This integrated, analytic text presents a comprehensive analysis transformation and development of the political economy in the Middle East over the past several decades. In this updated third edition of "A Political Economy of the Middle East," the book retains its focus on the interaction of economic development processes, state systems, and social actors even as it also: Explores the impact of the Arab Spring and subsequent events to the issues raised throughout the textbook in a wholly new chapter;Documents the many changes in demography, education, labor markets, urbanization, water and agriculture, and international labor migration in the Middle East in recent years;Considers the effect of rising oil prices on reinforcement of authoritarian governance in the region;Refines its assessment of "the Washington Consensus" to provide a more nuanced approach to the issue of the shifting balance of state and market in economic growth and reform;Presents Islamism as a vital force in the region that is nonetheless a vast, diverse social movement with many conflicting participants.