A Critique of the Book Al-Mujtama’ wa al-Dawla fi al-Khaleej wa al-Jazira al-Arabiya: Manzur Mukhtalif A New Look at Society and Government in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula

Ghazvini Haeri, Yaser

doi:10.30465/crtls.2025.49725.2858

A Critique of the Book Al-Mujtama’ wa al-Dawla fi al-Khaleej wa al-Jazira al-Arabiya: Manzur Mukhtalif A New Look at Society and Government in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula

Document Type : Research

Author

Yaser Ghazvini Haeri

Assistant Professor of History, Faculty Member at the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2025.49725.2858

Abstract

This research aims to introduce and critically analyze Khaldoun Hassan Al-Naqeeb's book. Al-Naqeeb, a Kuwaiti political sociologist, draws inspiration from Fernand Braudel's historical approach to explore the historical structure of the relationship between society and the state in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. The book begins by examining the geography of the region, introducing the concept of the "natural state of economic life," and discussing the "cycle of tribal elites," which, through the synergy of commercial and tribal approaches, reveals the historical structure of developments in the region. With the advent of colonialism, the natural state and the cycle of tribal elites were disrupted, and tribal elites allied with colonial powers shaped the final form of the countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf through successive treaties. After the discovery of oil, rentier states in these countries transitioned into Authoritarian states with distinctive characteristics. At the end of the book, criticisms are raised, including determinism, inadequacy of documents, and an ideological perspective.

Keywords

Dynamism

Elite Cycle

Tribe

Trade

Authoritarian State

Roads

Security

Subjects

History

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