This paper examines the political resilience of two Arab monarchies (Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) through the lens of the aussenpolitik theoretical framework. Traditionally understood, “aussenpolitik” implies that external forces beyond the state dictate how it is structured internally. The concept is most closely associated with the work of Leopold von Ranke, a German historian who argued that a state’s internal composition derives from the international pressures that it experiences. Most often used to explain the emergence and development of European states, this paper applies aussenpolitik logic to the question of monarchy’s resilience in the Arab context. Drawing on primary source materials—newspapers, university magazines, and government pamphlets—this paper shows how regional rivalry between Arab monarchies is conducive to “monarchical branding” at home. Competition from abroad abets the construction of monarchical identity at home. Using the cases of Qatar and the UAE, the paper shows how regional competition drives monarchical identity formation in these states’ domestic contexts. Qatar and the UAE are chosen because they rank high on both the independent variable (regional pressure) and dependent variable (stable monarchical rule). By placing a greater analytical emphasis on the system-level pressures that the Qatari and Emirati states experience, the paper generates a new explanation of monarchy’s resilience in the Arab context. In doing so, the paper diverges from traditional studies of monarchy which emphasize subnational variables such as oil rents (Brownlee, Masoud, Reynolds 2013), coalition-building (Yom and Gause 2012), religious symbolism (Kostiner 2000), and myth-making (Anderson 2000) but largely neglect the effect of the international system.