Overlooked in the tumult of the Arab Spring has been Qatar, which holds the distinction of being the only country in the region to avoid any political unrest. For many observers and analysts, the country’s political stability is no puzzle. Classic rentier state theory argues that these states can distribute their vast reserves of externally produced wealth to keep their citizens politically apathetic and acquiescent (Mahdavy 1970; Beblawi and Luciani 1987; Ross 2001, 2012). For decades, this theory has superseded concerns over legitimate power and persuasion in the rentier states of the Arab Gulf. Yet Qatar provides a salient example of a quintessential rentier state interacting with its citizens contrary to theoretical expectations. Despite the billions spent on welfare and other economic benefits for its citizens, Qatar invests tremendous additional effort and resources in strengthening its legitimacy through religious preservation, national identity promotion, and cultural mega-projects. The case of Qatar challenges a fundamental assumption of classic rentier state theory—that the economic relationship between ruler and ruled is the only interaction necessary to maintain political stability. By examining Qatar’s legitimization efforts, I show that rentier states are not as exceptional as once perceived. Rentier states must interact with their societies in very similar ways as do productive states; the difference is in resources but not in scope (Herb 1999; Foley 2010). This paper also makes a methodological contribution by introducing a new and original data set—an 800-person survey of Qatari citizens that utilizes contextualized questions and anchoring vignettes (King et al. 2004) to ensure that both the question and the answer are understood appropriately. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods through an in-depth case study of Qatar—an increasingly important player in regional politics and the global economy—results in specific and well-supported evidence to revise a broad and oft-cited theory. The paper uses the example of Qatar’s nation-building legitimization projects—in the fields of culture, nationalism, and religion—to illustrate the ways in which the state supplies its citizens with reasons to support the state beyond economic allocation. Further, I present tangible evidence that societal justification of the current regime is high, for reasons beyond riyals and dirhams. This paper provides useful information on the politics of Qatar while advancing theoretical and methodological research in studies of the Middle East and political economy.