Numerous theories have emerged to explain the perceived lack of political mobilisation within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCCGramsciGCC) states. The most prominent of these is ‘the rentier state theoryRentier State theory’, which attributes the scarcity of mobilization to the economies that have taken shape in the GCC states. In these economies, external rents generated by hydrocarbon resources comprise the primary source of income, and only a minority of the population is engaged in their production. Since the regimes are the principal beneficiaries of rent revenues, they have less incentive to impose taxation and can utilize resources to co-opt potential opposition groups, thereby maintaining political quiescence.