On Monday, 28 April 2025, the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies organized a discussion of the book Tribal Reawakening and the Future of State-Building in Kuwait and Qatar, by Maryam Al-Kuwari. Said Sultan Al Hashimi, a visiting researcher at the unit, introduced Al-Kuwari, who is Director of the Gulf Studies Center and Assistant Professor of International Relations at Qatar University.

The book, published in 2025, examines the history of tribes and their role in shaping the modern state in both Kuwait and Qatar, presenting a narrative that counters the prevailing misconception of the tribe as a political and social entity opposed to the modern state. It argues that the tribe, particularly in Kuwait and Qatar, played a prominent role in shaping the modern state and nation-building, both before the discovery of oil and even after independence.

Al-Kuwari presented her book, which includes an introduction, five chapters, and a conclusion, outlining the structure, methodology, fieldwork, and data collection mechanisms. It begins with the emergence of the Al Sabah and Al Thani families as ruling dynasties and the challenges they faced, particularly in the pre-independence and state-formation era. It goes on to discuss the impact of Arab nationalism on tribal and national identities, state-building and conflicting identities, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, the rise of tribal politics and political tribes, and parliamentary life in Kuwait and elections in Qatar. The book ends with an analysis of the tribe and its intersections – that is, the social dimensions of the subject of the tribe, concluding with an assessment of the challenges and limitations of future research.

Al-Kuwari argues that tribalism overlaps with the issue of identity, which drives individuals’ behaviour towards one another. She stated that the reawakening, or revival, of the tribe in the Gulf goes so far as to affect the legitimacy of the state. This means that the tribe never disappeared; it rather exists but is in decline and is revived when needed. Al-Kuwari went on to discuss the way much of the literature confuses “tribe” with “tribalism”, stressing that there is a difference between the two. Tribalism is a fundamental social component of society, described by Ibn Khaldun as a socio-political framework that predates the existence of states. Tribalism is enforced by Asabiyya, which is what unites the tribe. Tribalism is a complex concept, but it is considered a diverse identity that reinforces the concept of citizenship but has the potential to be an obstacle to the formation of the nation-state. Al-Kuwari emphasized that tribalism brings together complex systems of exchange, and her fieldwork demonstrated that tribalism in Qatar is different from tribalism in Kuwait.

Alanoud Alsharekh, Director of Ibtkar Strategic Consultancy, Associate Fellow in the Chatham House MENA Program, and the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, opened the discussion of the book. She praised the fieldwork, particularly the diverse interviews, as well as Al-Kuwari’s discussion of the changing role of the tribe. Yagoub Al-Kandari, Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at the College of Social Sciences and Director of the Center for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies at Kuwait University, continued the discussion. He noted that the book falls within the field of political sociology, but has anthropological, historical, and psychological aspects in its analysis identity, and praised the clarity of the methodology and the language. He made several more observations regarding the concept of the tribe, its relationship to the state, the political scenes in Kuwait and Qatar, tribal identity in contemporary society, integration and the state, and the role of women in tribal society.

Finally, Rachid Jarmouni, Visiting Professor on the Sociology and Anthropology Program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Moulay Ismail University in Meknes, Morocco, presented his reading of the book. He praised Al-Kuwari’s bold approach, rarely found in Mashreqi academic writings, as it touched upon unspoken taboos in political phenomena. Jarmouni noted in his discussion that most literature on the concept of the state is inspired by the Western concept, and although Al-Kuwari, in his opinion, presented some alternative approaches, her work would have benefited from a discussion about the nature and essence of the state and the prevailing conditions. He concluded by stating that the book adds a very important building block to shake up the currently stagnant study of tribalism.

The session concluded with some final commentary from Al-Kuwari, who spoke about the difficulty of addressing the concept of “tribe”. She spoke of her privilege to be a researcher from within the region, despite the difficulties she faced due to her affiliation with a particular tribe. Most of the interviews in Qatar were with members of her tribe, while the interviews in Kuwait were more fluid and diverse. Following these remarks, the floor opened to a lively audience Q&A session.