Gulf Cooperation Council States Research Articles

Measuring the evolution of Arab States’ perceptions of the Iranian threat: a quantitative text analysis of Arabic-language state media, 2010–20

ABSTRACT After the Arab Uprisings, inter-state relations in the Middle East became polarized between the two camps of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran and its allies, which strengthened the threat perception of Iran among Arab states. This study aims to empirically elucidate the changes in the perception of threats against Iran among Arab states through a quantitative text analysis of major state media in 10 Arab states. Through this analysis, we first substantiated that the Arab threat perception of Iran increased, especially in GCC members, after the Arab Uprisings. Second, there were significant differences in threat perception, even among the GCC states, according to their political stance towards key events in international relations. We also propose a new empirical method for studying securitization in critical security theory based on quantitative text analysis.

Pluriversal possibilities for the Euro/U.S.-centric intercultural communication field? A review of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Taiwan

ABSTRACT The mainstream narrative of intercultural communication (IC) as a field remains Euro/U.S.-centric despite efforts to (re)imagine it from the margins. To shift this, in this exploratory essay we challenge the disciplinary contours of IC by using a pluriversal framework. We ask, how to pluriversalize Euro/U.S.-centric IC scholarship when it already penetrates non-European/U.S. spaces? And what lessons can this offer? To that end, we turn to a comparative review of the state of IC in the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Taiwan. We propose that to pluriversalize a focus on indigeneity and human-nature relationships is needed; and the concept of relational ontologies bind the two cases together and can be extended to other non-Euro/U.S. spaces so that pluriversal alternatives can appear.

Treatment of intellectual property in the bankruptcy legal framework of the GCC states

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have made a number of efforts to reform bankruptcy laws in recent years. The modernization of bankruptcy law in GCC countries presents the question of how IP assets and bankruptcy proceedings relate and intertwine. Problems for insolvency proceedings centre on valuation. An even more complicated but extremely common scenario is when the IP is licensed. Licensing effectively creates a new ‘sub-bundle’ of rights from the original property rights. Another issue is the classification of a licence and whether it is a property right or a contractual right, or some type of hybrid creature. Complications are exacerbated by the fact that many IP licence agreements will contain an ipso facto clause. The purpose of this article is to address these issues by examining the laws of the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and how IP assets are treated in bankruptcy proceedings.

China’s Image in the GCC Mainstream English Newspapers: A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis

ABSTRACT This paper used the corpus-based critical discourse analysis to explore China’s image represented in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) mainstream English newspapers between 2010 and 2020. Findings show that China is usually reported in a very positive light. Cooperation is the main tone of diplomatic relations between China and the GCC. They have signed a series of strategic cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding to strengthen a comprehensive and long-term bilateral strategic partnership. Moreover, China is depicted as the GCC’s important trading partner, which is very strong in the economic power and plays an important role in the world economic system. A strong economic complementarity and the historical friendly relations between the two sides are the main contributing factors for the positive representations of China in their mainstream English newspapers. However, the stereotyped “China as a Demon” image in the Western media is occasionally constructed in the GCC English newspapers because of the Western news agencies’ domination of the flow of international news through the Arab media and private ownership of the daily newspapers in the GCC states.

China’s Economic Diplomacy Towards the Gulf Cooperation Council States

ABSTRACT This study examines China’s expanding economic diplomacy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) monarchies, underscoring its activities, tools, and goals. By doing so, the study introduces a conceptual and analytical framework of Chinese economic diplomacy incorporated into the term ‘economic statecraft’ to explore how it conducts its relations with the GCC states to enhance its broad national interests, including political, strategic, and economic dimensions in the Persian Gulf. The study identifies three broad national interests that China seeks to enhance through economic diplomacy in the Persian Gulf: political, strategic, and economic. China aims to maintain access to energy resources, expand market access for trade and investment, undertake large-scale traditional infrastructure projects within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, and demonstrate its great power status. The study’s findings suggest that China’s economic diplomacy is crucial for achieving its regional economic objectives.

Migrant workers with COVID-19: a major challenge for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to curb the spread of infection.

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) host the majority of the estimated 23 million international migrants working in the Arab states. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve across the GCC states, the health authorities have reported a considerable number of non-national confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region. In Gulf countries, where more than half of the population are foreigners, migrant workers are more likely to contract and spread the disease due to numerous contributing factors. In this regard, unhygienic and overcrowded living conditions, barriers in accessing national or private health services, challenges in accessing accurate health information related to COVID-19, and lack of facemasks and hand hygiene facilities in their housing camps are the major factors that we identified and discuss in this paper. Moreover, we formulated specific recommendations for relevant authorities to overcome the challenges related to migrant workers during this pandemic situation. Because the migrant workers with COVID-19 infection could subsequently lead to more widespread community transmission, protecting this vulnerable group means reducing the risk of transmission for the entire population. It is essential to include migrant workers in all aspects of the response to COVID-19, such as prevention, detection, access to treatment, and containment measures.

