Small Wars Journal

United Arab Emirates

Oil and Rentier States: How Falling Oil Prices Will Affect the Middle East

Wed, 09/18/2019 - 4:06am
Less than a decade after weathering massive geo-political upheavals from the Arab Springs, the Middle East is on the verge of yet another crisis; the plummeting price of crude oil. “Rentier states” in the Middle East, have for several decades, secured their status-quo by building an overwhelming portion of their economy dedicated to the sale of crude oil. While the rentier system has been successful in propping up Middle Eastern governments for decades, the downside to this system is the economic and political uncertainty created by the rapidly changing value in a single commodity.

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The Arab Coalition Must Put Aside Differences, Rethink Strategy on Yemen

Sun, 09/01/2019 - 11:27am
Two major recent developments illustrate ongoing challenges and potential new obstacles in the war in Yemen, the major objective of which, the put down of the rebellion by the Iran-backed Houthi separatists appears to be sidelined by other considerations and misunderstandings.

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