Kinship, State Formation and Governance in the Arab Gulf States

by Scott J. Weiner

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474488167
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	04/26/2022
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)

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.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: A Systematic Inquiry of Kinship Politics
2. Defining Kinship
3. Resource Access and the Political Salience of Kinship
4. State Building in Kuwait
5. State Building in Qatar
6. State Building in Oman
7. Kinship Salience After State Building in Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman
8. Kinship After State Building
9. Conclusion