Kristian Coates Ulrichsen documents the startling rise of the Arab Gulf States as regional powers with international reach and provides a definitive account of how they have become embedded in the global system of power, politics, and policy-making.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is a Research Fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute of Public Policy and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, United States of America. Previous books include Insecure Gulf: The End of Certainty and the Transition to the Post-Oil Era (2011) and Qatar and the Arab Spring (2014).

Introduction PART I: GLOBALIZATION AND THE GULF 1. The Gulf and the Global Economy 2. Small States in World Politics 3. State Capitalism and Strategic Niches 4. Gulf Perspectives on the Global Rebalancing PART II: CHANGING PATTERNS OF GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT 5. The Internationalisation of Gulf Finance 6. Shifting Patterns of Global Trade 7. Global Aviation and the Gulf 8. Migrant Labour in the Gulf 9. The Illusion of Security? Conclusion. The Gulf Paradox