Labour coercion and commodification: from the British Empire to postcolonial migration states

ABSTRACTScholars of migration studies have only recently begun to focus on the interconnected histories of empire, postcolonialism, and human mobility. The existing literature presents a rather uncomplicated narrative of migration policy in a Global South unencumbered by the legacies of imperial rule. In this article, we aim to expand the concept of ‘postcolonial migration states’ by drawing parallels between imperial rule and postcolonial migration policymaking. We argue that legacies of imperialism endure in the management of mobility across postcolonial states of the Global South: a legal legacy through the adoption of colonial acts, statutes, and ordinances; and an institutional legacy through the repurposing of colonial bureaucratic infrastructures. We take the case of Indian indentured emigration under British imperial rule and trace its legacies in the contemporary movement of low-skilled labour out of South Asia to the Gulf Cooperation Council states. We find that the processes of labour coercion and commodification remain key features of migration control during and after colonial rule. Ultimately, we argue for the need to re-examine South–South migration processes to identify continuities between imperial policymaking and postcolonial states’ management of human mobility.

Public-Private Partnerships in the Gulf Cooperation Council Region: Policy Discussions, Projects, Regulatory Frameworks, and Future Directions

This policy insights paper explores the development of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region over the past three decades and argues that although GCC states did not embark on a full-fledged experience with PPPs, unstable oil and gas prices are changing this approach. PPPs are increasingly gaining strong political support, and GCC states have made numerous reforms to the existing regulatory and institutional systems to enable a more extensive uptake of PPPs that encompasses a broader spectrum of social and economic infrastructure services. This article offers an overview of the historical development of PPPs in the GCC region since the 1990s, illustrating policy discussions and motivations for adopting PPPs, the meaning and types of PPP projects that have been implemented or planned in the region, and the most recent developments in the regulatory and institutional frameworks underpinning PPPs.

The War in Ukraine and Arab Gulf States’ Foreign Policy Shifts

Abstract This paper discusses geopolitical shifts in the international order with regard to divergent perceptions and interests on the war in Ukraine between western states and the Gulf Cooperation Council states (gcc), specifically the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These two leading gcc states now prioritise their own national interests by valuing multipolar partnerships, rather than solely relying on strong strategic ties with the West and US. The article aims to explore to what extent the war in Ukraine reveals a new phase in the power balance between the west and the Arab Gulf states. The initial outcomes of the war have already weakened Russia’s global status and forced Moscow to redirect its strategy towards the east, particularly China. This has also led to increased military cooperation between Russian and Iranian, as well as a rapprochement due to the weight of western economic sanctions imposed on both states. Concurrently, China’s significant role in world policy has become more evident through its direct political involvement in the restoration of Saudi-Iranian diplomatic relations, as seen in the agreement signed in Beijing on 10 March 2023. With the war in Ukraine significantly impacting the global energy market and regional power dynamics, the multipolar momentum gives the advantage to Gulf states that realise that this is an opportune time to capitalise on taking autonomous regional initiatives and fostering diversified partnerships from the west to the east.

The Paradox of Peace: The Impact of Normalization with Israel on the Arab World

Abstract How can peace initiatives facilitate authoritarian practices? Peace initiatives that do not address the root causes of conflict, and maintain structural violence, can facilitate authoritarian practices through both material and discursive mechanisms. I use the recent steps towards normalization and, in some instances, peace agreements between Israel and a number of Arab states to make this argument. I examine this dynamic across Gulf Cooperation Council states with varying authoritarian practices and ties to Israel. This paper contributes to our understanding of the impacts of illiberal peace and how it functions, transnationally and at varying levels within and outside state authority.

UNHCR’s Expansion to the GCC States: Establishing a UNHCR Presence in Saudi Arabia 1987-1993

: How did the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) establish its presence in states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? And how did it negotiate the legal frameworks needed to formally operate in these states? To answer these questions, the article focuses on the historical case of Saudi Arabia. Based on UNHCR archival material and interviews with key actors (including Government officials, UNHCR staff and individuals formerly living as refugees), it details how an unprecedented opportunity for UNHCR to establish a formal presence in Saudi Arabia emerged in the context of the 1991 Gulf War. The article argues that Saudi Arabia’s hosting of Iraqi refugees in the Rafha camp provided a watershed moment for UNHCR to carve out an official presence by, first, negotiating a Note Verbale providing UNHCR with official recognition in 1992, and second, a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 1993. Importantly, this MoU provides the basis for UNHCR-Saudi relations up to this day.

