Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T08:25:32.253Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Political Economy of Gulf Defense Establishments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2021

Zoltan Barany
Affiliation:
University of Texas

Summary

The six monarchies on the Arabian Peninsula have devoted enormous sums to defense in past decades. Nevertheless, the gap between their expensive armaments and their capacity to deter aggression and/or project military strength has narrowed but little in that time. This Element takes a political economy approach and argues that structural factors inherent in the Gulf states' political systems prohibit civilian oversight of the defense sector and are responsible for this outcome. Lax restraints on military outlays, in turn, enable widespread corruption, lead to large-scale waste, and account for the purchasing of unneeded, unsuitable, and incompatible weapons systems. The Element explores the challenges caused by plummeting oil prices and the resulting budget cuts and considers the development of domestic defense industries in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, intended as a part of their economic diversification program. The setbacks of the Saudi-led coalition's on-going war in Yemen starkly illustrate the narrative.
Get access
Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781108961820
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 18 February 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdulaal, Abdulla. 2015. “Bahrain’s Opportunity for Economic Reform,” Sada – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 10.Google Scholar
Abul-Magd, Zeinab. 2017. Militarizing the Nation: The Army, Business, and Revolution in Egypt (New York: Columbia University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
AFP. 2019. “Qatar Opens Its Largest Coast Guard Base,” July 14.Google Scholar
Alajmi, Zafer Muhammad. 2015. “Gulf Military Cooperation: Tangible Gains or Limited Results?,” in Abdullah, Jamal, ed., Gulf Cooperation Council’s Challenges and Prospects (Doha: Al Jazeera Center for Studies), 4758.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2017a. “Egypt Takes Part in Joint Military Drills with Bahrain, UAE,” March 13.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2017b. “Saudi Arabia to Acquire Australian Military Equipment,” March 30.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2017c. “Saudi Arabia to Build Major Aerospace Facility,” June 6.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2017d. “Royal Air Force of Oman Receives 1st Hawk Jet Trainers,” August 2.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2017e. “Qatar, France Ink $14 Billion Military, Aviation Deals,” December 11.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2018a. “Saudi Arabia to Host Armed Forces Exhibition – AFED 2018,” February 20.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2018b. “Germany Approves Arms Sales to Gulf, Mideast Countries,” September 26.Google Scholar
Al Defaiya. 2019. “Qatar Orders Two Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure Systems,” September 26.Google Scholar
Amlôt, Matthew. 2020. “Russian State Nuclear Firm Advances in Bid Process for Saudi Project,” Al-Arabiya, February 10.Google Scholar
Andolu. 2019. “Qatar First to Buy US-Made AMRAAM-ER Missiles,” July 11.Google Scholar
Anthony, John Duke. 2016. “GCC Arms Imports: Strategic Assessment and Economic Benefits to the United States,” in Des Roches, David B. and Thafer, Dania, eds., The Arms Trade, Military Services, and the Security Market in the Gulf States: Trends and Implications (Berlin: Gerlach, 2016), 2343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asharq Al-Awsat. 2019. “Kuwait Emir: No One Can Evade Punishment for Corruption,” November 18.Google Scholar
Ashri, Osama. 2019. “On the Fast Track: Saudi Arabia’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem,” Entrepreneur Middle East, July 17.Google Scholar
Askari, Hossein, Mohseni, Amin, and Daneshvar, Shahrzad. 2009. The Militarization of the Persian Gulf: An Economic Analysis (Northampton: Edward Elgar).Google Scholar
