The Drought Years: The Forgotten Economic Transformations in Gulf History
Studies 29 June, 2025

The Drought Years: The Forgotten Economic Transformations in Gulf History

Amna Abdulla Sadiq

Assistant professor in the Gulf Studies Program at Qatar University. She holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

acrobat Icon ​This article discusses a transformative phase in the history of trade in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, as a result of the expansion of World War II into the passages and ports of the Indian Ocean. The countries in the region suffered from British policies which introduced austerity measures to mitigate the widespread economic and social instability at that time. These British interventions challenged the economic system in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, marking a turning point from pearl to oil-based economies. This transformative period spans approximately a decade, from the mid-1940s until the early 1950s.

This study was published in the 18th issue of AlMuntaqa, a peer-reviewed academic journal for the social sciences and humanities. You can read the full paper here.