A rentier state is one whose economy depends entirely on income obtained from the sale of natural resources to the outside world, in other words on income obtained from renting those resources. Natural resources in this case are oil, natural gas and other mineral elements. One of the main differences between a rentier state and a productive state is that the former uses rental income obtained from the rest of the world to support its citizens, the latter depends on the citizenship tax to develop its economy. The Persian Gulf rentier state theory is a hypothesis that explains why rentier states or oil-rich countries tend to be less developed and their governments less democratic than their counterparts in natural resource-deficient countries. Some researchers associate underground wealth with curses. However, this theory holds up. According to Hossein Mahdavy's rentier theory, a rentier state with a rentier economy can lead to a rentier mentality, which serves to destroy the future of that state's economy. The theory was first developed by Hossein Mahdavy taking into account the pre-revolutionary Iranian economy of 1970. This theory was later adopted to suit the entire Arab world. Mahdavy's theory covers the entire Persian Gulf but can also apply to the rest of the world. Iranian oil worried the West in this way; Germany attacked its former ally, the Soviet Union in 1941, which on the other hand was a friend of Britain. Fearing that Reza Shah, the Iranian leader, would link the oil-rich country to Germany, Reza's son, Mohammed Reza, took his father's place and helped his country obtain aid from Britain. Mohammed Mossadegh, the godfather of populist oil politics, forced shah t...... middle of paper...... Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbra, CA: ABC CLIO Publishing, 1978. Hazem, Beblawi. The rentier state. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing, 1987.Hrischl, Ran. Constitutional theocracy. Cambridge: Library of Congress Publishing, 2010.Kanna, Ahmed. Dubai, the city as a corporation. New York, NY: University of Minnesota Publications, 1984.Oxford Business Group. The Report: Dubai 2008. London: The Oxford Business Group Publishing, 1966. Ramos, Stephene. Dubai amplified: engineering a port geography. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2010.Shemirani, Manda. Sovereign funds and international political economy. New York, NY: Ashgate Publications, 2011.Yates Douglas. The rentier state in Africa: dependence on oil revenues and neocolonialism in the Republic of Gabon. Asmara: Africa World Press Publications, 1996.