Rula tareq october 25, 2015 govt 33201fall 2015 governmentpolitics of the mena professor heba f. Rentier states and state transformations benjamin smith. I explain the way in which an abundance of resource rents provide a signicant advantage to the incumbent. Actually, for now at least profits remain high but bond yields are very low. Silje aslaksen and ragnar torvik department of economics norwegian university of science and technology n7491 trondheim norway emails. International trade theory 4 the heckscherohlin model. Rentier state, resource curse, civil war, libya, external. The data show however that we have not reached a state of capital satiation. In short, it remains the conventional and convenient recourse for assessing this regions economic and sociopolitical developments.
Rentier state theory claims that resource abundance causes weak and. A theory of late rentierism in the arab states of the gulf 5 the 1990 invasion of kuwait and the subsequent 19901991 gulf war, the sanctions from 1990 to 2003, and the 2003 iraq war and the political and economic problems. Oct 11, 20 rentier state theory, therefore, asserts that a populations political loyalty can be commoditized and purchased. Ikenberry 1989, toward a realist theory of state action.
Keyness original international clearing union plan for what ultimately became the international monetary fund. Evonomics is a labor of love, its free, and its adfree. An essay in constructive retrieval robert hockett this article, which brings together two series by the author on financial regulation and the global financial architecture, respectively, retrieves and updates j. This paper proposes that the rentier state and resource curse theories be considered as two elements of the same paradigm which, despite a growing body of contrary empirical evidence, retains a hegemonic influence in political economy discourse. It provides enormous wealth and means of patronage to the rentier state and its joint venture partners, the transnational oil companies. Looking back, i was headstrong and too rigid, though i did get a few things right.
Fourth, a corollary of the role of the few, in a rentier state the government is the principal recipient of the external rent. His theory of business enterprise 1904 emphasized the divergence between productive capacity, the book value of business assets and their stockmarket price what today is called the q ratio of market price to book. If the ability of the state to design and enforce contracts state capacity is weak, politicalactors would be willing to give the. Rentier state theory and the arab uprisings 77 states were defined through three key characteristics.
Thus, incumbency advantage will be more prevalent in rentier economies than in non rentier economies. Sep 07, 2014 this is the age of rentier capitalism. We have argued that explanations trying to combine external and domestic factors of the. If you think thats a worthy mission, as we doone with powerful leverage to make the world a.
A theory of late rentierism in the arab states of the gulf. The rentier stateresource curse narrative and the state. In reality, the state buys the very consent upon which a social contract is supposed to rest, but it cannot be unanimous consent. The rentier state theory originally developed in relation to irans mid20 th century economy. Its government is unaccountable because the population is on the states payroll. In the arab world in late 2010, starting in tunisia and flowering in egypt, a movement of people depressed by their governments, corrupt leaders and a lack of jobs that at once felt safe to take to the streets.
However, to large sections of the local oilbearing communities, the commodity is mainly a source of anxiety and misery. The state and capitalism today international socialism. The haute bourgeoisie is a social rank in the bourgeoisie that can only be acquired through time. It disproportionately favors the wealthy, and accentuates inequality over generations.
Veblen described how the rentier classes were on the ascendant rather than being reformed, taxed out of existence or socialized. As a marxistleninist urban guerrilla group arising from the student movement and the urban middleclass. As this revolution occurs, many negative events will increasingly occur, he tells us, including upheavals, turbulence, overthrows, and widespread violence. Historical studies have shown that the activity of warmaking was an essential ingredient in the process of stateformation in early modern europe. In all three of these cases, however, kierkegaard was not involved with giving form to the contents of experience. The rentier state is financially independent and autonomous from society. Explain the relationship between rentier state system and democracy. Therefore, the syrian government which was smaller than egypts was completely dominated by officials from cairo who were loyal to nasser. Theda skocpol, rentier state and shia islam in the iranian revolution, theory and society 11 april 1982.
