The lecture traces the extent to which economic structures in the Middle East have become hostile to development on the basis of political power structures, a circumstance that has intensified due to neoliberal reforms in the non-petroleum states. I then characterize the rent income as a variable that has a critical influence on development prospects, both economically and politically. In a third step, I take a look at more recent developments in the past decade in this area of tension since the mass protests of the so-called “Arab Spring” of 2011. In doing so, I also critically question our notions of the concepts of “state” and “statehood” and ventures an outlook on the – rather gloomy – medium-term future.