In the 1970s, one of the most torrid and forbidding regions in the world burst on to the international stage. The discovery and subsequent exploitation of oil allowed tribal rulers of the U.A.E, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait to dream big. How could fishermen, pearl divers and pastoral nomads catch up with the rest of the modernized world? Even today, society is skeptical about the clash between the modern and the archaic in the Gulf. But could tribal and modern be intertwined rather than mutually exclusive? Exploring everything from fantasy architecture to neo-tribal sports and from Emirati dress codes to neo-Bedouin poetry contests, Tribal Modern explodes the idea that the tribal is primitive and argues instead that it is an elite, exclusive, racist, and modern instrument for branding new nations and shaping Gulf citizenship and identity-an image used for projecting prestige at home and power abroad.

Introduction       1. Uneasy Cosmopolitanism   a. A Millennial Crossroadb. Cities of Saltc. Contamination2. Pure Blood and the New Nation  a. The Britishb. Nationalizing Tribesc. Tribal Marriagesd. DNA and Money 3. The Idea of the Tribe    a. Invention of Tribesb. Tribal Classes4. The Brand     a. Invention of Traditionsb. Thinking through the Barzakh5. Building the Brand    a. National Museumsb. Vernacular Architecturec. Nationalizing Vernacular Architecture6. Heritage Engineering    a. Modernizing Differentlyb. Heritage Sportsc. Pearl Divingd. Orientalist Art as Tribal Historye. The Heart of Doha7. Performing the Nation    a. Tribal Dress in Gulf Historyb. The Million's Poetc. Neo-Bedouin Language8. Gendering the Tribal Modern   a. Uneasy Cosmopolitanism Againb. Pathologizing the Gender Barzakhc. Women Writing in the Barzakhd. The Terrible ColdConclusion      AcknowledgmentsBibliography