The present article aims to analyze the effects of high oil prices since 2003 on Iran. The theoretical basis of the analysis is the rentier state approach, the basic element of which is that rents are at the free disposal of the rentier. Empirically, the paper examines the issue areas of foreign...

The region of the Middle East is highly conflict-loaded. The absence of one distinct regional power may be considered both cause and consequence of this structural feature. At the same time, there are significant power gaps between states in the Middle East, with Israel among the most powerful...

This article deals with the Arab Spring as a process of deep political change in the Arab world, previously the only major world area where authoritarianism persisted unchallenged for decades. While in various countries of the Arab world mass protests in 2011 forced rulers to resign, other...

Der in den 1980er Jahren entwickelte Rentierstaats-Ansatz hat die Diskussion über die sozioökonomische und politische Entwicklung des Vorderen Orients geprägt. Freilich haben sich die Anhänger des Ansatzes bisher zu stark auf die Analyse positiver Fälle konzentriert und sind der Kritik...