Most research on the Gulf states focuses on oil and its impact on state power. The literature on rentier theory almost unanimously agrees that oil rents buy off citizens and lead to socio-political stagnation. Massive protests and government attempts to address citizen demands in Kuwait between 2011 and 2013 call into question that narrative. Since those protests, the Kuwaiti government has taken steps to increase its representation of public officials and accessibility in the public sphere, including by expanding the government's presence on Instagram. How have Kuwaiti citizens voiced their opinions to government accounts? And how has the government responded to online criticism?This essay looks at the pattern of interactions between the state and Kuwaiti citizens on Twitter and Instagram using a content analysis of government accounts. The findings raise questions about the validity of the payoff thesis and understandings of consent and acquiescence. My analysis illustrates that there is a public dialogue that moves beyond the rigid structure of state and society by which the literature has traditionally understood Gulf rentier societies.

中文翻译：

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一些愤怒的转发推文的后果：另一种媒介是信息

大多数关于海湾国家的研究都集中在石油及其对国家权力的影响上。关于食利者理论的文献几乎一致同意石油租金收买公民并导致社会政治停滞。2011 年至 2013 年期间，大规模抗议活动和政府试图解决科威特公民的要求，令人质疑这种说法。自这些抗议活动以来，科威特政府已采取措施增加其公职人员的代表性和公共领域的可及性，包括扩大政府在 Instagram 上的存在。科威特公民如何向政府账户发表意见？政府如何回应在线批评？本文通过对政府账户的内容分析，探讨了政府与科威特公民在 Twitter 和 Instagram 上的互动模式。研究结果提出了关于回报论点的有效性以及对同意和默许的理解的问题。我的分析表明，存在一种超越僵化的国家和社会结构的公共对话，文学传统上通过这种结构来理解海湾食利者社会。