Assl, Nima Khorrami. 2018. “Oman’s Economic Ambitions,” Sada, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), December 14.Google Scholar
Ayubi, Nazih N. 1995. Over-Stating the Arab State: Politics and Society in the Middle East (London: I. B. Tauris).Google Scholar
Bahgat, Gawdat. 1995. “Military Security and Political Stability in the Gulf,” Arab Studies Quarterly, 17:4 (Fall): 5570.Google Scholar
Bahgat, Gawdat. 2008. Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East (Gainesville: University Press of Florida).Google Scholar
Bahgat, Gawdat. 2016. “Lower for Longer: Saudi Arabia Adjusts to the New Oil Era,” Middle East Policy, 23:3 (Fall): 3948.Google Scholar
Bahgat, Gawdat. 2017. “The Emerging Energy Landscape: Economic and Strategic Implications,” in Ulrichsen, Kristian Coates, ed., The Changing Security Dynamics of the Persian Gulf (New York: Oxford University Press), 6176.Google Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. 2012. The Soldier and the Changing State: Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).Google Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. 2013. “Unrest and State Response in the Arab Monarchies,” Mediterranean Quarterly, 24:2 (Spring): 538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. 2018. “Why Have Three Gulf States Introduced the Draft? Bucking the Trend on Conscription in Arabia,” RUSI Journal (Royal United Services Institute), 162:6 (January): 1627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. 2019. “Military Politics and Foreign Policy-Making: Changing Dynamics in North African Regimes,” Journal of North African Studies, 24:4 (July): 592598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. 2020a. “Foreign Contract Soldiers in the Gulf,” Carnegie Middle East Center, February 5.Google Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. 2020b. “Arms Procurement and Corruption in the Gulf Monarchies,” Burke Chair Report, Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 11.Google Scholar
Barany, Zoltan. forthcoming. “The Gulf Monarchies and Israel: From Aversion to Pragmatism,” Middle East Journal.Google Scholar
Barr, Abigail, and Serra, Danila. 2010. “Corruption and Culture: An Experimental Analysis,” Journal of Public Economics, 94:1112 (December 2010): 862869.Google Scholar
Batrawy, Aya. 2020. “New Oman Ruler Vows to Uphold Late Sultan’s Peaceful Policy,” AP (Dubai), January 11.Google Scholar
Bendix, Reinhard. 1980. Kings or People: Power and the Mandate to Rule (Berkeley: University of California Press).Google Scholar
Bianco, Cinzia, and Cafiero, Giorgio. 2016. “The Price Bahrain Pays for Saudi Assistance,” Lobe Log, May 4.Google Scholar
Bianco, Cinzia, and Stansfield, Gareth. 2018. “The Intra-GCC Crises: Mapping GCC Fragmentation after 2011,” International Affairs, 94:3: 613635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binnie, Jeremy. 2019. “Saudi Air Defences Are Ill-Prepared for Low-Level Attacks,” HIS Markit, September 28.Google Scholar
Blanchard, Christopher M. 2016. Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, April 22).Google Scholar
Borchert, Heiko. “The Arab Gulf Defense Pivot: Defense Industrial Policy in a Changing Geostrategic Context,” Comparative Strategy, 37:4 (2018): 299315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boughanmi, Houcine, and Khan, Muhammad Aamir. 2019. “Welfare and Distributional Effects of the Energy Subsidy Reform in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries,” International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 9:1: 228236.Google Scholar
Bove, Vincenzo, and Brauner, Jennifer. 2016. “The Demand for Military Expenditure in Authoritarian Regimes,” Defense and Peace Economics, 27:5: 609625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petroleum, British. 2020. “Energy Outlook,” September 14, available at www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/energy-outlook.html.Google Scholar
Brooks, Risa A. 2003. “Making Military Might: Why Do States Fail or Succeed: A Review Essay,” International Security, 28:2 (Fall): 149191.Google Scholar
Brown, Gordon S., and Katzman, Kenneth. 2001. “Gulf Cooperation Council Defense Agreement,” CRS Report for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service), February 28.Google Scholar
