Gulf Cooperation Council
Reports on Gulf Cooperation Council See all →
Geopolitics and Saudi Arabia’s cash flow
The Gulf states have not sufficiently adjusted their spending patterns to lower income from oil exports. Burdened by persistent and growing budget deficits, they are increasingly hard pressed to fend off geopolitical rivals such as Iran. The trend has serious and lasting consequences for the Middle East and North Africa.
Opinion: Long-simmering tensions over Qatar come to a boil
Qatar has quarreled with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states before, but this latest flare-up is far more serious. While the cause of the crisis – an allegedly fake news report – seems a flimsy justification for a diplomatic and economic blockade, Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and friendly ...
America edges back into the Middle East
The United States is cautiously reengaging in the Middle East. To deal with an explosive situation that threatens world peace, President Donald Trump must first tackle the legacy of the Obama years, which left Russia and Iran well entrenched in some of the region's Arab countries. Forcing them out may ...
Saudi Arabia considers how to recast foreign policy and rely less on US
Saudi Arabia’s relations with its Arab neighbours have been troubled since the state was founded in 1932. The kingdom’s territorial expansion, border disputes and export of Wahhabi Islam have all fed fears of Saudi political domination. Now that the decades-long alliance with Washington has cooled and the United States’ security ...
Yemen is a dangerous regional conflict with a new nuclear dimension
Yemen’s civil war between Houthi rebels from the north and a democratically-elected government risks boiling over into a major regional conflict. It bears the hallmarks of a Shia-Sunni battleground. An Arab coalition - including the non-arab nuclear power Pakistan - and led by Saudi Arabia, has already used air and ...
