LEADER 04540nam 2200517Ia 450 001 9910786445803321 005 20230126210011.0 010 $a0-87586-956-4 035 $a(CKB)2670000000299166 035 $a(EBL)1085200 035 $a(OCoLC)820787759 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC1085200 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL1085200 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10632179 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000299166 100 $a20120905d2012 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 200 14$aThe glass palace$b[electronic resource] $eillusions of freedom and democracy in Qatar /$fNasser M. Beydoun and Jennifer Baum 210 $aNew York $cAlgora Pub.$dc2012 215 $a1 online resource (195 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-87586-954-8 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aIntroduction; 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? 327 $aChapter 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 Slavery 327 $aBeyond 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 Straight 327 $aFacebook, Twitter & the MediaThe Audit Committee; Chapter 11: The Real Doha, Behind the Fancy Fac?ade; 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 Qatar 327 $aDavid ProctorPhilippe Bogaert; Other Victims; Ian Heywood; Tracy Edwards; Yves Pendeliau; Appendix III: Advice to Americans Looking to Work Abroad; Acknowledgements; Bibliography; Index 330 $aIs 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 606 $aEconomic development$zQatar 607 $aQatar$xPolitics and government 607 $aQatar$xSocial conditions 607 $aQatar$xEconomic policy 607 $aQatar$xForeign economic relations 615 0$aEconomic development 676 $a330.95363 700 $aBeydoun$b Nasser M$01544699 701 $aBaum$b Jennifer$01544700 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910786445803321 996 $aThe glass palace$93799116 997 $aUNINA