Publication

This study describes and explains “late rentierism” through a discussion and elucidation of its major features and characteristics, including how these vary, or not, from those of other rentier explanations. The author argues that Rentier State Theory (RST) has not adapted enough to explain the dramatic changes in the political economies of the Gulf in the past two decades or so, including the responses of Dubai, Bahrain, and more recently Qatar and Abu Dhabi, to globalization, new technologies, freer trade and investments, social changes, and development imperatives. It is argued in this report that a new phase of RST—“late rentierism”—should be applied to the wealthy Arab Gulf states.