04540nam 2200517Ia 450 991078644580332120230126210011.00-87586-956-4(CKB)2670000000299166(EBL)1085200(OCoLC)820787759(MiAaPQ)EBC1085200(Au-PeEL)EBL1085200(CaPaEBR)ebr10632179(EXLCZ)99267000000029916620120905d2012 uy 0engur|n|---|||||The glass palace[electronic resource] illusions of freedom and democracy in Qatar /Nasser M. Beydoun and Jennifer BaumNew York Algora Pub.c20121 online resource (195 p.)Description based upon print version of record.0-87586-954-8 Includes bibliographical references and index.Introduction; Chapter 1: An Economic Hostage in Qatar; 1995: A New Qatar Begins to Take Shape; Stunning Economic and Population Growth; Who's Who in Qatar; Striking Oil; Independence; Understanding the Qatari Population; A Plan to Move Away from a Carbon-based Economy; Setting the Stage for 2022's World Cup; Chapter 2: A Wannabe Superpower: Qatar's Political and Military Involvement throughout the Middle East; Lebanon; Israel; Sudan; Yemen; Tunisia; Egypt; Libya; Syria; Influential but Ineffective?Chapter 3: How a Totalitarian Regime has taken on the Mantel of Bringing Democracy to the RegionThe Guise of Democracy in Qatar; A Decidedly Un-free Society; Women; Workplace and Working Conditions; Noncitizen Rights; Religious Freedoms; Internet Freedoms and Freedom of Speech; Annual Democracy Forums Hosted by a Totalitarian Regime; Using Al Jazeera as the Mouthpiece of the Government; Doha Debates; Shaping the Perception of Youth-in Qatar and Elsewhere; Promoting Democracy? Or Disillusioned Dreams of Controlling the World?; Chapter 4: A Sponsorship System Akin to SlaveryBeyond the GCC: An In-Depth Look at the Kafala SystemFiling Complaints and Demonstrating, Despite a Culture of Silence; A Country where the Vast Majority of the Population Has No Rights; Chapter 5: The Cost of Doing Business in Qatar; Chapter 6: The Opportunity of a Lifetime; Chapter 7: Arabian Nightmares; Chapter 8: Banned from Leaving; Criminal Charges; Human Rights Department; Chapter 9: Life in Qatar and the Never-ending Attempts to Remove the Travel Ban; U.S. Embassy; Removing the Travel Ban; Bounced Checks; Chapter 10: Going Public; Setting the Record StraightFacebook, Twitter & the MediaThe Audit Committee; Chapter 11: The Real Doha, Behind the Fancy Façade; Life on The Pearl; Day to Day Life; The Final Days; Arriving in Beirut; Detroit; Chapter 12: Moving On; Appendix I: It Could Happen to You: Western Companies Operating in Qatar (And Why They Are); American Education in the Gulf Desert; Research & Development to Bolster Qatar's Knowledge-based Economy; ExxonMobil: An American Behemoth in Qatar; A Growing Financial Services Sector; Rumors of Corruption and the Danger to Foreign Workers; Appendix II: Other Westerners Trapped in QatarDavid ProctorPhilippe Bogaert; Other Victims; Ian Heywood; Tracy Edwards; Yves Pendeliau; Appendix III: Advice to Americans Looking to Work Abroad; Acknowledgements; Bibliography; IndexIs Qatar actually a suitable ally or a legitimate partner for the United States? Under Qatari labor law, foreign workers are actually owned, for all practical purposes, by their Qatari sponsors in a system akin to slavery. This book chronicles the experience of an American executive working in Qatar and delves into Qatar?'s feudal work-sponsorship system, showing that an economic great leap forward is not necessarily accompanied by modernization, despite superficial emblems; that prosperity and democracy need not go hand in hand; and that being a US ally may be totally unrelated to any notion Economic developmentQatarQatarPolitics and governmentQatarSocial conditionsQatarEconomic policyQatarForeign economic relationsEconomic development330.95363Beydoun Nasser M1544699Baum Jennifer1544700MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910786445803321The glass palace3799116UNINA