OCMO 2130 - States and Societies in the Gulf Monarchies

***UPDATED for 2025/26***

The course focuses on state-society relations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Sessions cover the most important aspects of the politics of these countries: state formation, the role of tribes and religion in state and regime formation, the role of oil in shaping the political economy, the role of migration in shaping societies and labor markets, the evolution of gender norms and the position of women, how the sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims shapes politics across countries, political institutions, organized oppositions to ruling regimes and contentious politics, how mass-unemployment transforms the nature of the social contract, the evolution of relations between state and business, foreign and defense policies.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Acquire expertise on a sub-region of the Middle East which has been influential in shaping the world economy and contemporary international relations
• Thinking critically about oil and development
• Thinking critically about the role of religion in state formation, regime legitimacy and international relations

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

• Expertise and critical thinking on countries that are relevant to understand world dynamics
• Be able to constitute a relevant bibliography on a given topic related to the course: learn to distinguish academic sources from others (press, primary sources, etc.)
• Write an essay based on relevant personal readings, combining empirical information with relevant social sciences’ concepts and theories

none

Feedback on the oral presentation will be given in class as well as in the form of a personal e-mail sent to the students.

The professor will help each student define his/her subject for the final paper and provide guidance for the bibliography

1 oral presentation of 20 mn (1 or 2 students depending on the number of students) + a final paper of 4000 words on a topic freely chosen by the students + in class participation

Oral presentation : 40% of the final grade; final essay: 50% of the final grade; in-class participation: 10% of the final grade

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 4 hours a week / 48 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 30 hours a semester
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 48 hours a semester