In current political-science and international-relations theory, a rentier state is a state which derives all or a substantial portion of its national revenues from the rent paid by foreign individuals, concerns or governments.Rentier state theories have now become a dominant frame of reference for studies of resource-dependent countries in the Gulf and wider Middle East and North African region,but are also used to analyse other forms of rentierismConsequently, in these resource-rich rentier states there is a challenge to developing civil society and democratization. Hence, theorists such as Beblawi conclude that the nature of rentier states provides a particular explanation for the presence of authoritarian regimes in such resource rich states
