Military Politics

This chapter is concerned with military politics. It views the kingdoms as family states and weighs the domestic threats they face from conflicts pertaining to succession and intra-family divisions. The downsides of one of the structural aspects of these states—for example, the immense power of a few individuals to make weighty decisions—is critically examined. Attention is also devoted to the weakness of domestic political opposition, threats from abroad, and the methods GCC states have employed to repress them. In the last section, the focus shifts to civil-military relations as the methods Gulf monarchies have developed to keep their armies loyal are assessed such as the creation of privileged units and forces, the fostering of institutional rivalries between various elements, and the exclusion of certain sectarian communities from security sector employment. In short, this chapter is devoted to institutional analysis and explores how political and structural factors impede the Gulf armies’ effectiveness.