Cahill, Ben. 2020. “Gulf States: Managing the Oil Crash,” Center for Strategic and International Studies Commentary, May 7.Google Scholar
Cannon, Brendon J., and Rossiter, Ash. 2017. “Ethiopia, Berbera Port, and the Shifting Balance of Power in the Horn of Africa,” Rising Powers Quarterly, 2:4 (December): 729.Google Scholar
Carey, Glen. 2018. “Saudis Want to Make Their Own Weapons. Russia Is Eager to Help,” Bloomberg, March 2.Google Scholar
Castelier, Sebastian, and Quentin, Müller. 2019. “Oman’s Duqm, a New Port City for the Middle East?Middle East Eye, February 10.Google Scholar
CB Insights. 2017. “The Kingdom of Tech: Mapping Saudi Arabia’s Investors and Their Startup Bets,” March 9.Google Scholar
Chehabi, H. E., and Linz, Juan J.. 1998. “A Theory of Sultanism 1: A Type of Nondemocratic Rule,” in Chehabi, and Linz, , eds., Sultanistic Regimes (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press), 325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coates Ulrichsen, Kristian. 2020. Qatar and the Gulf Crisis (New York: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Congressional Research Service. 2020. “Congress and the War in Yemen: Oversight and Legislation 2015–2020,” Congressional Research Service, R45046, June 19.Google Scholar
Cordesman, Anthony H. 2010. Gulf Military Balance (Washington, DC: CSIS).Google Scholar
Cordesman, Anthony H. (with the assistance of Bryan Gold and Garrett Berntsen). 2014. The Gulf Military Balance: Vol. 1: The Conventional and Assymmetric Dimensions (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield/CSIS).Google Scholar
Cordesman, Anthony H. 2018. “Military Spending: The Other Side of Saudi Security,” Burke Chair Report, Center for Strategic and International Studies (henceforth, CSIS), March 11.Google Scholar
Cordesman, Anthony H., Shelala, Robert M., and Mohamed, Omar. 2014. The Gulf Military Balance: Vol. 3: The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield/CSIS).Google Scholar
Cronin, Stephanie. 2014. Armies and State-Building in the Modern Middle East (London: I. B. Tauris).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davids, Gavin. 2013. “Construction the Most Corrupt Industry in Arab Countries,” ME Construction News, September 9.Google Scholar
Davidson, Christopher M. 2008. Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success (New York: Columbia University Press).Google Scholar
De Atkine, Norvell B. 2000. “Why Arabs Lose Wars,” Middle East Review of International Affairs, 4:1 (March): 1627.Google Scholar
De Atkine, Norvell B. 2013. “Western Influence on Arab Militaries: Pounding Square Pegs into Round Holes,” Middle East Review of International Affairs, 17:1 (Spring): 1831.Google Scholar
Defense News. 2019. “Will the UAE Buy Russia Su-57, Su 35 Jets?” November 18, the video report is available at www.defensenews.com/video/2019/11/18/will-the-uae-buy-russian-su-57-su-35-jets-dubai-airshow–2019/.Google Scholar
Defense Security Cooperation Agency. 2019. “UAE to Receive 10 CH-47F Chinook Cargo Helicopters,” November 11.Google Scholar
Des Roches, David B. 2017. “US Military Interests in the Arab Region: Sales, Stability, and Security,” in Azzam, Zeina and Harb, Imad K., eds., Trump and the Arab World: A First Year Assessment (Washington, DC: Arab Center), 1928.Google Scholar
Dourian, Kate. 2019. “Oman: A Small Oil Player with Big Ambitions,” Arabian Gulf Studies Institute Washington (henceforth AGSIW), November 7.Google Scholar
Doward, Jamie. 2020. “UK Accused of Selling Arms to Saudi Arabia a Year after Court Ban,” Guardian, June 21.Google Scholar
Economist. 2015. “Full of Sound and Fury,” Economist, August 22, 39.Google Scholar
Economist. 2017. “Qatar and Its Neighbours: Economic Gulf,” October 21, 49.Google Scholar
Economist. 2018a. “A Wild Ride,” Special Report on the Gulf, June 23, 4.Google Scholar
Economist. 2018b. “Where Are the Jobs for the Boys?,” November 24.Google Scholar
Economist. 2018c. “A Prince Fails to Charm,” December 22, 74.Google Scholar
Economist. 2019a. “Weapon Sales: Predator Pricing,” March 9, 4344.Google Scholar
Economist. 2019b. “Bahrain: A Gulf Case Study,” May 25, 45.Google Scholar
Economist. 2019c. “Sovereign Wealth, Sovereign Whims,” June 15, 40.Google Scholar