International Student Migration to the GCC States: A Comparative Study

This article examines the migration of international students to the Gulf Coop-eration Council (GCC) states from a comparative perspective. Over the past few decades, the GCC states have made significant investments in their education sec-tor, leading to notable improvements in educational infrastructure and quality, the establishment of new universities and knowledge parks, as well as the emergence of international university branches. Consequently, this transformation has attracted a growing number of international students to the Gulf region, including non-national resident students and foreign students arriving in the Gulf specifically for educational purposes. Student migration entails more than just entering a host country; it also involves university admissions policies, tuition fees, scholarship programs, immigration status and the pathways available for employment after graduation. Therefore, this article delves into the intricate aspects of student migration to the GCC states, shedding light on migration patterns, student compositions, admissions processes, financial considerations and integration into the Gulf labour market. The findings of this study indicate that the GCC states have made some headway in managing international student migration. However, there is still a need for the development of a comprehensive student migration policy that fully capitalises on the benefits of student migration to promote economic development in the Gulf states.

STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG THE ELDERLY IN THE GCC: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Physical activity (PA) has numerous health benefits for both physical and psychological well-being.However, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle are associated with all-cause mortality, chronic non-communicable diseases, and falls in the elderly. Studies indicate that despite the efforts of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to provide healthcare services, physical inactivity and associated health problems continue to rise in Arab countries, including those in theGCC states, with a high prevalence among adults, especially women.Objective of this review is to assess and summarize recommendations from clinical guidelines for PAin elderly. This review aims to identify successful strategies for improving PA among the elderly in the Arabian Gulf States by searching through peer-reviewed articles and grey literature. A lack of scholarly works on PA in the GCC countries, specifically among older people, makes the assessment of this phenomenon challenging. The persistence of physical inactivity among the elderly in the GCC states can be attributed to environmental and cultural factors, including a western medical model, urbanization, motorization, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating habits, and lack of facilities and infrastructure to promote PA. The article recommends a multi-level strategy to improve PA participation among the elderly, including supervised regular exercise, self-reporting of aerobic routines, motivation counseling, and a healthy diet. Governments in the GCC should also address barriers to PA engagement at the intrapersonal, social, environmental, and policy levels, to enable the elderly to achieve and maintain good health and high quality of life. Identifying barriers to PA participation and adherence is crucial to formulating sustainable strategies to improve the physical performance of this group.

Evaluation of the International Labor Organization project in Qatar

In April of 2018, the International Labor Organization (ILO) opened its first project office in Qatar to assist the government in reforming labor market policies to ensure compliance with international labor conventions and achieving fundamental principles and migrant worker rights. Using a policy transfer theoretical framework, this study examines the challenges, progress, and achievements of the ILO project in Qatar across five outcomes: minimum wages and wage security, labor inspection policy, occupational health and safety programs, Kafala (sponsorship) abolition, recruitment and working conditions, prevention, safeguarding, prosecution against forced labor; and promoting workers 'perspective, and access to justice. Data for this study consisted of governments and ILO administrative data and reports as well as evidence from literature review and government websites such as the Ministry of Labor, Qatar Statistics Authority, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, the ILO Arab States, International Organization for Migrations, and Regional United Nations agencies. Additionally, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with ILO Qatar experts on four progress reports 2018-2021 on labor market challenges, policies, and reforms in Qatar. The key accomplishments of the ILO and the government of Qatar include destroying the kafala system and creating a universal minimum wage for all workers. This signifies a shift toward more open, progressive migrant labor policies and an evolving acceptance of migrant rights and opportunities by the government and members of the mass culture.

Rebooting India-GCC Energy Partnerships: Hydrogen as a Fuel for the Future

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States have over the decades proved to be dependable partners in India’s energy security. However, the energy transition necessitates examining its impact on the India-GCC energy partnership. Will India-GCC energy partnership last the transition from hydrocarbons to renewables? What will be its medium- and long-term impact? Can hydrogen replace hydrocarbons as the vehicle for India-GCC energy cooperation? This article answers some of these questions based on a systematic study of innovation in the field of hydrogen as a fuel, India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and the growing investments in capacity building in hydrogen production in the GCC States.

Human Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: Prospects for Positive Change

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have received criticism for being slow to conform to global human rights norms. They have lagged in signing global treaties and covenants and have not enforced many of the laws they have on the books. However, for three key reasons, hope exists that continued engagement with these countries on human rights issues may lead to progress. First, despite a lack of progress in some areas, such as political and civil rights, the region has made great progress overall in just a few decades, especially regarding economic and social rights. Second, GCC countries have begun incorporating human rights language into domestic legislation and their own local discourse. Third, economic and social changes are on the horizon for the region in the medium to long term, which may lead to political changes in the next few decades.

