For a variety of contributing factors, the defense and security status of the Gulf region is facing a dilemma between the maintenance of regional security and the preservation of domestic security interests. This dilemma stems from the perceived decline of U.S. influence and lingering consequences of the Arab Spring movements. Divisions and armed conflicts, both within the Gulf itself and the surrounding region are a result of this changing political order and the ascension of many of the Gulf states on the international scene. These evolving dynamics will set in motion various defense and security consequences for the Gulf and the greater Middle East which are addressed in this edited volume. With contributions from practitioners as well as academics, this book will be a vital resource for both researchers and policymakers.

For a variety of contributing factors, the defense and security status of the Gulf region is facing a dilemma between the maintenance of regional security and the preservation of domestic security interests. This dilemma stems from the perceived decline of U.S. influence and lingering consequences of the Arab Spring movements. Divisions and armed conflicts, both within the Gulf itself and the surrounding region are a result of this changing political order and the ascension of many of the Gulf states on the international scene. These evolving dynamics will set in motion various defense and security consequences for the Gulf and the greater Middle East which are addressed in this edited volume. With contributions from practitioners as well as academics, this book will be a vital resource for both researchers and policymakers.

The book is an analysis of the security and defense policies of the Arabian Gulf countries, as small states with limited options. The author reviews in depth the historical experience of the Gulf states’ management of crises, their implementation of security options, and the challenges facing security and defense policies. Themes and topics addressed include: Security policies and the Arab Gulf states’ strategies to achieve self-security; defense options for the Arab Gulf countries; management of security crises; and Security Policy Challenges. It also identifies the most important challenges facing these policies now, namely localization of military manufacturing and the impact of military technology on defense policies in the Gulf countries. This book is an important reference source for universities and academic institutions concerned with security and defence issues in the Arabian Gulf states; think tanks, universities, and ministries in the Gulf countries; and Western think tanks interested in assessing security and defence policies in the Arabian Gulf countries.

The Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of Persian Gulf politics, history, economics, and society. The volume begins its examination of Ottoman rule in the Arabian Peninsula, exploring other dimensions of the region’s history up until and after independence in the 1960s and 1970s. Featuring scholars from a range of disciplines, the book demonstrates how the Persian Gulf’s current, complex politics is a product of interwoven dynamics rooted in historical developments and memories, profound social, cultural, and economic changes underway since the 1980s and the 1990s, and inter-state and international relations among both regional actors and between them and the rest of the world. The book comprises a total of 36 individual chapters divided into the following six sections: Historical Context Society and Culture Economic Development Domestic Politics Regional Security Dynamics The Persian Gulf and the World Examining the Persian Gulf’s increasing importance in regional politics, diplomacy, economics, and security issues, the volume is a valuable resource for scholars, students, and policy makers interested in political science, history, Gulf studies, and the Middle East.

The Arabian Gulf region is a vulnerable flashpoint. Small states in this region try to leverage their core interests against big power domination. This book narrates the problematique of Kuwait, whose geostrategic weakness was exposed in 1990, forcing her to trade resource strength for security guarantees. In recent years, challenged by regional rivalries, environmental impacts, falling oil prices and the dangers of terrorist insurgency, Kuwait faces an escalating security dilemma. With the imminent disengagement of the U.S. from Middle Eastern entanglements, should Kuwait resort to hedging partnerships with emerging multipolar giants like China, Russia or India? Can Kuwait survive domestic challenges of a youth bulge, a huge expatriate population, budgetary deficits, increasing public welfare and costs of desalination? What would be the main security options for Kuwait in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous?

This book analyses the fifteen-year-long strategic partnership between NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The book goes on to address several key questions raised in the year since the inception of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI): Is the initiative a framework for consultation on Gulf and regional security issues? Is it a security initiative or a defensive one? Even more importantly, how was this initiative developed? Was there a mutual eagerness, on the part of NATO or that of the four Gulf States, to develop it? Is it possible for the initiative to be redeveloped and have other dimensions and outlooks in the future? Throughout the book, the author provides a comprehensive understanding and assessment of NATO's policies and their impact on the security of the Arab Gulf region.

Regional cooperation, regionalism and regionalization in the Middle East are usually considered to be weak and rather ceremonial. However, since September 11, 2001, a new regional order is emerging and the impact of geostrategic changes in the international environment has yet to be satisfactorily studied. With older regional organizations suffering from weaknesses, new forms appear to be developing and flourishing, due either to European support or growing sub-regional identities. This volume offers refined theoretical models and approaches which are attuned to the new dynamics and contradictions of a wide range of regionalist projects in the contemporary Middle East. Case studies of the most important regional organizations in different policy fields offer comprehensive overviews of the main actors, institutions, historical development and current issues.

This edited book takes a critical look at the geopolitics of the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It scrutinizes some of the perennial issues shaping the regional security agenda, as well as the emerging geopolitical trends in the wake of a decade of turmoil triggered by the demands for political and economic reforms. The contributors explore the geopolitical implications of the structural transformation process in the MENA region and beyond, which has unleashed destabilizing forces and multifaceted conflicts, with the involvement of many local, regional and global actors. They also look at how some of the regional actors have reacted to the risks and security challenges produced by the wave of instability and conflicts, and conducted their foreign policy in this volatile period of fluid alliances. Other contributors explore the roles and perspectives of major extra-regional actors, delving deeper into how they have adjusted their policies towards the emergence of a new order and reshuffling of alignments. This book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of politics, international relations, and political geography. It was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.

This book outlines the state of play in maritime security in the Gulf and provides a historical perspective to current issues while also surveying different mechanisms for Gulf maritime security, both at the collective and individual state levels. The book addresses a number of questions related to maritime security in the Gulf States, such as what are the main threats facing maritime security? Do the Arab Gulf States have the necessary naval capabilities to confront these maritime security threats? What are the efforts that the Arab Gulf States have made in order to maintain their maritime security? What are the regional frameworks through which the Arab Gulf States can address maritime security threats? And what are the obstacles hindering the Arab Gulf States’ efforts to maintain maritime security? This book would be a valuable read for Gulf Cooperation Council States, the ministries of defense in the Arabian Gulf countries, security institutions, the Arabian Gulf countries’ military academies, thinks tanks and universities in the six Gulf States, Western think thanks concerned with the Arabian Gulf region, and scholars specializing in Arabian Gulf countries.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is one of the most resilient sub-regional organizations in the world, and the most successful in the Arab world. it has been the forum through which much security cooperation in this volatile sub-region has taken place, as well as the main representative for the UAE's territorial dispute with Iran over the Abu Musa and tunbs islands. the organization aims to enhance defence cooperation between its member states. it also has significant potential to foster economic integration and to present an alternative form of leverage over the international oil markets. Very little is known however about how the organization really works: how decisions are actually taken, as opposed to how this process is formally articulated in its charter, and what the GCC's real impact on member states, the gulf and international relations is.Drawing on cutting-edge ir theoretical perspectives as well as unique firsthand access to GCC decision-makers, Matteo Legrenzi explains the mechanisms of Gulf cooperation - and its limitations - in the context of economic globalization, diplomatic regionalization and the rise of Iran. Combining historical context, primary source investigations and theoretical analysis, this is a comprehensive guide to the GCC and an indispensable resource for anyone concerned with the Gulf and the Middle East.