Economist. 2020. “Twilight of an Era: The End of the Arab World’s Oil-Age Is Night,” July 18, 37.Google Scholar
Edmondson, Catie. 2020. “House Votes to Block Arms Sales to Gulf Nations, Setting Up Trump’s Third Veto,” New York Times, July 17.Google Scholar
Ellyatt, Holly. 2019. “Saudi Arabia Is ‘Gradually Running Out of Money’ and Needs IPO to Fund Reforms, Ex-CIA Chief Says,” CNBC.com, November 14.Google Scholar
Ennis, Crystal A., and Ra’id, Z. al-Jamali. 2014. “Elusive Employment Development Planning and Labour Market Trends in Oman,” Middle East and North Africa Research Paper (Chatham House), September.Google Scholar
Entous, Adam. 2018. “The Enemy of My Enemy,” New Yorker, June 18, 3045.Google Scholar
Exum, Andrew. 2019. “U.S. Arms Sales to the Gulf Have Failed,” Atlantic, June 21.Google Scholar
Farooq, Khalid, and Brooks, Graham. 2013. “Arab Fraud and Corruption Professionals’ Views in the Arabian Gulf,” Journal of Financial Crime, 20:3: 338347.Google Scholar
Farzegan, Mohammad Reza. 2018. “The Impact of Oil Rents on Military Spending in the GCC Region: Does Corruption Matter?Journal of Arabian Studies, 8: CIRS Special Issue: 87109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fathallah, Hadi. 2019. “The Economic Consequences of Gulf Insecurity,” Sada, CEIP, September 11.Google Scholar
Fingar, Courtney. 2018. “Kuwaiti Economy Needs Foreign Investment to Diversify,” Financial Times, September 10.Google Scholar
Fishman, Brian. 2016. The Master Plan: ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press).Google Scholar
Gaub, Florence. 2017. Guardians of the Arab State (London: C. Hurst & Co.).Google Scholar
Gaub, Florence, and Stanley-Lockman., Zoe 2017. “Defence Industries in Arab States: Player and Strategies,” Chaillot Paper No. 141 (European Union Institute for Security Studies, March).Google Scholar
Gengler, Justin. 2020. “Will Saudi Arabia Cut Funding to MbS’s Costly Misadventures?” Responsible Statecraft, May 15.Google Scholar
Al-Ghanim, Mohammed. 2010. “Do Elections Lead to Reform? Assessing the Institutional Limits of Representative Bodies in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia,” Contemporary Arab Affairs, 3:2: 138147.Google Scholar
Giunchi, Elisa Ada. 2014. “The Political and Economic Role of the Pakistani Military,” ISPI (Italian Institute for International Political Studies) Analysis, no. 269, July.Google Scholar
Gordon, Philip H., Doran, Michael, and Alterman, Jon B.. 2019. “The Trump Administration’s Middle East Policies: A Mid-term Assessment,” Middle East Policy, 26:1 (Spring): 530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Matthew. 2019. The Economy of the Gulf States. (Newcastle: Agenda).Google Scholar
Grimm, Jannis Julien. 2019. “Egypt Is Not for Sale! Harnessing Nationalism for Alliance Building in Egypt’s Tiran and Sanafir Island Protests,” Mediterranean Politics, 24:4: 443466.Google Scholar
Guardian. 2017. “Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdullah Pays $1bn in Corruption Settlement,” November 29.Google Scholar
Gulf News. 2015. “BDF Signs $56 Million Healthcare Project Agreement with KMC,” September 20.Google Scholar
Guzansky, Yoel. 2016. “Lines Drawn in the Sand: Territorial Disputes and GCC Unity,” Middle East Journal, 70:4 (Autumn): 543559.Google Scholar
Hanieh, Adam. 2018. Money, Markets, and Monarchies: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Contemporary Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Harb, Imad K. 2017. “The United States and the GCC: A Steep Learning Curve for President Trump,” in Azzam, Zeina and Harb, Imad K., eds. Trump and the Arab World: A First Year Assessment (Washington, DC: Arab Center, 2017), 4956.Google Scholar
Hasbani, Nadim. 2006. “The Geopolitics of Weapons Procurement in the Gulf States,” Defense & Security Analysis, 22:1 (March): 7388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Al-Hashemi, Mohammed Hashem. 2019. “Bitter Brethren: Freud’s Narcissism of Minor Differences and the Gulf Divide,” in Krieg, Andreas, ed., Divided Gulf: The Anatomy of a Crisis (Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan 2019), 53–70.Google Scholar
