Book excerpt: In addition to its emphasis on the primacy of change and dynamics rather than static snapshots, this book looks critically at development studies and policies. Originally prepared as the tenth-anniversary volume of the UNDP's series of Arab Human Development Reports, Arab Human Development in the Twenty-first Century inventories existing knowledge to present an integrated and coherent report through the systematic application of its political-economy framework. It places empowerment at the centre of human development in the Arab world, away from the dominant existing 'securocracy' state.