Arab states of the Persian Gulf

Politics

Gulf monarchies have developed what political scientists term a "tribal dynastic monarchy" system, which distinguishes them from other Middle Eastern monarchical systems. This governance model emerged from traditional chieftaincies and incorporates two key mechanisms: "balanced opposition," where power is distributed among tribal groups, and "affiliation solidarity," which maintains cohesion through kinship networks. This system has enabled ruling families to adapt traditional authority structures to modern state institutions, contributing to their resilience compared to other Middle Eastern monarchies that were overthrown in the twentieth century throughout the Arab Cold War.

Some of the Gulf Arab states are constitutional monarchies with elected parliaments, including Bahrain (al-Majlis al-Watani) and Kuwait (Majlis al-Ummah) which have legislatures with members elected by the population.

The Sultanate of Oman has an advisory council (Majlis ash-Shura) that is popularly elected. In the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven monarchical emirates, the Federal National Council functions as an advisory body. Half of its members are indirectly elected by the hand-picked 33% of Emirati citizens who have voting rights through an electoral college, while the other half are directly appointed by the rulers of each emirate.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor Qatar has held national legislative elections in the sense of a fully elected parliament: Saudi Arabia has no national legislature elected by voters, with the Shura Council remaining appointed; while Qatar held a partial Shura Council election in 2021 with only two thirds of seats elected, but in 2024 moved to abolish those elections altogether and revert to a fully appointed Shura Council. Iraq is the only federal republic situated in the Persian Gulf.

Freedom of the press

Freedom of the press is severely restricted in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. In the 2025 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders, all Gulf Arab states are ranked in the bottom third of the 180 countries examined, with the exception of Qatar, which ranks 79th. However, Qatar too is described as having a "draconian system of censorship", with multiple topics being "completely off limits" and with media coverage of critical regional events often "directly aligned with the Qatari government's official stance".

Peace

Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region, and especially Qatar, stand accused of funding militant Islamist organizations, such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the 2025 Global Peace Index of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the seven countries had varying degrees of success in maintaining peace amongst their respective borders, with Qatar ranked number first amongst its regional peers as the most peaceful regional and Middle Eastern nation (and 27th worldwide), while Kuwait ranks second in both the Persian Gulf and the wider Middle East (31st worldwide), followed by Oman in the third spot (52nd worldwide). On the other end, Iraq was ranked last among the Gulf Arab States, at 16th in the Middle East and 147th worldwide.

Economy

The economies of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf are historically characterized by a heavy reliance on hydrocarbons, with oil and gas exports forming the backbone of national revenues and foreign exchange earnings. According to data from the United States Congressional Research Service, oil revenues accounted for upwards of 40% of GDP in key states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE around 2000. While these states hold a large share of global oil and gas reserves — for instance nearly 65% of world oil reserves and 34% of proven gas reserves at the turn of the millennium — their dependence on this sector has exposed them to substantial volatility in global energy markets.

In recent years, the region has stepped up efforts to diversify away from hydrocarbons, with non-oil activities becoming an increasingly important driver of growth. A World Bank report notes that in 2024 the non-oil sectors of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies achieved growth of roughly 4% to 4.6% in major states, supporting broader GDP recovery. Furthermore, non-oil sectors accounted for some 73% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 among GCC states, indicating that diversification is shifting from aspiration to tangible reality. These sectors include tourism, logistics, manufacturing, financial services and real-estate, and are backed by large-scale infrastructure investment and reforms to attract foreign investment.

Despite these advances, hydrocarbon revenues remain critical to government budgets and fiscal balances across the region. For example, earlier studies note that hydrocarbon income still accounted for around 60-90% of government revenues in states like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The ability of the states to reduce vulnerability to oil-price swings depends on the successful implementation of structural reforms, increased non-oil exports and the deepening of private-sector investment.

References

References

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