Theorizing statecraft and social change in Arab oil-producing countries -- Social origins of the authoritarian state in the Arab east -- Legitimacy, identity, and the writing of history in Libya -- Social and political dimensions of the historiography of the Arab gulf -- Statecraft, historical memory, and popular culture in Iraq and Kuwait Gavielides -- Power and representation : social change, gender relations, and the education of women in Kuwait -- Contemporary trends in the study of folklore in the Arab gulf states -- The sociopolitical context of the Iraqi short story, 1980-1968 -- Economic relations among social classes in Algerian proverbs.