required reading for understanding the demographic challenges the Arab World confronts to achieve much desired long-term economic growth and political stability… The book is quite useful at a variety of levels. For research, it provides a quick reference to a diverse set of demographic articles, databases and trends. For the classroom, it provides invaluable source materials for courses and seminars on the Middle East as well as ample opportunities for extracting materials on the relationship of development to the demographic transition under conditions of windfall resource wealth. To the policy-maker, it provides a cautionary tale of the demographic pitfalls and challenges to stability that exist across the region. … Extremely engaging … a thought-provoking read. One is left wondering what a different world this would be if pro-natalist policies had not been followed after independence in the Arab World. However, one is also left wondering what impact recent rises in oil prices and Islamic fundamentalism will have on long-term resolve to continue pursuing anti-natalist policies.” Regional Studies

“ Onn Winckler has been for a number of years a leading light in the field of demographic studies on particular Arab countries; with Arab Political Demography, Winckler integrates new research with his already existing compendium of knowledge on the subject to produce an outstanding and timely examination of an important aspect of development in the Arab world. One only has to observe the high unemployment rates, birth rates, and the percentages of populations under the age of twenty to recognize the tremendous challenges facing governments trying to implement sustained socio-economic development in the region. This unenviable environment, while escaping the “Malthusian population trap” theory, has come to be viewed in the Arab world as no longer an asset but an economic burden that has contributed to frequent domestic instability, the onset of regional crises, and the rise of radical ideologies, such as Islamic extremism. Rapid population growth has had a myriad of deleterious consequences that has negatively affected socio-economic development throughout the Arab world. Winckler expertly shows how natalist and macroeconomic policies need to go hand-in-hand if Arab countries ever hope to emerge from their underdeveloped status, and he offers an invaluable political, cultural and economic history of how the Arab demographic dilemma reached this point.” David W. Lesch, Professor of Middle East History, Trinity University, Texas and author of The Middle East and the United States: A Historical and Political Reassessment

“Fresh, focused, and provocative, Arab Political Demography reaffirms Winckler’s reputation as the most reliable and engaging writer on demographic and population policies in the Middle East. Using historical and contemporary data, Winckler probes beyond available statistics to interpret the implications of population policies, the growth in numbers of unemployed and often unemployable youth, and the implications of a growing “informal” economy not reflected in official demographic data. This book is must reading for scholars and policy makers concerned with the Middle East, and offers a model for regional demographic studies elsewhere.”  Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College, coauthor (with James Piscatori) of Muslim Politics (2nd edition, 2004).

“The book offers an excellent analysis of the dismal state of data in Arab countries, and how they are manipulated for political and / or economic benefit. … The author offers an excellent commentary on how the huge windfall of the ‘oil decade’ which started in the mid-1970s allowed the resource-rich states to transfrom their rather underdeveloped countries rapidly to ones with modern economies and reliable infrastructure.” Population, Space and Place

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