Market Orientalism ─ Cultural Economy and the Arab Gulf States

The author explores the effects of market Orientalism on the Arab states of the Persian Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman) and how emerging markets are imagined as cultural economic spaces that are based on previous ideas of “backward” economies and people and the cultural and economic differences between “our” place and “theirs,” maintaining the gap between emergent wealth and its acceptance in cultural economic activity and separating the Gulf from what is considered normal and preferable. He draws on the work of Edward Said and describes the concepts of market Orientalism and cultural economy, then discusses cultural economic hierarchies and how market Orientalism shapes emerging markets; the ideas of economic “right and wrong” in the Gulf states in the last 50 years; the failure of a more comprehensive version of the Gulf Cooperation Council to improve market integration; how Gulf states positioned their polities within competitive geopolitical hierarchies, focusing on Dubai's growth as an “excitement” capital, Saudi alcohol tourism in Bahrain, and the awarding of the 2022 World Cup games to Qatar; the Gulf's economic diversity and the impact of the large, noncitizen population; and the region's future. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Benjamin Smith is assistant professor of geography at Florida International University.