Book excerpt: "In this book, Mohammad A. Chaichian examines the process of dependent urbanization in Iran and Egypt relating to each country's unique colonial history and dependence on a constantly changing global economy since the early nineteenth century. Using historical data, Chaichian argues that the development of dependent economies has led to displacement of the rural population and migration to major urban centers such as Tehran in Iran and Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt. The findings of this study also indicate that by the mid-1970s Iran and Egypt were fully incorporated into the global economy, but in various degrees have since resisted the systemic demands of the new phase of globalization that requires open and fluid borders for utilization of labor, capital investment, and transfer of information."--BOOK JACKET.