The Changing Pattern of Political Relations between the Arab Gulf and the Arab Provinces of the Ottoman Empire

The political relations of the Arab Gulf region with the Arab-populated provinces of the Ottoman empire appeared much altered in 1918, both in detail and in overall pattern, from what they had been in the late eighteenth century. Most significant was the substitution of the imperial system which regulated inter-regional contacts in 1918 for the relatively free-wheeling, multiple system of political relations which characterised the eighteenth century. 1 However, if our perspective is extended to the present day, we see an updated version of the multiple system once again provides the context in which political contacts between these two parts of the Arab world are carried on. For the most part the details of this historical evolution are well known. This chapter does not focus upon them but is concerned more with identifying long-term trends and overall patterns of change. Also, it suggests that the several sub-regions into which both the Arab Gulf and the Arab Ottoman provinces were divided differed significantly from each other at various times in the specific ways they manifested the overall interregional connection.