Kinship, State Formation and Governance in the Arab Gulf States

Tribe-state relations are a foundational element of authoritarian bargains in the Middle East, and in particular in the Gulf States. However, the structures of governance built upon that foundation exhibit wide differences. What explains this variation in the salience of kinship authority? Through a case comparison of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, shows that variation in tribal access to limited resources before state building can account for these differences. Its conclusions are based on seven months of archival research and interviews in Arabic and English, and reveal new details about state formation on the Arabian Peninsula.

Author: Scott J. Weiner
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 04/26/2022
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.11lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d
ISBN13: 9781474488167
ISBN10: 1474488161
BISAC Categories:
- History | Middle East | Arabian Peninsula
- Political Science | World | Middle Eastern
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies | General

About the Author

Scott Weiner is a professorial lecturer in political science at George Washington University. His research focuses on identity politics in the Arab Gulf states, ethnic politics, and gender. From 2013-14 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Gulf Studies Center of the American University of Kuwait. In 2015, his research was recognized with a Doctoral Paper Award from the Association for the Study of Nationalities. His academic work has appeared in the International Feminist Journal of Politics and Political Studies Review, and he has written short pieces for the Washington Post as well as the Carnegie Endowment, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Lawfare, Small Wars Journal, and the Diplomatic Courier.