An investigation into the changing role of the energy. The rentier state theory rst has received renewed academic traction in its ability to explicate. Income measurement in arab states 2 the rentier state in. Previously he served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in 2011. Rentier economy has farreaching political, social, and cultural consequences. 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. In the process of state formation and consolidation, oil money has helped the leaders of rentier states undermine challenges from rival social anderson, the state in the middle east and north africa. This article will discuss how the rentier state contributes to the survival of arab absolute. The changing role of the energy sector in the political economy of iran. As we see in a considerable numbers of scientific texts all above terms are more or less related to dutch disease. For instance, resource curse illustrates mismanaging and wasting natural resources. This volume, first published in 1987, is devoted to a discussion of inte. A theory of late rentierism in the arab states of the gulf.
Is rentier state theory sufficient to explain the politics. This article looks more closely at the proposition that oil rentier states have specific features that make them unlikely to become consolidated democracies. On 24 february 2014, beblawi announced his resignation. This is a fact of paramount importance, cutting across the whole of the social fabric of the economy affecting the role of the state in the society beblawi. Rentierism, far from being saddled with being the sole explanatory tenet for the entirety of the middle eastern political universe, should instead be treated as a trait of gulf politics introduction. The new state capitalism15 of the 1990s and 2000s is, as will be shown later, a core element of late rentierism.
News stories declare, people all over the arab world feel a sense of pride in shaking off decades of cowed passivity under dictatorships that ruled with no deference to popular wishes. Defining a rentier state as one that extracts a significant share of its. Pdf the rise and fall of oilrentier states in africa. Beblawi, hazem 1987 the rentier state in the arab w orld, in hazem beblawi and. After the july 20 ouster of president mohammed morsi and his government, beblawi was named interim prime minister. At the time, neither beblawi nor luciani were aware of the article that hussein mahdavi had published in studies in the economic history of the middle east edited by m. The idea of the rentier state lacking a positive and societallyengaged economic policy, therefore, probably held water then. Statebuilding is thus the process by which the state not only grows in economic productivity and government coercion, but also in political and institutional power. Contrarily, the theory of the rentier state largely neglected in the study of peace and war in this respect suggests that regimes use revenue from abundant resources to buy off peace through patronage, largescale distributive policies and effective repression.
The rentier state hazem beblawi, giacomo luciani eds. Initial conceptualization of rentier state was based on the impact of externally generated oil revenues on the economic development as. Optimum management of natural resources in the former group has enhanced economic growth, bad governance, however, has led to dutch disease in the latter group. The concept of a rentier state has gained renewed interest with the advent of the oil era. The implications of the rentier state theory regarding the major oilproducing states of the middle east rebekka schliep essay politics international politics region. The concept of rentier states revisited springerlink. A theoretical construct developed by hazem beblawi and giacomo luciani, which categorizes some countries in terms of their disproportionate reliance upon one or several inherited sources of rents, such as mineral resources, notably oil and gas.
The rentier state resource curse narrative and the state of the arabian gulf emilie rutledge united arab emirates university author note emilie rutledge is an associate professor of economics at the college of business and economics, united arab emirates university. Rentier state theory, thus, grew out of an attempt to understand political development in the oilrich states of. Beblawi was born in cairo, egypt on 17 october 1936. Rentier state is a state, which relies mainly on exogenous. Although the central economic factor of an abundant reserve of natural resources remains the. The term rent is well established in the economic literature since the time of the fathers of political economy. Rsts original proponent, beblawi, concedes that there is no such thing as a pure rentier economy 1987. The rentier state in the arab world hazem beblawi 3. In the process of state formation and consolidation, oil money has helped the leaders of rentier states undermine challenges from rival social. Nevertheless, the rentier system is finite, and because large government welfare packages are unsustainable in the long term, monarchies must consider reform. O wning natural resources has been beneficial for some countries, but hurtful for some others. The rentier state in the arab war id hazem beblawi introduction the concept of a rentier state has gained renewed interest with the advent of the oil era and the emergence of the new arab oilproducing states. A post rentier state is one in which expenditure outstrips rent income, and there is not enough supply of the rent commodity remaining for the deficit to ever be made up. The rentier state iai istituto affari internazionali.