El-Hassen, Tarek, and Bilali, Hamid Al. 2019. “Food Security in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Challenges and Prospects,” Journal of Food Security, 7:5: 159169.Google Scholar
Haykel, Bernard. 2016. “ISIS and al-Qaeda – What Are They Thinking? Understanding the Adversary,” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 668:1 (November): 7181.Google Scholar
Hearst, David. 2018. “With Matthew Hedges, the UAE Is Up to Its Old Bullying Games,” Middle East Eye, December 2.Google Scholar
Heath, Victoria. 2016. “Defense Gaps in the GCC: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia and the Royal Saudi Air Force,” in Des Roches, David B. and Thafer, Dania, eds., The Arms Trade, Military Services and the Security Market in the Gulf States: Trends and Implications (Berlin: Gerlach Press), 8098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helou, Agnes. 2019a. “UAE Launches ‘Edge’ Conglomerate to Address Its ‘Antiquated Military Industry,’” Defense News, November 6.Google Scholar
Helou, Agnes. 2019b. “How Can Saudi Arabia Secure Its Airspace?,” Defense News, November 15.Google Scholar
Helou, Agnes 2020. “Amid Western Arms Embargoes on Saudi Arabia, SAMI Has a Backup Plan,” Defense News, January 14.Google Scholar
Herb, Michael. 1999. All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in Middle Eastern Monarchies (Albany: SUNY Press).Google Scholar
Herb, Michael. 2004. “Princes and Parliaments of the Arab World,” Middle East Journal, 58:3 (July): 367384.Google Scholar
Hirst, David. 2017. “Senior Saudi Figures Tortured and Beaten in Purge,” Middle East Eye, November 10.Google Scholar
Hubbard, Ben. 2016. “Saudis Cut off Funding for Military Aid to Lebanon,” New York Times, February 20.Google Scholar
Hungtington, Samuel P. 1966. “The Political Modernization of Traditional Monarchies,” Daedalus, 95:3 (Summer): 763788.Google Scholar
Ibish, Hussein. 2017. “The UAE’s Evolving National Security Strategy,” Issue Paper No. 4, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, April 6.Google Scholar
IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies). 2019. The Military Balance 2019 (London: IISS).Google Scholar
IISS Strategic Comments. 2013. “Equipment Purchases Boost Gulf Defences,” 19:34 (November).Google Scholar
Insinna, Valerie. 2019a. “US Puts F-35 Talks with the UAE on the Backburner to Focus on F-16 Upgrades,” Defense News, November 17.Google Scholar
Insinna, Valerie. 2019b. “Calidus Inks Its First B-250 Light Attack Plane Order,” Defense News, November 20.Google Scholar
Jarzabek, Jarosław. 2016. “GCC Military Spending in Era of Low Oil Prices,” Middle East Institute, Policy Focus Series, August.Google Scholar
Al Jazeera. 2019. “Kuwait’s Emir: Gulf Dispute ‘No Longer Acceptable or Tolerable,’” October 29.Google Scholar
Juneau, Thomas. 2016. “Iran’s Policy Towards the Houthis in Yemen: A Limited Return on a Modest Investment,” International Affairs, 92:3 (May): 647663.Google Scholar
Kalin, Stephen. 2020. “Saudi Crown Prince Barrels Ahead with Big Projects to Boost Economy,” Wall Street Journal, August 26.Google Scholar
Kamrava, Mehran. 2018. Troubled Waters: Insecurity in the Persian Gulf (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press).Google Scholar
Kassan, Ashifa. 2018. “Justin Trudeau Defends Canada’s Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia,” Guardian, March 21.Google Scholar
Kéchichian, Joseph. 2001. Succession in Saudi Arabia (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan).Google Scholar
Khaleej Times. 2012. “Tawazun Inks JV for Nimr Manufacturing in Algeria,” July 29.Google Scholar
Al-Khamri, Hana. 2019. “Vision 2030 and Poverty in Saudi Arabia,” Al Jazeera, December 23.Google Scholar
Khan, Ghazanfar Ali. 2017. “Saudi Arabia Seeks to Build Robust Defense Industry,” Arab News, February 26.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, David D., and Hubbard, Ben. 2020. “Saudi Prince Detains Senior Members of Royal Family,” New York Times, March 6.Google Scholar
Krane, Jim. 2019a. “Subsidy Reform and Tax Increases in the Rentier Middle East,” in The Politics of the Rentier States in the Gulf (Washington, DC: Project on Middle East Political Science (www.pomeps.org), January 1824.Google Scholar
Krane, Jim. 2019b. Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf (New York: Columbia University Press).Google Scholar