Critical perspectives on the evolution of a rentier. State formation processes in rentier states columbia university. A note on the theory of the capitalist state, capital and class no 4. It will be suggested that a number of reasons account for this, not least, the nature and subject of the rent itself.
The trap of neoliberalism for gcc countries contemporary. The majority of explanations for immigrationpolicy formation in democracies focus on native voters opposition to foreigners and domestic actors strategies to capitalize on such opposition by supporting antiimmigration policies. Todays examples of rentier states include gulf nations such as qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, kuwait, and oman, where governments reap massive international revenues rents from oil exportation. Pakistan turned from a rentier state to a vassal state. The bloodletting between the various mujahideen militias and warlords continues unabated. Although the central economic factor of an abundant reserve of natural resources remains the. Tofflers third wave theory is a revolutionary premise which includes globalization, or what some refer to as the new world order. As a marxistleninist urban guerrilla group arising from the student movement and the urban middleclass intellectuals and influenced by the latin american. Jun 04, 2018 history and theory even the interstices of marxist theory suggest that the state is by nature an autonomous entity and not a simple instrument of its citizens. Defining a rentier state as one that extracts a significant share of its. Tirole, a theory of dynamic oligopoly, 111 949 we argued that the timing of the game should not be imposed but instead result from the adjustment technology and the strategic interactions. Rentier states and state transformations david waldner department of politics university of virginia and. Although the central economic factor of an abundant reserve of natural resources remains the constant element around.
In france, it is composed of bourgeois families that have existed since the french revolution. Records begin with the four centuries during which the region formed a militarized border zone of the roman empire. Development of rentierism posted on march, 2014 by john dudovskiy rentier state theory is a political economy theory that seeks to explain state society relations in states that generate a large proportion of their income from rents, or externallyderived, unproductivelyearned payments gray, 2011, p. Greece, european union, rentier state theory, economic crisis, state. In all three of these cases, however, kierkegaard was not involved with giving form to the contents of experience, which, for adorno, is the hallmark of aesthetics,but merely with the reflec. Mergers and acquisitions are a main means by which single and individuals are able to grow and then enter the new markets. Bhutto and indians at berkley, usa pakistan defence. The rising gap between the rate of profit and the rate of interest poses a challenge for capital theory. Rentier state theory rst, which seeks to explain the impacts. It seeks to determine the most important effects of neoliberalism as well as its social and economic costs, starting from the premise that economics is by and large a social science. This article will discuss how the rentier state contributes to the survival of arab absolute monarchies despite the various challenges to their rule. Bakshi,officer,indian army the long established nation state of afghanistan has all but collapsed.
This study investigates the extent to which neoliberalism could be the cornerstone for economic reform and diversification in gulf cooperation council gcc countries. The history of the netherlands is a history of seafaring people thriving on a lowland river delta on the north sea in northwestern europe. Especially in the middle east where the state borders were sketched by the european powers after the collapse of the ottoman. In current politicalscience and internationalrelations theory, a rentier state is a state which derives all or a substantial portion of its national revenues from the rent of indigenous resources to external clients. Part ii illustrates the theory of the rentier state, and in particular, how the rentier system affects the economics of the state and work mentality. The rentier stateresource curse narrative and the state of the. In addition, they combine a countrybycountry timeseries approach with a dynamic. History and theory even the interstices of marxist theory suggest that the state is by nature an autonomous entity and not a simple instrument of its citizens. Income measurement in arab states 2 the rentier state in the. Rentier state theory claims that resource abundance causes weak and predatory state institutions. Articleblindthe rentier stateresource curse narrative. Initial conceptualization of rentier state was based on the impact of externally generated. Start studying international trade theory 4 the heckscherohlin model.
