ABSTRACT
Within the contemporary Persian Gulf, rentier state theory (RST) forms the dominant framework through which political economy is interpreted, particularly in the oil- and gas-rich Arab monarchies (hereafter, Gulf oil monarchies). This chapter explores the evolution of the literature on RST, from its early stages as a rejection of resource-driven development strategies forwarded in the mid-twentieth century, to more recent incarnations that seek to explain contemporary events in resource-rich states. The aim of the chapter is to evaluate the utility of RST as an explanation of contemporary political economy in the Gulf oil monarchies, and to highlight where the literature might need to go next.
Keywords: Rentierism; oil monarchies; political economy; Persian Gulf; rentier state theory.
