Courtney Freer – författare

While scholars have long looked at the role of political Islam in the Middle East, it has been assumed that domestic politics in the wealthy monarchical states of the Arabian Gulf, so-called "rentier states" where taxes are very low and oil wealth subsidizes the needs of citizens, are largely unaffected by such movements. However, the long accepted rentier theory has been shortsighted in overlooking the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in the super-rentiers of Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. While rentier state theory assumes that citizens of such states will form opposition blocs only when their stake in rent income is threatened, this book demonstrates that ideology, rather than rent, have motivated the formation of independent Islamist movements in the wealthiest states of the region. In the monarchical systems of Qatar and the UAE, Islamist groups do not have the opportunity to compete for power and therefore cannot use the ballot box to gain popularity or influence political life, as they do elsewhere in the Middle East. But, as this book points out, the division between the social and political sectors is often blurred in the socially conservative states of the Gulf, as political actors operate through channels that are not institutionalized. Simply because politics is underinstitutionalized in such states does not mean that it is underdeveloped; the informal realm holds considerable political capital. As such, the book argues that Brotherhood movements have managed to use the links between the social (i.e. informal personal networks) and political (i.e. government institutions) to gain influence in policymaking in such states.Using contemporary history and original empirical research, Courtney Freer updates traditional rentier state theory and argues that political Islam serves as a prominent voice and tool to promote more strictly political, and often populist or reformist, views supported by many Gulf citizens.

The first English language political history of Kuwaiti parliament, this book provides an unprecedented holistic treatment of grassroots contemporary Kuwaiti politics in English in over two decades, incorporating the country's political dynamics into broader debates about the limits of authoritarianism and the practice of democracy in the Arab world, particularly in oil-wealthy states. Author Courtney Freer uses the lens of parliamentary elections as a means of understanding the political ideologies that have dominated in Kuwait since independence. As such, it situates the dynamics of Kuwaiti politics within broader political science debates about whether democratic institutions in "hybrid regimes" are meaningful arenas for popular contestation or only serve to enhance autocratic rule. Given the varying portrayals of Kuwait as robust authoritarianism, "upgraded" authoritarianism, or a noteworthy site of democratic participation, The Resilience of Parliamentary Politics in Kuwait: Parliament, Rentierism, and Society focuses on the ideologies that have mobilized political blocs, rather than solely focusing on the institutions of political power themselves. Freer includes extensive fieldwork and the use of Arabic and English primary sources to assess and examine the institutional setting that Kuwait presents and traces the dominant ideological strands in the country, considering the comparative mobilizational potential of ascriptive identities like tribe and sect.

Gulf societies are often described as being intensely tribal. However, in discussions of state building and national identity, the role of tribalism and tribal identity is often overlooked. This book analyses the political role of tribes in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE aiming to understand the degree to which tribes hinder or advance popular participation in government and to what extent they exert domestic political power. The research traces the historical relationship between ruling elites and nomadic tribes, and, by constructing political histories of these states and analysing the role of tribes in domestic political life and social hierarchies, reveals how they serve as major political actors in the Gulf.A key focus of the book is understanding the extent to which societies in the Gulf have become ‘re-bedouinised’ in the modern era and how this has shaped these states’ political processes and institutions. The book explores the roles that tribes play in the development of “progressive” citizenship regimes and policymaking today, and how they are likely to be influential in the future within rentier environments.

What are the key drivers of GCC foreign policies in the twenty-first century? Previous studies have traced the foreign policies of individual Gulf states - specifically Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This is the first volume to cover all six states and to take account of both regional and global challenges that shape how foreign policies are made. These include major changes and events such as the Arab Spring, the GCC Crisis, US-China rivalry and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The different country experts explain here how the states differ from each other in their foreign policies and how each state interacts with primary regional powers, such as Israel and Turkey, and global powers, such as the United States, China and the European Union. The book also benefits from a multidisciplinary perspective, comprising the leading scholars in economics, international relations, political science, conflict resolution and security studies. A comprehensive account, this is the go-to resource for professors, policymakers and students wanting to understand the drivers of GCC foreign policies.