Family in the Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

Though in many ways the demographics and other characteristics of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf follow the proscribed pathways to modernity, the Arab societies in the region have not completely abandoned their traditional characteristics in the wake of modernization and globalization forces. These societies have found a way to consolidate the external and internal pressures and exist somewhere on a four-way spectrum between “modern traditionalism” and “traditional modernism” on one axis, and between “global traditionalism” and “traditionalized globalization” on the other. The Arab societies of the Persian Gulf fit neither into the “cultural maintenance” nor “modernization” category, but exist and thrive in some space in between, making it an interesting area of study in need of more research.