This report, first published in 1985, was compiled by members of the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) and is an interesting historical document. Because of the PDRY’s own political orientation the leadership, when it came to power, sought help, advice and assistance from other Communist governments. Among these was China. By historical coincidence that country at the time of the PDRY’s delegation visit was engulfed in what we know as the Cultural Revolution. Very few official foreign delegations were received by the Chinese at the time and so this report becomes doubly interesting as it sheds a fascinating light on the political situation in both countries at that time. More importantly, it represents one of the rare pieces of published material on China and the Arab World

This book is a study of the foreign policy of South Yemen, the most radical of Arab states, from the time of its independence from Britain in 1967 until 1987. It covers relations with the west, including the USA, and with the USSR and China, and also highlights South Yemen's conflicts with its neighbours, North Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The author provides a detailed analysis of the foreign relations of one of the USSR's closest allies in the Third World and shows how conflicts within the country relate to changes in foreign policy. South Yemen has traditionally not been an easy country to study, both because it is so secretive and because the revolutionary regime still arouses such strong passions. Professor Halliday was able to visit the country and to make an outstandingly thorough study of the foreign policy of an Arab state.

How do aspiring and established rising global powers respond to conflict? Using China, the book studies its response to wars and rivalries in the Middle East from the Cold War to the present. Since the People’s Republic was established in 1949, China has long been involved in the Middle East and its conflicts, from exploiting or avoiding them to their management, containment or resolution. Using a conflict and peace studies angle, Burton adopts a broad perspective on Chinese engagement by looking at its involvement in the region’s conflicts including Israel/Palestine, Iraq before and after 2003, Sudan and the Darfur crisis, the Iranian nuclear deal, the Gulf crisis and the wars in Syria, Libya and Yemen. The book reveals how a rising global and non-Western power handles the challenges associated with both violent and nonviolent conflict and the differences between limiting and reducing violence alongside other ways to eliminate the causes of conflict and grievance. Contributing to the wider discipline of International Relations and peace and conflict studies, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of peace and conflict studies, Chinese foreign policy and the politics and international relations of the Middle East.

This book provides an extensive military and strategic analysis of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, assessing the regional military balance, the internal security and stability of each Gulf nation, the evolution of each nation's forces from 1969 into 1983, and the impact of defense spending and Western and Soviet-bloc arms sales in the region. Comprehensive statistics are provided on arms transfers to each country since 1969 and on the forces each nation is capable of deploying in the Gulf.

China’s foreign policy in the Arab world is important because it reflects China’s general foreign policy. In this study, first published in 1981, the author draws upon a wealth of previously unpublished and inaccessible material to analyse Chinese attitudes in three cases: the two Arab liberation movements, the Palestine Resistance Movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Oman, and the established and independent State of Kuwait. Since the Arab liberation movements played a significant political role within their fields of operation, it was necessary for China to decide whether these movements did actually fit in with Chinese foreign policy objectives. Dr Behbehani’s analysis of these two case studies provides the basis for a discussion of whether China’s motives in supporting the liberation movements are theoretical or purely practical. China’s support for Kuwait’s political internal continuity is related to the stability of the whole Gulf region. The author analyses Chinese support for Kuwait and the surrounding conservative states on two main bases, political and economic, in the form of trade. It is through these channels, particularly the economic one, that China has sought to establish itself in the Gulf and the Arabian peninsula.