The limits of rentierism & the GCCs' move toward "greater" liberalism. (c2016)

Abstract

With radical transformations of the political economies of the Gulf in the past decade, conventional Rentier State Theory (RTS) fails to adequately explain many of the modern aspects of the GCC’s politics. Through a theoretical and empirical assessment of the theory, this thesis will investigate the theory’s shortcomings when applied to the dynamic economies of the Gulf countries. This will be conducted by undertaking an in-depth analysis of GCC macroeconomic performance with a focus on diversified economic challenges and its contemporary complications. Subsequently, the effect of natural gas revenues, states strategies, and the drift of foreign labor in relation to heightened liberalism in the gulf market will be delineated. Therefore, the paper will aim at deducing the theoretical modifications necessary in rendering RTS as pragmatically relatable to the present economics of the Gulf countries.