"The papers contained in this volume were among those presented at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) third annual conference, entitled The Impact of the Information and Communication Revolution on Society and State in the Arab World, held in Abu Dhabi, 4-7 January 1997"--Jacket.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-229) and index.

The Information-Communications Revolution and the Global Economy / Lester Thurow -- What Makes Arabian Gulf Satellite TV Programs? A Comparative Analysis of the Volume, Origin, and Type of Program / Abdellatif Aloofy -- The Contribution of Public Opinion Research to an Understanding of the Information Revolution and its Impact in North Africa and Beyond / Mark Tessler -- Mass Media and the Policy Process / David Morgan -- Triumph of the Image and its Aftermath: The Gulf War as Media Ecology / Hamid Mowlana -- The Arab World and the Information Age: Promises and Challenges / Mustapha Masmoudi -- Telecommunications Trends and Policies in the United Arab Emirates and Their Implications for National Development / Muhammad I. Ayish -- The Impact of the Information Revolution on Society and State in Jordan / Saqer Abdel-Rahim -- The Age of Creation and Communication / Michel Saloff-Coste.

Academics and representatives of government and business have co-operated to produce this multi-layered exploration of the current state of the information and communication revolution and its effect on Arab states and societies. The book offers an analysis of a variety of technological themes. These themes include global telecommunications trends and policies and their implications for national development; the information superhighway and education, business, the media, and finance; cultural imperialism and the widening of the information gap; and the impact of satellite DBS TV on terrestrial television broadcasting in the GCC states.