Abstract: This paper documents how the GCC oil monarchies have been using their oil wealth to buy the accoutrements of ‘good citizenship’ and ‘progressiveness’ in the international arena through costly policy projects that involve urban interventions like the building of international museums, universities and ‘zero-carbon cities’ – urban enclaves with an audience that is almost exclusively international. The paper explains how these projects reflect a desire to comply with Western-defined ‘liberal’ international norms and tastes to gain international recognition, shows how they reflect broader patterns of segmented state building in the Gulf, and explores some of the social tensions they create locally.