Staff Profiles

Dr Christopher Davidson, BA & MA (Cambridge); M.Litt & Ph.D (St. Andrews); FHEA

Reader in Middle East Politics in the School of Government and International Affairs

(email at christopher.davidson@durham.ac.uk)

Christopher read Modern History at King's College, University of Cambridge, before taking his M.Litt and Ph.D in Political Science at the University of St. Andrews. He has lived and worked in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Beirut. Before joining Durham he was an assistant professor at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, first on the Abu Dhabi campus, then in Dubai. He is also a fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and in 2009 was a visiting associate professor at Kyoto University, Japan.

His new book, After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies was published in November 2012 in the UK by Hurst & Co. Its book launch lecture was held at the London School of Economics in October 2012 (full video), and another presentation on the book was given at a January 2013 Oxford Union seminar (full video). It has already been reviewed by The Independent and The Guardian, and was listed as one of Foreign Policy's 'Top Ten Books on the Middle East from 2012'. The US edition will be published in April 2013 by Oxford University Press.

He is co-editor of the book series Power and Politics in the Gulf published simultaneously by Columbia University Press (in the US) and C. Hurst & Co (in the UK). His edited book, published in December 2011, serves as the cornerstone for the series.

He is a United Nations (Alliance of Civilizations) expert on the politics and development of the Gulf monarchies. His work has also been referred to by the UN's High Commissioner on Refugees. He is also an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Instutitute (RUSI).

His 2008 book Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success was named a book of the year by both the New Statesman and the London Evening Standard, and has been reviewed, inter alia, by the Financial Times, the New York Times, the New York Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the free Arabic press. It has been the subject of multiple television and radio documentaries and was cited by the New York Times, the Daily Telegraph, and the Independent as having predicted the 2009 Dubai crash.

He has appeared on most major television and radio news bulletins, including the BBC, CNN, Sky, ABC, Al-Jazeera, Japan's NHK, Bloomberg, ITV, and NPR. He has also been a guest on a number of prime time current affairs shows including the BBC's Newsnight, Sky's Jeff Randall Show, CNN's Connect the World, Bloomberg's Last Word, Radio 4's Today and PM shows, NPR's All Things Considered, NHK's Asian Voices, and Al-Jazeera's Inside Story, Riz Khan, Counting the Cost, and Empire shows. In December 2011 he appeared on BBC World's Doha Debates, speaking for the motion 'This House has no Confidence in Bahrain's Promise to Reform'.

He has been interviewed and his work cited by the leading international newspapers and the Arabic press. His opinion editorials have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, Foreign Policy, the New Statesman, and OpenDemocracy. He also writes for Al-Akhbar newspaper, with his article 'انهيار دبي الكبي ' / 'The Great Dubai Crash' being published in September 2009, two months before the Dubai crash. In October 2011 his article 'It's Hard to Bite the Hand that Feeds' - a discussion on unregulated foreign funding from Middle East autocracies in Britain's universities - was published by the Times Higher Education. A sequel - 'Oil in Troubled Waters' - was published by the THE in November 2012.

He has delivered public lectures at a number of leading universities, including Yale (video excerpts), Stanford (video excerpts), Oxford, the LSE, and Otago.

He can be followed on Twitter @dr_davidson

Research Groups

International Relations/International Political Economy

Selected Publications

Books: authored

Davidson, Christopher M. (2012). After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies. London: Hurst & Co.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2010). The Persian Gulf and Pacific Asia: From Indifference to Interdependence. New York: Columbia University Press.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2009). Abu Dhabi: Oil and Beyond. New York: Columbia University Press.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2008). Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success. New York: Columbia University Press.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2005). The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Press.

Books: edited

Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). Power and Politics in the Persian Gulf Monarchies. London: Columbia University Press.
Davidson, Christopher M. & Mackenzie-Smith, Peter. (2008). Higher Education in the Gulf: Building Economies, Politics and Cultures. London: Saqi Books.

