ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the social relations which exist among the peoples of the Arab Gulf today that are heavily influenced by the mode of production which obtained in that area before the discovery of oil. An understanding of this mode of production is essential to an understanding of the social, economic and political structures which exist today. The most crucial aspects of the social, political and legal structures are determined not by the mode of production currently existing but by a previous mode of production which still exerts its influence. Although the introduction of the oil economy transformed the mode of production, integrating this region closely into the international capitalist system, the effects which this had on the social, political and legal structures were limited confined to superficial adaptations. In many respects the introduction of the oil economy was a foreign imposition on Arab Gulf societies it was operated mainly by foreigners, with production geared largely to foreign interests.
