Based on years of firsthand research, Marc Valeri treats the political career of Sultan Qaboos as a case study of the social and political mechanisms that perpetuate authoritarianism in post-colonial states. He examines the way in which Sultan Qaboos built and constantly renewed his base in order to meet internal and external challenges to his power. Valeri also considers what happens when one part of this model, namely an oil-rent economy, falters, and the privileges enjoyed by half the population are no longer tenable. Expanding his focus beyond the state of Oman, Valeri then evaluates the strategies adopted and challenges faced by other Arab monarchies in Morocco, Jordan, and the Persian Gulf.

Although most Arab countries remain authoritarian, many have undergone a restructuring of state-society relations in which lower- and middle-class interest groups have lost ground while big business has benefited in terms of its integration into policy-making and the opening of economic sectors that used to be state-dominated. Arab businesses have also started taking on aspects of public ser- vice provision in health, media and education that used to be the domain of the state; they have also become increasingly active in philanthropy. The 'Arab Spring,' which is likely to lead to a more pluralistic political order, makes it all the more important to understand business interests in the Middle East, a segment of society that on the one hand has often been close to the ancien regime, but on the other will play a pivotal role in a future social contract. Among the topics addressed by the authors are the role of business in recent regime change; the political outlook of businessmen; the consequences of economic liberalisation on the composition of business elites in the Middle East; the role of the private sec- tor in orienting government policies; lobbying of government by business interests and the mechanisms by which governments seek to keep businesses dependent on them.