More than a Game: Football and Soft Power in the Gulf

ABSTRACT By hosting spectacular international mega-events such as the 2022 World Cup and investing in the heavyweights of global football such as Paris St. Germain, Newcastle United or Manchester City, the monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – in particular Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are heavily engaged in ‘football diplomacy’ to gain more leverage in terms of regional and international politics, bolster their global reputation, consolidate power on an internal and external level and promote economic diversification. In doing so, these GCC monarchies instrumentalise football for the projection of soft power with the aim of preserving geostrategic interests, consolidating legitimacy and promoting a respective national ‘football identity’. As such, they are competing for ‘beauty’, ‘brilliance’ and ‘benignity’. In addition, sports (particularly football) are drivers of domestic and international human development, as GCC states such as Qatar are increasingly investing in Sports for Development (S4D) efforts. As sport diplomacy is also at risk of ‘soft disempowerment’, S4D provides an instrument to counter international criticism and promote social cohesion and national identity politics.

Incidence of thyroid cancer in Abu Dhabi, UAE: A registry-based study.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. It is ranked second among females of the Gulf Cooperation Council States and the sixth most common cancer among the United Arab Emirates population. We herein describe the incidence and distribution of different types of thyroid cancers and the demographic features of patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Settings and Design: The study design was Abu Dhabi cancer registry and retrospective chart review. This is a retrospective cancer registry description of patients with the different types of thyroid cancers diagnosed between January 2012 and December 2015 in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The incidence of thyroid cancer throughout the study period was calculated. Gender, age, ethnicity, and type of thyroid cancer were described. Descriptive statistics of patients' characteristics are reported as means (standard deviation) for continuous variables and total and relative frequencies (percentage) for categorical variables. The incidence of thyroid cancer was found to increase annually, reaching 7.9 cases per 100,000 population in 2015. A total of 603 patients were diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi from 2012 to 2015. Of these, 431 (71.5%) were women and 172 (28.5%) were men. The overall mean age at diagnosis was 40.2 years. Over a third of the patients were between 30 and 39 years. The classical papillary thyroid cancer type was found in 67.7% of cases. A substantial increase in thyroid cancer rates was found between 2012 and 2015. The majority of thyroid cancer cases were diagnosed in women between the ages of 30 and 39 years. Classical papillary thyroid cancer was the most common type.

The rise of GCC‐East Asian trade: A cointegration approach to analysing trade relationships

AbstractThe economic relationship between the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the countries of East Asia has grown in significance in recent years at the expense of the European Union and the USA. Empirical analysis of GCC‐East Asian trade indices shows that East Asian states now dominate GCC trade flows and a number of GCC‐East Asian Free Trade Agreements are cementing the long‐term economic ties between the two regional blocs, which are based on the complementarity of their economic structures and comparative advantage. Within East Asia, Japan is increasingly having to compete with China and India for both security of energy supplies from the GCC and to supply GCC markets with their manufactured exports. Using a new approach to analysing trade relationships, we utilise cointegration techniques to analyse GCC trade patterns over time. We find econometric evidence of a long‐term trade relationship between the GCC states and those of East Asia, in particular China, whose continued economic growth has allowed the GCC bloc to diversify its economic and political dependence away from North America and ‘look East’ for new strategic alliances.

An Analytical Feasibility Study for Solar Panel Installation in Qatar Based on Generated to Consumed Electrical Energy Indicator

The main objective of this study is to establish analytical feasibility for the deployment of solar panels in Qatar houses and other organisations; to calculate, by the use of analytical means, solar panel deployment scenarios with different panel sizes, efficiency, and sun per day, in order to estimate generated energy and compare that with actual consumption over a period of twelve months. In addition, the study aims to provide a comparative indicator on the ratio of generated energy to consumed energy and consumed electrical energy (GtoC), to establish the possibility of using the GtoC ratio as a new renewable energy rating index, for use in renewable energy investment and sales forecasting, in maintaining comparisons between different installation scenarios, and in upgrade planning and decision making. This study’s analytical solutions might be correlated with data from in situ solar panel installation scenarios in order to fully establish the performance under operational scenarios. The study will be beneficial to support roadmaps to foster solar panel deployment in Qatar, through demonstrating scenarios that can enable economic and environmental incentives. In addition, the study can be useful for other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states with similar weather and economic conditions. Moreover, GtoC indicator can be used as a new source of data to establish a data-driven model for suitable clean energy projects.