Kuimova, Alexandra. 2020. “Understanding Egyptian Military Expenditure,” SIPRI Background Paper, October.Google Scholar
Kulish, Nicholas, and Kirkpatrick, David D.. 2017. “In Saudi Arabia, Where Family and State Are One, Arrests May Be Selective,” New York Times, November 7.Google Scholar
Kulish, Nicholas, and Mazzetti, Mark. 2016. “Saudi Royal Family Is Still Spending in an Age of Austerity,” New York Times, December 27.Google Scholar
Legrenzi, Matteo. 2011. The GCC and the International Relations of the Gulf (London: I. B. Tauris).Google Scholar
Lucas, Russell. 2004. “Monarchical Authoritarianism: Survival and Political Liberalization in a Middle Eastern Regime Type,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, 36:1 (February): 103119.Google Scholar
Mandour, Maged. 2016. “Egypt’s Shift from Saudi Arabia to Russia,” Sada, CEIP, November 3.Google Scholar
Marchi, Vivienne. 2018. “Qatar Navy Expansion Continues with New Ships and Bases by 2022,” Defense Daily, November 28.Google Scholar
Marshall, Shana. 2010. “The Modernization of Bribery: The Arms Trade in the Arab Gulf,” Jadaliyya, December 22.Google Scholar
Marshall, Shana. 2016. “Military Prestige, Defense-Industrial Production, and the Rise of Gulf Military Activism,” in Albrecht, Holger, Croissant, Aurel, and Lawson, Fred H., eds., Armies and Insurgencies in the Arab Spring (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), 241263.Google Scholar
Matthiesen, Toby. 2013. Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring That Wasn’t (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press).Google Scholar
Mazzetti, Mark, and Hager, Emily B.. 2011. “Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder,” New York Times, May 14.Google Scholar
McDowall, Angus, Stewart, Phil, and Rohde, David. 2016. “Yemen’s Guerrilla War Tests Military Ambitions of Big-Spending Saudis,” Reuters, April 19.Google Scholar
Merat, Arron. 2019. “‘The Saudis Couldn’t Do It without Us’: The UK’s True Role in Yemen’s Deadly War,” Guardian, June 18.Google Scholar
Merrill, Jamie. 2016. “Major British Defense Deal with Oman Comes Under Fire,” Middle East Eye, May 20.Google Scholar
Middle East Eye. 2020. “Saudi King Removes Commander of Yemen Force over Corruption Claims,” Middle East Eye, August 31.Google Scholar
Naar, Ismaeel. 2020. “Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Corruption Authority Opens 218 Criminal Cases,” Al Arabiya, August 11.Google Scholar
Naidu, Suresh, Nyarko, Yaw, and Wang, Shing-Yi. 2016Monopsony Power in Migrant Labor Markets: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates,” Journal of Political Economy, 124:6 (December): 17351792.Google Scholar
National (UAE). 2017. “Saudi Arabia, UAE Form Military Alliance,” December 7.Google Scholar
Niarchos, Nicholas. 2018. “Making War: How U.S. Support Inflames the Conflict in Yemen,” New Yorker, January 22, 3035.Google Scholar
Obouzzohour, Yasmina. “As Oman Enters a New Era, Economic and Political Challenges Persist,” Order from Chaos, Brookings, January 15.Google Scholar
Omran, Al, Ahmed, and Hollinger, Peggy. 2018. “Saudi Arabia Beefs Up Plans for Domestic Defence Industry,” Financial Times, March 15.Google Scholar
Page, Matthew T., and Vittori, Jodi, eds. 2020. Dubai’s Role in Facilitating Corruption and Global Illicit Financial Flows (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2020).Google Scholar
Partrick, Neil. 2018. “Saudi Arabia’s Elusive Defense Reform,” Sada, CEIP, May 31.Google Scholar
Partrick, Neil. 2019. “Saudi Economic Reforms: Shadows and Light,” neilpartrick.com, November 18.Google Scholar
Pérez-Peña, Richard. 2018. “Britain to Sell Jets to Saudis Despite Conduct of Yemen War,” New York Times, March 9.Google Scholar
Peterson, J. E. 2018. “Prospects for Proliferation in Saudi Arabia,” in Johnson, Jeannie L., Kartchner, Kerry M., and Maines, Marilyn J., eds., Crossing Nuclear Thresholds: Leveraging Sociocultural Insights into Nuclear Decisionmaking (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), 109139.Google Scholar
