About this episode

Christian Henderson discusses the role of Gulf states in the global food system and their unique agrarian politics.

In a region known for its export of oil, Monarchies of Extraction: The Gulf States in the Global Food System (Cambridge UP, 2026) explores how the Gulf states are simultaneously defined by the importation of food. Charting the economics and politics of the Gulf through an examination of its food system, Christian Henderson demonstrates how these states constitute a distinct social metabolism within the global food system. Starting with the pre-oil phase, this book examines the politics of agrarian change in the Gulf. In the contemporary period, Henderson considers the way that the Gulf states have evolved into 'inverted farms', where the import of prodigious quantities of agricultural commodities has enabled these economies to overcome their lack of arable land. As a result of this trade, states such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have developed their own agribusiness sectors. Henderson further shows how food and consumption in the Gulf states constitute political questions of diet, sustainability, and boycott. Christian Henderson is a lecturer at the University of Leiden. His research focuses on the Arab region, with a particular focus on Gulf investment in the states of North…

People in this episode

Guest: Christian Henderson

Topics covered

• Gulf States
• global food system
• agrarian change
• politics of food
• sustainability
• diet
• agribusiness

Keywords

• Gulf States
• food system
• Christian Henderson
• agribusiness
• sustainability
• diet
• politics
• importation of food

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Leiden, Al Jazeera

Books & works: Monarchies of Extraction: The Gulf States in the Global Food System

Places: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Gulf States

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