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Liberalization - social, political, and economic - is not an exclusively Western concept, but it has deep roots in Western culture and it has flourished in recent years, particularly since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. But do the policies of economic liberalization, free market capitalism, and structural adjustment now being advocated by the IMF and the World Bank really provide the solution to the acute economic problems facing developing countries today? Or will they actually create greater poverty, leading to social, economic and political breakdown? This wide-ranging survey relates these crucial questions to the countries of the Middle East, and includes case-studies of Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, Oman and Yemen.