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.