We have argued that explanations trying to combine external and domestic factors of. Introduction the arab spring has captured western attention. Croom helm and the istituto affari internazionali, 1987. The limits to democracy posed by oil rentier states. Later works still held to the broad characterizations of the rentier state that luciani, beblawi, and others developed in the 1980s and 1990s. Income measurement in arab states thomas stauffer 2. This paper proposes that the rentier state and resource curse theories be. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to emilie rutledge. Initial conceptualization of rentier state was based on the impact of externally generated.
Comparative experiences of the resource curse in east asia and the paci. Rents are typically generated from the exploitation of natural. 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. Near east, near orient publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay.
Beblawi 1990, however, delineates four basic characteristics of a rentier state which are a rent situations must predominate in that there is no such thing as a pure rentier economy b the rent must come from abroad or outside the country c in a rentier state only the few i. Pdf what is the trend in rentierism in the middle east and north africa. Pdf international rentierism in the middle east africa, 19712008. Greece, european union, rentier state theory, economic crisis, state. A dictionary of business and management in the middle east and north africa authors. In political science and international relations 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. Scholars like beblawi and luciani built on mahdavys framework to. Iran is often described as a rentier state many studies in academia stick to this assumption european and u.
Giacomo luciani and hazem al beblawi would elaborate on this thesis adding that rentier states also lack a strong domestic productive sector, and that only a small segment of their labor force is employed in the generation of the rent6. Abstract this article aims to analyze the implications of the arab uprisings on the rentier state theory rst. In political science and international relations theory, a rentier state is a state which derives all or a substantial portion of its national revenues from the rent. This volume is devoted to a discussion of interrelations of the economic base with the cultural, social and political structures, and of its impact on the state. The rentier state 1st edition hazem beblawi giacomo. A main theorist of the rentier state theories argues that in a rentier state, the government is the principal recipient of the external rent in the economy. The first phase of the debate was concerned with oil resources and oil and gasrich states. Stateformation, or alternatively statebuilding, will be understood here as the state s ability to accumulate power. State formation processes in rentier states columbia university. Rentier state theory is a set of ideas about why states with considerable natural resource wealth appear to have very similar economic and political development trajectories. Bad governance in iran has created dutch disease, rentier state, and resource curse, drr as a characteristic triangle.
Invariably, the uae does not ideally fit the defining criteria of what qualifies a rentier state, yet this is perhaps unavoidable. Pdf rentier states or the relationship between regime stability. Barma abstract countries rich in natural resources do not all experience the resource curse in the same way. An assessment of the role of nigerian state in enforcing. The rentier state theory revisited nishad sanzagiri. Later works still held to the broad characterizations of the rentier state that luciani, beblawi, and others developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The rentier states of the middle east, which derive a substantial part of their revenue from foreign sources in the form of rent, largely oil revenues, face the same basic problem, the challenge of.
A rentier state is characterized by a high dependence on external rents produced by a few eco nomic actors. For adam smith rent, though a source of income, is nonetheless different from other sources, in that it is not the cause of prices but, rather, the effect of them. A rentier state would be one where rent income encompasses most government revenue, and has been discussed in detail earlier in this article. The macrobehaviour of oil rentier states in the arab region mahmoud abdelfadil 5. Similarly, nathan jensen and leonard wantchekon have concluded, the key mechanism linking 1 countries vary tremendously in their taxnontax revenue mix.
This volume, first published in 1987, is devoted to a discussion of interrelations of the economic base with the cultural, social and political structures, and of its impact on the state. Rentier state theory rst 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. The rentier state, edited by hazem beblawi and giacomo luciani, was published 25 years ago. The implications of the rentier state theory regarding the. This phase is tied to dangers of splitting a fragile rentier state. An appraisal meliha benli altunisik abstract this article aims to analyze the implications of the arab uprisings on the rentier state theory rst. The rentier stateresource curse narrative and the state of the.
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