The rise of Arab Gulf agro-capital: continuity and change in the corporate food regime

Abstract

The role of non-Northern capitals within the corporate food system is a matter of increasing debate within food regime literature. This article intervenes on this discussion by proposing that the Arab Gulf states are a new capital within the corporate food system. It argues that the emphasis on the role of the state, which has drawn definitions of mercantilism, has led to the exceptional and reifying treatment of this entrant. As a result, this analytical focus has obfuscated the manner that new capitals such as the Gulf states have acted as a force of continuity, as well as change.