The Persian Gulf and Islands: Historical Dynamics and the 21st Century

This volume presents eight scholarly contributions that provide a systematic and interdisciplinary analysis of the Persian Gulf and its islands from historical and political economy perspectives. Through a rigorously integrated analytical framework, the chapters examine the structural characteristics, historical features and trajectories, contemporary transformations, and institutional configurations that have shaped—and continue to reshape—the political, economic, and socio-spatial formations of the region. By critically engaging contemporary key debates about colonial legacies, state formation, title (ownership), and sovereignty, the volume elucidates the dynamic processes through which the Persian Gulf has emerged as a strategic locus within regional and global political-economic orders. Collectively, these book chapters provide a nuanced and conceptually rigorous understanding of the Persian Gulf’s evolving role in global systems, while also establishing a critical foundation for future research and interdisciplinary studies.