The Gulf States are assuming an ever more important role in the global political economy, and new cultural and political identities are emerging, both through natural processes and as a result of state design. This book explores some of the issues raised by this developing profile.

Alanoud Alsharekh is a member of the advisory council of the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) at SOAS and a consultant for the UN Development Fund for Women.

Robert Springborg holds the MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle East Studies at SOAS and is director of the LMEI.

Sarah Stewart is deputy director of the LMEI and teaches in the Department of the Study of Religions at SOAS.