The Curious Case of the Missing Bedouin in the National Museum of Qatar
<p dir="ltr">How does Qatar, one of the richest and smallest rentier regimes in the world, challenge conventional theoretical explanations about how domestic politics works in the modern rentier state? Contrary to rentier theory’s focus on wealth distribution, this analysis investiga...
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2025
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| Summary: | <p dir="ltr">How does Qatar, one of the richest and smallest rentier regimes in the world, challenge conventional theoretical explanations about how domestic politics works in the modern rentier state? Contrary to rentier theory’s focus on wealth distribution, this analysis investigates the state’s deep investment in national identity narratives as a crucial part of Qatar’s domestic political legitimacy. Based on original fieldwork collected over several years at the new National Museum of Qatar, this article builds on prior research by Mitchell and Curtis to analyze the museum’s use of historical materials from the 1959 Danish expedition to Qatar, including hundreds of photographs and an original 16-minute documentary film entitled <i>Beduiner</i>. The selective incorporation of these materials into the state’s new narrative of national unity –– and the decision to completely remake the original <i>Beduiner</i> film into an artistic creation that matches this narrative more closely –– indicate that non-material issues of identity, nationalism, and belonging may matter just as much to Qatar’s top-down legitimacy strategy as rentier wealth disbursements.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Journal of Arabian Studies<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2024.2428626" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2024.2428626</a></p> |
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