The oil-rich Gulf states have been called upon to aid the finance-strapped International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it struggles to help countries caught in the international financial crisis. Yet, Gulf governments came empty handed to the November 2008 G20 meetings in Washington, DC. This policy brief outlines the reasons for their reluctance to contribute to IMF liquidity, noting that the Gulf states increasingly are looking inward to deal not only with their own economic difficulties in the light of the recent collapse of oil prices but also with demands of a rising class of educated middle-class citizens for more scrutiny of traditional petrodollar recycling policies.