Explaining the role of rentier sources in the power structure of government based on the dialectical approach of political networks (Case- study: Bahraini government)

Abstract

A key aspect of states is their structure of power. States are not like each other in power structure, and they are different. One of the effective factors on the structure of states power is related to the use of rental resources. In this regard, one of the theories that analyzed these states is rentier state theory. Existing researches in this theory has some deficiencies, such as the methodology weakness to explain the role of rental sources on the structure of state power. So the main purpose of this paper is developing the knowledge in rentier state theory through the use of a new theoretical-experimental approach, namely the political networks dialectical approach to explaining the role of rental resources in the structure of state power. A case study is state of Bahrain. The main question is, what is the role of the rental resources in the power structure of the Bahrain state based on the political networks dialectical approach? The researcher's approach is explanatory. The theoretical framework is based on the political networks dialectical approach using of the documentation tool for qualitative findings, and of the quantitative tool (by SOCNETV software) for quantitative findings in network analysis. The results of the paper show that rental resources play a major role in building the patron-client model in the power structure of the Bahrain state, and the political networks dialectical approach is also useful in analyzing this kind of structure.