Rentier states, regardless of where they are located in the world, continually result in the creation of states in which a ultra-wealthy class controls nearly all of a country’s resources while allowing very little of it to improve the lives of the average citizen. The issue is not a unique case in MENA, but the high concentration of rentier states in the region does warrant a study into how large of an impact this system has had in the lack of democratic reforms, but also in the general improvement of social standings among their people.
The concentration of wealth within a few individuals allows for money to be funneled into systems to preserve their own power, but also elevate close friends, family, and associates while simultaneously creating a system where it is harder for people to rise from poverty and reach their level of success. However, the vast amounts of wealth generated off of oil rents for these elites in government allows for countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia to levy virtually no income tax on its citizens, which will inevitably lead to some form of resistance in these states to the idea of a change of power from the ruling families.
Despite the extremely visible gap in wealth between the government and their close associates compared to the rest of the country, the fact that material is not being taken from the people and money from rents is being directed back to improving the lives of citizens (just not as much as they could be in another system), many people find themselves content with the way things are and weary of what would happen should a new system take the place of the ruling elites.
When it comes to MENA, the sheer volume of the rents which flow into them, especially those particularly wealthy in oil and natural gas reserves, allows for the creation of a system where people can be kept in a relative state of contentment despite the clear differences between themselves and the elites. Additionally, should the people make a decision to rise up, which they have historically done quite often, the money brought in by oil rents provides rulers with more than enough capital to thoroughly suppress popular uprisings through the use of their massive coercive apparatuses.