Pollack, Kenneth M. 2019. Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness (New York: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Porter, Geoff D. 2019. ”Political Instability in Algeria,” Center for Preventive Action, Contingency Planning Memorandum No. 35.Google Scholar
Qatar News Agency. “Qatar to Build New Air Base,” August 30, 2018.Google Scholar
Quinlivan, James T. 1999. “Coup-Proofing: Its Practice and Consequences in the Middle East,” International Security, 24:2 (Fall): 131165.Google Scholar
Reporters without Borders. 2019. 2019 World Press Freedom Index, https://rsf.org/en/ranking.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2015.“Saudi Security Spending Rises $5.3 Bln in 2015: Minister,” December 28.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2016. “Dutch Parliament Votes to Ban Weapons Exports to Saudi Arabia,” March 15.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2018a. “Saudi Economist Who Criticized Aramco IPO Charged with Terrorism,” October 1.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2018b. “Under Saudi Threat, Qatar Ramps Up Major Air and Sea Power Buildup,” November 29.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2019. “Bahrain’s Crown Prince Signs Deal to Buy Patriot Missiles,” September 16.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2020a. “Saudi-Qatar Talks to End Lengthy Gulf Dispute Falter” (Dubai), February 11.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2020b. “Bailed-Out Bahrain May Need More Gulf Support as Soon as This Year” (Dubai), May 4.Google Scholar
Riedel, Bruce. 2017a. “The $110 Billion Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia Is Fake News,” Markaz, Brookings, June 5.Google Scholar
Riedel, Bruce. 2017b. “In Yemen Iran Outsmarts Saudi Arabia, Again,” Markaz, Brookings Institution, December 6.Google Scholar
Riedel, Bruce. 2018. Kings and Presidents: Saudi Arabia and the United States since FDR (Washington, DC: Brookings).Google Scholar
Roberts, David B. 2019. “Reflecting on Qatar’s ‘Islamist’ Soft Power,” Policy Brief, Brookings Foreign Policy Program, April.Google Scholar
Roeber, Joe. 2005. “Parallel Markets: Corruption in the International Arms Trade,” Goodwin Paper No. 3 (London: Campaign Against Arms Trade, June 2005).Google Scholar
Roll, Stephan. 2019. “A Sovereign Wealth Fund for the Prince,” SWP Research Paper No. 8 (Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, July).Google Scholar
Russell, Richard L. 2009. “Future Gulf War: Arab and American Forces against Iranian Capabilities,” Joint Force Quarterly, 55:4: 3540.Google Scholar
Sabbagh, Dan. 2020. “Britain to Resume Sale of Arms to Saudi Arabia Despite Yemen Fears,” Guardian, July 7.Google Scholar
Sailer, Matthias. 2016. “Changed Priorities in the Gulf,” SWP Comments No. 8, January.Google Scholar
Salama, Samir. 2020. “Saudi Arabia Set to Manufacture New Armoured Military Vehicle,” Gulf News, July 2.Google Scholar
Samaan, Jean-Loup Samaan. 2019. “The Rise of the Emirate Defense Industry,” Sada, CEIP, May 14.Google Scholar
Sanger, David E., and Broad, William J.. 2018. “Saudis Want a U.S. Nuclear Deal,” New York Times, November 22.Google Scholar
Saudi-US Trade Group.com. 2020. “Coming Soon to Saudi Arabia: A ‘World Defense Show’ to Rival Abu Dhabi’s IDEX,” July 17.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Felicia. 2020. “Possible F-35 Jet Sale to U.A.E. Puts Israel in Bind,” Wall Street Journal, August 20.Google Scholar
Serra, Danila. 2006. “Empirical Determinants of Corruption: A Sensitivity Analysis,” Public Choice, 126 (January): 225256.Google Scholar
Sherbini, Al, Ramadan. 2020. “In First, Kuwait Ex-Minister Gets Jail Sentence,” Gulf News, January 29.Google Scholar
SIPRI (Stockholm International for Peace Research Institute). 2017. “Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2017,” SIPRI Fact Sheet (Stockholm, May).Google Scholar
SIPRI. 2019a. SIPRI Yearbook 2019: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (Oxford: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
SIPRI. 2019b. “World’s 10 Largest Defense Companies,” December 31.Google Scholar
Soubrier, Emma. 2016. “Mirages of Power? From Sparkly Appearances to Empowered Apparatus, Evolving Trends and Implications of Arms Trade in Qatar and the UAE,” David B. Des Roches and Dania Thafer, eds., The Arms Trade, Military Services and the Security Market in the Gulf States: Trends and Implications (Berlin: Gerlach Press), 135151.Google Scholar
