The Gulf Cooperation Council: Future Trends

Abstract

The Gulf region has been important to world powers—economically, politically, and militarily—long before the discovery and exploration of oil. In fact, the region was a major transit point for trade from Europe to Asia and Africa that, over the centuries, developed into unique patterns. Portugal, Holland, France, and Britain competed for influence by dominating, at one point or another, the entire region. Still, with the discovery of oil, and starting in the 1960s, the Gulf s economic importance increased dramatically. The region gained additional value for key industrial countries—in particular the United States—after 1973, when oil prices rose from $3 a barrel to almost $35. This concrete demonstration highlighted the level of dependence in the clearest terms yet. In turn, industrial countries perceived the region as a “national security” arena, warranting a series of doctrines and assorted policies. As former U.S. president Jimmy Carter declared in 1979, any outside power attempting to gain control of this region would be regarded as a threat to Washington’s vital interests, facing potential retaliation, with force if necessary.