This thesis examines the processes that gave way to formation of the khalījī (‘of the Gulf’ (khalīj) in Arabic) state. Existing literatures and state-sponsored discourse fail to capture the complexity of how Gulf states formed, nor does it capture implications of British indirect rule on khalījī coastal inhabitants. Monarchism is tacitly accepted as tradition. By freezing “tradition” to observe it through nation-state logics, scholars have misread the region’s socio-political past. More often, the literature centres around ruling families, neglecting excluded voices in khalījī political history. Britain first recognised semi-independent Arab sheikhs’ sovereignty in 1820. This precipitated a new era of British imperialism built on Anglo-Khalījī treaties conceding power over khalījī waters to Britain in exchange for political protection. This shift concentrated colonial power over khalījī waters, disturbing old identities while upending maritime tribal traditions and governance. It fixed sovereignty through territory and created new meanings of being between rulers (sovereigns) and ruled (subjects). A century later, the khalīj experienced new seismic changes. In a region where movement was common, consolidation of nationhood within states did not organically evolve to form a homogenous state identity. Instead, national identities were imposed through drawing territories and turning residents into rulers’ subjects. This thesis argues Gulf states became so-called “traditional” monarchies because they became modern nation-states. Monarchism as a regime type is an invented tradition, and the one-dimensional national identity khalījī states construct does not mirror khalījī socio-political history. By focusing on primary archival material and secondary sources, I (1) provide context to a pivotal period that led to monarchic state formation; (2) interrogate monarchism as a conceptual tool to study the political system’s origins in the khalīj; (3) demystify khalījī socio-political exceptionalism; and (4) return agency to absent khalījī voices
