This article examines expert advisers in Arab Gulf monarchies through qualitative fieldwork and experiments.
Key Findings:
- Expert advice contributes to ruling elites' overconfidence in state-building shortcuts.
- Expert information reduces public support for reform initiatives.
Data & Methods:
Qualitative interviews combined with three targeted experiments provide compelling evidence.
Experts play a complex role, enabling rationalizations that increase elite confidence but generating unintended negative consequences through a backfire effect.
