TY - JOUR
T1 - Re-conceptualizing civil society in rentier states
AU - Moritz, Jessie
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, © 2020 British Society for Middle Eastern Studies.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - Civil society is typically understood as weak or irrelevant in Gulf rentier states, the assumption being that rent-derived wealth allows the state to co-opt or repress associational life. However, for all these claims about the relationship between rents and civil society, rentier state theory relies on a number of assumptions regarding the nature of civil society itself, specifically that civil society is, by definition, independent of the state, formal and public in organization, and pro-democratic in orientation. This article examines where relaxation of these assumptions allows us to better understand the political activities of civil society groups in Gulf rentier states, even as co-optative and repressive governance tactics continue to limit space for political activity. Instead of focusing on traditional forms of civil society, we should instead search for those parts of Gulf society that fulfil the function of civil society in terms of societal entities that act collectively to pursue a political purpose (including both engagement with the state over policy matters and debates on moral and social societal norms).
AB - Civil society is typically understood as weak or irrelevant in Gulf rentier states, the assumption being that rent-derived wealth allows the state to co-opt or repress associational life. However, for all these claims about the relationship between rents and civil society, rentier state theory relies on a number of assumptions regarding the nature of civil society itself, specifically that civil society is, by definition, independent of the state, formal and public in organization, and pro-democratic in orientation. This article examines where relaxation of these assumptions allows us to better understand the political activities of civil society groups in Gulf rentier states, even as co-optative and repressive governance tactics continue to limit space for political activity. Instead of focusing on traditional forms of civil society, we should instead search for those parts of Gulf society that fulfil the function of civil society in terms of societal entities that act collectively to pursue a political purpose (including both engagement with the state over policy matters and debates on moral and social societal norms).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078432060&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13530194.2020.1714268
DO - 10.1080/13530194.2020.1714268
M3 - Article
SN - 1353-0194
VL - 47
SP - 136
EP - 151
JO - British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
JF - British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
IS - 1
ER -