Armies of Arabia.. Military Politics and Effectiveness in the Gulf

Armies of Arabia is the first comprehensive analysis of the Gulf monarchies’ armed forces, including their political, social, and economic characteristics, foreign relations, and battleground performance.

The Arabian Peninsula is among the most strategically and economically important areas in the world, but its militaries remain terra incognita. In Armies of Arabia – the first book to comprehensively analyze the Gulf monarchies’ armed forces – Zoltan Barany explains their notorious ineffectiveness with a combination of political-structural and sociocultural factors.

Drawing on over 150 interviews and meticulous multidisciplinary research, Barany paints a fascinating portrait of Arabia’s armies from Ibn Saud’s Ikhwan to the present. He explores the methods ruling families employ to ensure their armies’ loyalty, examines the backgrounds and career trajectories of soldiers and officers, and explains the monarchies’ reliance on mercenaries and the enduring importance of tribal networks. Even though no other world region spends more on security, Arabia’s armies remain ineffective because of an absence of meritocracy, the domination of personal connections over institutional norms, insipid leadership, a casual work ethic, and training that lacks intensity, frequency, and up-to-date scenarios.