After this happens, the competitive structure of the whole industries may alter radically in a span of a short time. But before coming to the question of the relevance of dependency theory. Gray, matthew 2010 towards a theory of late rentierism. A rentier state by definition receives a majority of state income from the revenues of external rents. One definition is about a mixture of markets with state interventionism, referring specifically to capitalist market. Introduction1 the present paper aims to arrive at a set of guidelines that help to study stateformation, state reformation and state deformation processes in the postcolonial states of the arab middle east. A rising share of global income is going to rent, rather than to wages or profits from productive activities. Pdf international rentierism in the middle east africa, 19712008. The rentier stateresource curse narrative and the state of. A theory of civil conflict and democracy in rentier states. Part iii sketches an updated version of keyness clearing union arrangement suitable for todays international monetary and financial order. I may revisit some of these, but ill leave the originals as is, embarrassing as they may be.
This is a series of articles i wrote during high school. Citizens in resourcerich states may want democracy as much as citizens elsewhere, but resource wealth may allow their governments to spend more on internal security and so block the populations democratic aspirations, writes ross, skocpol notes that much of irans pre1979 oil wealth was spent on the military, producing what she calls a. This evidence heavily implies that the uae qualifies as a rentier state. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. First, oil revenues are paid to governments in the form of rent.
The middle east as a region has seen many interstate wars and violent conflicts, and war is perhaps even a defining feature of the region 6. A theory of late rentierism in the arab states of the gulf 3 roughly a net amount of four million barrels of oil off the international market and lasted from october 1973 until march 1974. A theory of dynamic oligopoly, iii harvard university. Pdf what is the trend in rentierism in the middle east and north africa. Rentier absolutist states use oil revenues for militarization. Corporate theory and the reprivatization of the public company article pdf available may 2000 with 202 reads. In other words does a rentier state promote or believe in democratic practices. We suggest that normalizing the politics of resource wealth and integrating it into broader comparative inquiry is much more promising than continued theoretical isolation. The contributions and limitations of rentier state theory in the gulf were the focus of a workshop convened by. These studies claim that the ability to get ready for war and. This paper attempts to address this theoretical deficiency by. The state does not need to seek legitimacy through democratic means because it provides virtually everything that is. A rentier social contract emerges as the creation of artificial employment opportunities and handouts become a means for the government to obtain support and, from this, legitimacy toledo, 20. Why do resource dependent countries have authoritarian.
Jan 22, 2014 would mean the euthanasia of the rentier, and, consequently, the euthanasia of the cumulative oppressive power of the capitalist to exploit the scarcityvalue of capital. This came under increasing pressure from germanic peoples moving westwards. We should only trust ourselves no one will have our interests in our nation but ourselves, the chinese,the turks,the iranians,the gulfies, the americans, and the russians have only interests in us on certain issues rest not best to keep good ties but if challenged we should respond not keep heads down one thing i respect the iranians is they are deeply mistrustful of their enemies and their. The west became involved with irans oil in the following way. Rentier state theory holds that control and distribution of natural resource revenues. The rentier state theory rst and its limits the theory of the rentier state started to emerge in the late 1960s, became fully formed in the 1980s, and has since undergone some adjustments. Pdf this article shall focus on the political aspects of the resource curse theory, in particular the rentier state theory as a subtheory of the. The aim of this essay is to discuss the term rentier state and elaborate on how useful the concept is in explaining the politics of oil producing arab states. A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of market economies with elements of planned economies, free markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise.
The politics of rentier states in the gulf project on middle east. In section 6 we discuss the issue of endogenous timing for the cournot framework. This article aims to analyze the implications of the arab uprisings on the rentier state theory rst. In france, it is composed of bourgeois families that. We spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars spreading the word about the next evolution of economics. The picture the theory portrays is that of an autonomous state with abundant revenues generated from oil which are in turn distributed to the larger population to gain political legitimacy within prevailing nondemocratic cultures. The blunt denial of the labor theory of value rejected the preceding three centuries of classical value and price theory, three centuries ago and earlier, see florence 0 would have been the height of the renaissance, particularly in italy. The political economies of the oil rich gcc countries are generally contextualized within the framework of rentier state theory. Is rentier state theory sufficient to explain the politics.
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