Arab Development Denied: Dynamics of Accumulation by Wars of Encroachment

Laboratory for Advanced Research on the Global Economy book launch 

• Tuesday 28 October 2014, 6.30-8pm, followed by a reception
• TW2 9.04, 9th Floor, Tower 2, Clement's Inn, LSE
• Speakers: Dr Ali Kadri (National University of Singapore);
  Professor John Weeks (SOAS)
• Chair: Dr Jason Hickel (LSE)

In Arab Development Denied (Anthem Press, 2014) Ali Kadri examines how the Arab world has undergone a process of developmental descent, or ‘de-development’ over the past three decades.

The Arab world has lost its wars and its society has restructured to absorb the terms of defeat, masquerading as development policies under neoliberalism. Foremost in this process of ‘de-development’ is the de-industrialisation that has laid to waste the
production of knowledge, created a fully compradorial ruling class
that relies on commerce and international finance for its reproduction, and halted the primary means of job creation.

Kadri attributes the Arab world’s developmental failure not only to imperialist hegemony over oil, but also to the rising role of financialisation, which goes hand in hand with the wars of encroachment that were already stripping the Arab world of its resources. War for war’s sake has become a tributary to the world economy argues Kadri, and like oil, there is neither a shortage of war nor a shortage of the conditions to make new war in the Arab world.

Dr Ali Kadri is Senior Research Fellow in the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore and member of the Sounding Board of the LSE Laboratory for Advanced Research on the Global Economy. He has served as Head of the Economic Analysis Section at the United Nations regional office for western Asia.

 

Professor John Weeks's most recent book is Economics of the 1%: How mainstream economics serves the rich, obscures reality and distorts policy. He is professor emeritus of economics, SOAS, University of London, and is a frequent contributor to Open Democracy, the Social Europe Journal and Conversation UK.

 

Dr Jason Hickel (chair) is a Leverhulme Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at LSE. His book, Democracy as Death, explores the rise of anti-liberal politics in South Africa in the wake of neoliberal economic reforms. He also writes on development and globalization and contributes regularly to Al Jazeera English.

 

Coming to the event

The event is open to all and free to attend with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.