Books: sections

Davidson, Christopher M. (2012). Government in the United Arab Emirates: Progress and Pathologies. In Governance in the Middle East and North Africa. Kadhim, Abbas. London: Routledge. 275-291.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). Gulf-Pacific Asia Linkages in the Twenty-First Century: A Marriage of Convenience?. In The Transformation of the Gulf: Politics, Economics and the Global Order. Held, David. & Ulrichsen, Kristian. Routledge.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). Higher Education in the Gulf States: From Traditional to Modern. In The New Post-Oil Arab Gulf: Managing People and Wealth. Sultan, Nabil., Weir, David. & Karake-Shalhoub, Zeinab. London: Saqi Books. 97-116.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). Introduction. In Power and Politics in the Persian Gulf Monarchies. Davidson, Christopher M. Columbia University Press. 1-7.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). The Gulf Arab States and Asia Pacific: Geo-Economics and Interdependency. In Shifting Geo-Economic Power of the Gulf. Legrenzi, Matteo. & Momani, Bessma. London: Ashgate. 183-198.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). The United Arab Emirates. In Power and Politics in the Persian Gulf Monarchies. Davidson, Christopher M. London: Columbia University Press. 7-31.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2010). Dubai and the United Arab Emirates: Domestic and International Threats. In Security in the Gulf: Historical Legacies and Future Prospects. Legrenzi, Matteo. New York: Routledge.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2010). From Traditional to Formal Education in the Lower Arabian Gulf, 1820–1971. In Islam and Education. Abbas, Tahir. London: Routledge.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2010). The Higher Education Sector in the Gulf: History, Pathologies, and Progress. In The EU and the GCC: Challenges and Prospects under the Swedish EU Presidency. Koch, Christian. & Stenberg, Leif. Dubai: Gulf Research Center. 61-78.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2009). The United Arab Emirates: Economy First, Politics Second. In Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf. Teitelbaum, Joshua. New York / London: Columbia University Press / Hurst & Co. 223-248.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2008). Diversification in Abu Dhabi and Dubai: The Impact on National Identity and the Ruling Bargain. In Popular Culture and Political Identity in the Arab Gulf States. Alsharekh, Alanoud. & Springborg, Robert. London: Saqi Books. 143-153.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2008). Higher Education in the Gulf: An Historical Background. In Higher Education in the Gulf States: Shaping Economies, Politics and Cultures. Davidson, Christopher M. & Mackenzie-Smith, Peter. London: Saqi Books. 23-40.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2008). The Impact of Economic Reform on Dubai. In Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies. Ehteshami, Anoushivaran. & Wright, Steven. London: Ithaca Press. 153-180.

Journal papers: academic

Davidson, Christopher M. (2011). Dubai's Diversification: From Boom to Bust. Orient 52(1): 51-55.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2010). Abu Dhabi's Global Economy: Integration and Innovation. Encounters 1(2): 101-128.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2010). Persian Gulf - Pacific Asia Linkages in the Twenty-First Century: A Marriage of Convenience?. London School of Economics / Kuwait Programme Research Papers 1(7): 1-35.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2009). Abu Dhabi's New Economy: Oil, Investment and Domestic Development. Middle East Policy 16(2): 59-79.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2009). Dubai and the United Arab Emirates: Security Threats. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 36(3): 431-447.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2009). Dubai: Foreclosure of a Dream. Middle East Report 251(Summer): 8-13.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2009). The United Arab Emirates: Prospects for Political Reform. Brown Journal of World Affairs 15(2): 117-127.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2008). Dubai: The Security Dimensions of the Region's Premier Free Port. Middle East Policy 15(2): 143-160.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2008). From Traditional to Formal Education in the Lower Arabian Gulf, 1820-1971. History of Education 37(5): 633-643.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2007). 'Arab Nationalism and British opposition in Dubai, 1920-66'. Middle Eastern Studies 43(6): 879-892.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2007). 'The Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai: Contrasting Roles in the International System'. Asian Affairs 38(1): 33-48.
Davidson, Christopher M. (2006). After Shaikh Zayed: the Politics of Succession in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates. Middle East Policy 13(1): 42-59.

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