Soubrier, Emma. 2019. “Air Power Procurement in the Gulf: From Sparkling Mirages to Strategic Ambitions,” Arabian Gulf Studies Institute Washington, December 6.Google Scholar
Sprenger, Sebastian. 2020. “Saab Delivers First Global Eye Early-Warning Plane to UAE,” Defense News, April 29.Google Scholar
Stanley, Bruce, and Lee, Heesu. 2018. “UAE Completes First of Four Korean-Built Nuclear Reactors,” Bloomberg, March 26.Google Scholar
Stanley-Lockman, Zoe. 2017. “The UAE’s Defense Horizons,” Sada, CEIP, May 2.Google Scholar
Stone, Jon. 2018. “Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, and Finland Stop Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia in Response to Yemen Famine,” Independent, November 23.Google Scholar
Al-Sulami, Mohammed. 2019. “Localization of Saudi Military Industry to Support Economic Diversification,” Arab News, November 11.Google Scholar
Sutton, H. I. 2020. “Qatar to Acquire Submarines in New Twist in Gulf States’ Big Naval Expansion,” Forbes, February 4.Google Scholar
Tabrizi, Aniseh Bassiri, and Bronk, Justin. 2018. Armed Drones in the Middle East: Proliferation and Norms in the Region, RUSI Occasional Paper (London: Royal United Services Institute, December).Google Scholar
TASS. 2017. “UAE Wants to Buy Over a Squadron of Su-35 Advanced Fighter Jets from Russia” (Moscow), October 3.Google Scholar
Brunnersum, Van, Sou-Jie., Melissa 2020. “Germany Violated Arms Export Regulations for Decades, Study Says,” Deutsche Welle, July 19.Google Scholar
Wahid, Latif. 2009. Military Expenditure and Economic Grown in the Middle East (New York: Palgrave Macmillan).Google Scholar
Walsh, Declan. 2017. “Qatar Buys Italian Warships as Persian Gulf Crisis Deepens,” New York Times, August 2.Google Scholar
Walsh, Declan, and Schmitt, Eric. 2018. “Arms Sales to Saudis Leave American Fingerprints on Yemen’s Carnage,” New York Times, December 25.Google Scholar
Wearing, David. 2018. AngloArabia: Why Gulf Wealth Matters to Britain (Cambridge: Polity, 2018).Google Scholar
Wehrey, Frederic M. 2014. Sectarian Politics in the Gulf: From the Iraq War to the Arab Uprisings (New York: Columbia University Press).Google Scholar
Weisgerber, Marcus. 2019. “Saudi Losses in Yemen War Exposed by US Tank Deal,” Defense One, August 9.Google Scholar
Wheatcroft, Andrew. 1995. The Life and Times of Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Ruler of Bahrain 1942–1961 (London: Kegan Paul International).Google Scholar
Whynes, David. 1979. The Economics of Third World Military Expenditure (London: Macmillan).Google Scholar
Wiegand, Krista E. 2012. “Bahrain, Qatar, and the Hawar Islands: Resolution of a Gulf Territorial Dispute,” Middle East Journal, 66:1 (Winter): 7996.Google Scholar
Winder, Bayly. 2020. “Next in Line: Succession and the Kuwaiti Monarchy,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 13.Google Scholar
Wolf, Albert. 2020. “The UAE-Israel Agreement Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be,” Foreign Policy, August 15.Google Scholar
Wolf, Anne. 2019. “Saudi Arabia Reasserts Itself in the Maghrib,” Journal of North African Studies, 24:4: 533539.Google Scholar
Wolverton, Joe. 2019. “China Set to Sell Weaponized Drones to Saudi Arabia,” New American, November 21.Google Scholar
Wright, Robin. 2018. “Can Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Survive the Jamal Khashoggi Murder?” New Yorker, October 25.Google Scholar
Younes, Ali. 2019. “Qatar’s New Naval Base to ‘Address Security, Protect Assets,’” Al Jazeera, July 14.Google Scholar
Young, Karen. 2019a. “UAE Diversification Strategy Lags Despite Growth in Oil Sector,” Al-Monitor, August 6.Google Scholar
Young, Karen. 2019b. “Sell-off in Oman Reveals Privatization with Regional Characteristics,” Al-Monitor, December 27.Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

The Political Economy of Gulf Defense Establishments
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

The Political Economy of Gulf Defense Establishments
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

The Political Economy of Gulf Defense Establishments
Available formats
×