Rentier Islamism

The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies

Courtney Freer

First book-length empirical study of Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE in English
Based on over 100 interviews
Introduces a new theory about why and how Islamist activity emerges in rentier states
Traces the history of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arabian Gulf

Rentier Islamism

The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies

Courtney Freer

Description

While scholars have long looked at the role of political Islam in the Middle East, it has been assumed that domestic politics in the wealthy monarchical states of the Arabian Gulf, so-called "rentier states" where taxes are very low and oil wealth subsidizes the needs of citizens, are largely unaffected by such movements. However, the long accepted rentier theory has been shortsighted in overlooking the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in the super-rentiers of Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. While rentier state theory assumes that citizens of such states will form opposition blocs only when their stake in rent income is threatened, this book demonstrates that ideology, rather than rent, have motivated the formation of independent Islamist movements in the wealthiest states of the region.

In the monarchical systems of Qatar and the UAE, Islamist groups do not have the opportunity to compete for power and therefore cannot use the ballot box to gain popularity or influence political life, as they do elsewhere in the Middle East. But, as this book points out, the division between the social and political sectors is often blurred in the socially conservative states of the Gulf, as political actors operate through channels that are not institutionalized. Simply because politics is underinstitutionalized in such states does not mean that it is underdeveloped; the informal realm holds considerable political capital. As such, the book argues that Brotherhood movements have managed to use the links between the social (i.e. informal personal networks) and political (i.e. government institutions) to gain influence in policymaking in such states.Using contemporary history and original empirical research, Courtney Freer updates traditional rentier state theory and argues that political Islam serves as a prominent voice and tool to promote more strictly political, and often populist or reformist, views supported by many Gulf citizens.

Rentier Islamism

The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies

Courtney Freer

Introduction - Uncharted Territory: Political Islam and Rentier States
Part I: Origins
Chapter Two - No Taxation, No Representation?: Political Opposition in Rentier States and the Origins of Muslim Brotherhood Movements in the Gulf
Chapter Three - Systems of Governance and Politics of Opposition in the Super-Rentiers
Part II: Rise and Fall
Chapter Four - Education and Influence: Origins of Rentier Islamism
Chapter Five - Politicians or Preachers?: The Development of Rentier Islamist Agendas in a Post-Arab Nationalist Era
Part III: Modern Rentier Islamism
Chapter Six - Rentier Islamism after Pan-Arabism
Chapter Seven - Challenges and Opposition in the 21st Century
Chapter Eight - Conclusion: Rentier Islamism: Explaining Ikhwan Politics in the Super-Rentiers
Notes
References
Index

Rentier Islamism

The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies

Courtney Freer

Author Information

Courtney Freer is a Research Officer at the Kuwait Programme at London School of Economics and Political Science, where her work focuses on the domestic politics of the Gulf states. She has published in the International Journal of Middle East Studies and Middle Eastern Studies.

Rentier Islamism

The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies

Courtney Freer

Reviews and Awards

"Rentier Islamism is a pathbreaking work, brimming with insights on a topic that has remained woefully understudied. While this is a book about the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf, it is also-perhaps more subtly but just as powerfully-a book about the complex intersection of economics, politics, and religion in super-rich states. Going forward, anyone interested in the Gulf, Islamism, or rentier theory will have to contend with Freer's deeply researched and nuanced account. If scholars, policymakers, and journalists need to begin somewhere, they should begin here." --Shadi Hamid, author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World

"Freer has authored the definitive book on the multi-faceted influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in and on the Gulf monarchies. Rooted in high-quality scholarship, combining theoretical insight with rich and detailed interviews, this will be an important book in Gulf scholarship for years to come." --David B. Roberts, author of Qatar: Securing the Global Ambitions of a City State

"Courtney Freer's study of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE breaks new ground in its compelling account of divergent trajectories and development paths. At a time when the role of the Muslim Brotherhood is being re-examined as never before, the detail and nuance in Rentier Islamism add great value to scholarly and policy understanding of the Brotherhood in the Gulf." --Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy

"Courtney Freer's examination of Islamist movements inside the Gulf states is a timely study of sources of political activism and dissent in resource-rich political economies. Freer's research will be essential reading as scholars and policymakers contemplate a post-oil era in the Gulf states."-Karen E. Young, Senior Resident Scholar, The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington