Gulf Monarchies Research Articles

The Gulf Monarchies after the Arab Spring: Threats and Security, by Cinzia Bianco. (book review)

The Gulf Monarchies after the Arab Spring: Threats and Security, by Cinzia Bianco. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2024. 216 pages. £85 cloth, e-book.

The Enduring Challenges of Middle East Security and the Evolving Role of the United States (review article)

Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies: Continuity amid Change, by David B. Roberts. New York: Columbia University Press, 2023. 320 pages. $140 cloth, $35 paper, $34.99 e-book. New Military Strategies in the Gulf: The Mirage of Autonomy in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, by Jean-Loup Samaan. London: I. B. Tauris, 2023. 267 pages. $100 cloth, $34.95 paper, $31.45 e-book. Security Assistance in the Middle East: Challenges . . . and the Need for Change, edited by Hicham Alaoui and Robert Springborg. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2023. 397 pages. $89.95 cloth, e-book

The push to increase trade connectivity on the Arabian Peninsula

Three Gulf monarchies have been making significant investments to increase maritime trade connectivity – a trend that also extends into the air, land and subsea domains – as part of their broader strategies to strengthen the non-oil sectors of their economies. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates calculate that as they each develop their infrastructure and appeal as regional shipping nodes and become more embedded in trade networks, their stability and security will become more important to their global partners.

Взгляд монархий Залива на трансформации мироустройства и место России в нем

With the processes of the global order transformations currently unfolding and new rising powers gaining influence in the international arena, the issue of possible contours of a new architecture of the world system is becoming more urgent. The three Gulf monarchies – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar – in recent years have been re-evaluating their relations with world powers, re-establishing their international positioning, and strengthening their capabilities in active engagement in the process of a new world order shaping as their foreign policies and national interests have been increasingly stretching far beyond the Gulf and the MENA region. They have gained confidence in asserting and defending their interests and standing up to pressure, willing to seize the initiative in forming the regional security system and strongly participate in the shaping of the global world order, which they see as polycentric and “non-polar”. After the decade of intraregional confrontations and rivalries in the 2010s, they have come to realize that in order for their ambitious socioeconomic development strategies to succeed, they require a “stable and prosperous” Middle East based on cooperation between all the key regional players with none of them dominating but counterbalancing each other, while external actors are considered important partners for cooperation on the agenda set by the regional powers provided that they counterbalance each other’s influence and do not try to exert their dominance. The three Gulf monarchies see Russia as an influential center of power in the shaping polycentric world order as well as a partner with whom they need to coordinate to ensure stability in the region and cement their global influence in the world oil markets. The Ukrainian crisis has not had any negative effect on the monarchies’ approaches towards relations with Russia and even strengthened their conviction in the correctness of their regional and global policy course.

Immigration rentier states

ABSTRACT Building on the notion of the migration state, this article introduces the concepts of ‘migration rent’ and ‘immigration rentier states’ to describe how states that rely heavily on immigration for their wealth derive unearned income from immigration. Both concepts contribute to better understand of the role of migration in the historical transformation of states and the relationship between state, market and society in rentier monarchies and non-rentier states. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, I show that the Gulf monarchies, and Saudi Arabia in particular, progressively governmentalized direct and indirect forms of migration rent through migration control and taxation of migrants, both of which were initially brokered by private actors, notably through the kafala or sponsorship system. In doing so, states institutionalise labour market segmentation and differential exclusion of migrants intersecting class, race, nationality, gender, and age. This produces a ‘skill-based order of things’. Rather than outliers, Saudi Arabia offers a magnifying glass that reveals global dynamics of state-led migration control and class-based differential exclusion. Beyond empirical findings, this article thus demonstrates the potential for theoretical innovation in the social sciences based on non-Western polities calling to test the notions of ‘migration rent’ and ‘immigration rentier states’ across contexts.

Arbitration In Times of Economic Uncertainty: The Role of Qatar Financial Center’s Jurisprudence in Shaping International Arbitration Principles

The framework applicable to international arbitration is notably very liberal, as are the criteria of internationality embraced by both academia and practice. However, the utilization of this form of transactional justice provides tangible benefits, such as alleviating the burden on national courts, expediting the delivery of justice, establishing a body of international arbitration jurisprudence, flexibly securing commercial law at both national and international levels, and more. It's quite likely that these developmental aspects have facilitated the growth of alternative dispute resolution methods as we are currently witnessing. Moreover, it can be asserted that the conjunctural uncertainties that the legal world must contend with encourage the resort to arbitration. In fact, periods of uncertainty prompt economic entities to align themselves with familiar and protective arbitral frameworks that serve their interests. This circumstance appears particularly prominent in economies closely tied to the oil sector, such as those found in the Gulf monarchies. Consequently, this paper aims to demonstrate for the first time in scientific literature that, given their structural and cyclical fundamentals, the Gulf monarchies have become preferred venues for arbitration. In this context, the jurisprudence actively developed by Qatar's National Arbitration Center (QFC-QICDRC) and established by Law No. 7 of 2005 in accordance with Law No. 2 of 2017, also known as the "National Arbitration Law", holds significant importance in comprehending the mechanics of a legally prominent and effective practice: International arbitration.

The rule of law, legality, constitutionality and democratization in the monarchies of the arab east: current state and perspectives

Introduction. Atypical terminology for the monarchies of the Arab East appears at the constitutional and legislative level. If democratization after the Arab Spring was considered mainly as the construction of a "facade of democracy", nowadays there are institutional manifestations of the introduction of elements of democratic government, institutions of public power, in particular, constitutional courts, which are atypical for Arab states, are being formed. The purpose of the study is to reveal the specifics of establishing and implementing the principles of the rule of law, legality, and democracy, as well as issues of guaranteeing constitutionality in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. The methodological basis of the research is a philosophical dialectic-materialist approach, which involves consideration of the implementation of the principles of the rule of law, legality and democracy in the conditions of the reform of the state system, as an objective social reality that was formed and constantly evolves under the influence of internal and external contradictions along with the development of Arab society. The following methods are also applied: formal-legal, comparative-legal, socio-cultural analysis. The author makes a warning about the inadmissibility of the literal perception of new legal concepts and institutions introduced in these states, without clarifying their true meaning and understanding the peculiarities of the state system. Brief content. State policy and strategic development plans directly indicate the principles of the rule of law, legality and democracy as strategic goals. The texts of the constitutions regarding the establishment of the relevant principles were analyzed, and the strategic goals of the Persian Gulf monarchies regarding the implementation of the principle of the rule of law were revealed. An analysis of the legislation on the activity of constitutional courts was carried out, and a review of the practical activity of the constitutional courts of the monarchies of the Arab East was carried out. Conclusions. The principle of the rule of law is not established at the constitutional level. The principle of legality, as the principle of activity of public authorities, is derived from the text of constitutions. The principle of the rule of law has also not been constitutionally enshrined, however, the desire for justice and ensuring human rights, equality of rights and freedoms, inviolability of the person, independent activity of judges is determined at the level of constitutions. The principle of democracy is directly enshrined in most constitutions. When making decisions regarding the state-legal life of the IAS, the constitutional courts are guided by the constitution and international legal standards of human rights without reference to the provisions of Sharia and Islamic traditions. At the same time, the significant influence of the monarch and the government on the order of formation of the constitutional courts of the Persian Gulf is noted. The principle of the rule of law in its content is not reduced to the principle of legality, but is considered as a guiding principle of democratization, building a just and safe society. The parallel existence of Sharia courts and secular courts, the formation of constitutional courts explains the simultaneous application of the concepts of "supremacy of Sharia", "rule of law" and "constitutionality". In the monarchies of the Arab East, there is a dual system of supremacy: the supremacy of Sharia and the supremacy of law. They exist and develop in parallel and are not mutually exclusive. Ensuring justice and equal development conditions for all citizens is a common goal for both systems.

The Interests of the Gulf Monarchies in the Horn of Africa

The aim of this article is to analyze the policy of the Gulf monarchies in the Horn of Africa. Close historical ties between two regions have given rise to deep cooperation between African and Arab states nowadays. Gulf monarchies competed for a long time to deepen their political, economic and security impact in the region.
 Strengthening economic ties with the Horn of Africa has helped increase food security in the Persian Gulf. Investments by Arab monarchies in modernizing ports in Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti are helping to improve logistics infrastructure in the Northeast Africa. At the same time, the rapid militarization of the region due to the establishment of a number of Gulf states military bases in the Horn of Africa is increasing the level of conflict-generating in the region. The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden both have strategic importance for the armed support for the military campaign of the Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates coalition in Yemen. That is why the Horn of Africa has also gained strategic importance due to the conflict in Yemen, and therefore the ambitious Gulf states have become increasingly have become increasingly involved in the regional geopolitics. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as the main ally of Riyadh in the Persian Gulf, are increasingly seeing the Horn of Africa as their “western flank of security.” They are united by the desire to prevent the growing influence of Turkey, Iran and Qatar in this part of the world.
 The competition between Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Iran helps to attract investments, maintain general stability and improve the security situation in the Horn of Africa. Conflict mediation and asset build-up in the Horn of Africa have enabled Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to establish political influence in the region. The Gulf states are using their growing economic, security and diplomatic influence in Africa to reduce the influence of competitors and gain international support on the world stage.

Renewable Energy and Governance Resilience in the Gulf

The six Gulf monarchies—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE)—are more politically stable than their peers in the Middle East and North Africa. Explanations for governance resilience range from repression to neopatrimonial and instrumental legitimacy, hydrocarbon-based rentierism, and permissive regional and international environments. This paper considers, in view of the proliferation and uptake of renewable energy in the Gulf, how governance resilience may be affected as a result of changes in state-society relations during the energy transition away from a fossil-fuel-based energy system. It offers a qualitative analysis of the impact of renewable energy deployment in the Gulf, supported by a rich array of secondary literature and data. It also offers a deep, if brief, dive to highlight intra-regional nuances. The authors conclude that in the short term, renewable energy deployment has a very modest impact given its limited share of power generation. In the longer term, even assuming that stated ambitions for renewable energy are fulfilled, no negative impact on monarchial resilience is expected thanks to gains in legitimacy and revenue streams, as well as purposeful alignment with an external environment supportive of renewable power in developing countries.

The Rise of Sportswashing

The staggering global popularity of soccer makes it a prime target for regimes that worry about the negative press they get for their undemocratic practices. The Gulf monarchies have led the way in getting into the wide world of sports as a means of cleaning their image.

Autocracies and the temptation of sentimentality: repertoires of the past and contemporary meaning-making in the Gulf monarchies

The scholarly debate on the durability of autocracies is vivid. It has explored a broad spectrum of regime types and respective sources and mechanisms of regime survival. A bias towards the strong effect of material means of regime survival, for example repression, cooptation or output-legitimation, is striking. In resource-rich Middle East and North African (MENA) countries, this has been deeply rooted in the logic of rent economies. Only recently have nonmaterial factors of authoritarian power such as emotional engagement or affective behaviour of the populace gained more prominence in the literature, since autocrats are, for example, increasingly trying to strengthen societal bonds by referring to the past. In order to deconstruct this phenomenon in twenty-first-century autocracies, this article introduces sentimentality as a conceptual approach that allows a more fine-grained analysis of contemporary meaning-making attempts on a national level for the sake of regime survival. We assume three dimensions in which forms and functions of sentimentality can be seen – actors, spaces and media – and provide empirical evidence from the Gulf monarchies.

UAE and Qatar policies towards India: two visions, two strategies

The role and significance of the UAE and Qatar in the modern political and economic processes in the Middle East has been growing. An integral component of Emirati and Qatari foreign policies is developing connections with major regional and world powers, which makes India a desirable partner for these two Gulf monarchies, taking into account the political and economic weight, not to mention the strategic posture of this South Asian country. UAE–India and Qatar–India relations have significant historical background, however since mid-2010s, they have been witnessing increased interaction and gaining new content. This article examines foreign policy approaches of UAE and Qatar, as well as key goals of their foreign strategies and instruments of their implementation. The analysis shows that while Abu Dhabi follows the course of building multifaceted collective interactions, various shapes of cooperation initiatives and forming connectivity networks, Doha prefers developing bilateral contacts on separate issues with high-status regional and international actors abiding by the principles of counterbalancing and hedging. Consequently, the expanding and deepening cooperation between UAE and India is not only growing new mechanisms, formats and agreements in the spheres of highest significance for both Abu Dhabi and New Delhi, but is in fact witnessing gradual intensification in accordance with the weight and foreign policies of the two states. Whereas the Qatari–Indian interaction, albeit also demonstrating increasing dynamic and expanding cooperation, remains rather limited, which, however, does not diminish its significance in the policies Doha is implementing to ensure its interests.

From Nasser to Arafat and Ibn Salman; the Greek pro-Arabism revisited

This study revisits the evolution of contemporary Greek–Arab relations from a geopolitical perspective. For a number of reasons – inter alia, her lack of a colonialist past – Greece has been time and again associated with a strong pro-Arab reputation. Greek pro-Arabism survives to this day; however it has undergone dramatic changes in terms of content, rhetoric and objectives. In fact, the once staunchest European supporter of the Palestinian cause and ‘pariahs’ like Qaddafi, Arafat and Hafez al-Asad, is now firmly aligned with Israel and the Gulf monarchies. By adopting a longitudinal approach, this article highlights the drivers and the constraints of the Greek pro-Arab policies diachronically and investigates the current convergence or divergence of interests between Athens and its new Arab friends.

Резонансный Катар: феномен внешнеполитической идентичности малой монархии

Foreign policy of Qatar, a dwarf emirate with considerable geographic and demographic limitations, demands special attention. Not only has this small Gulf monarchy succeeded in overcoming its smallness, but also managed to establish itself as an influential actor, both regionally and internationally, in the shortest possible time, breaking and revolutionizing conventional perceptions of capabilities and opportunities of small states in world politics. The paper aims to explore various characteristics of Qatar’s foreign policy, its main principals and goals, instruments and paths of their implementation, as well as its achievements. The author also intends to determine the essence of Qatari foreign political identity and its components, arguing that it was the key to the small Gulf emirate’s global success. Through formulation and assertion of its exceptionalism, skilled promotion of its image as a modern and progressive state, useful military and political partner, reliable supplier of fuel, sought-after international mediator and donor of humanitarian assistance, powerful investor, a transport, cultural, educational, financial hub and a tourist destination in combination with efficient balancing strategy, Doha was able to carve a distinguished niche for itself and cement its position as an important global actor. Despite of a number of setbacks in foreign policy tactics and reputational losses that followed, regardless of speculations about the unrepairable damage to all the previous achievements, the young emir has proven his commitment to the resonant foreign political identity his predecessor had shaped. Its core elements include demonstrative independence and self-sufficiency, exceptionalism distinguishing the emirate form other Gulf monarchies, refusal to accept the bounds of conventional perceptions of “friends” and “foes”, combination of traditions and modernity, as well as vision and proactivity.

АРАБСЬКА МОДЕЛЬ УПРАВЛІННЯ У ДОБУ ЦИФРОВІЗАЦІЇ: ДОСВІД КРАЇН МЕNA

The article is devoted to the scientific understanding of the peculiarities of the development of the Middle East (MENA countries) in the global context, which is accompanied by the development of new theoretical approaches and the study of the possibilities of their application to regional realities. Identification of effective directions of economic modernization in the countries - exporters of hydrocarbon raw materials, search for new examples of the economic model of the specified countries, search for replacement of petrodollars with other sources of income. Within the framework of this study, the indicated parameters will be considered through the prism of the problems of inter-Arab cooperation and the interaction of the Arab world with external actors. In this work uses methods of structural, systemic and statistical analysis. At the forefront of the movement towards a digital society are the Gulf monarchies, where internet penetration has doubled over the past decade and now stands at 95% and above, ahead of the leaders of the Global North on this parameter, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) becoming the first and so far the only country in the world with 100% Internet users. The digital economy is becoming as a new trend in the UAE economy. The some countries in the Middle Eastern region have already developed clear plans for digital transformations in the health care system. In the conditions of complex Middle Eastern geopolitics, the UAE is trying to build a new economic model based on knowledge and innovation. For this, three conditions are necessary: the presence of significant financial resources, which are investment capital; availability of a large number of qualified labor force, especially in the field of IT; good business climate and regulatory conditions for the creation of new technology companies. Thanks to the digitization of the economy, the standard of living of a person improves, but there is also a negative moment as a result of transformational changes, as the thesis and antithesis of any social phenomenon - and this is cyber security and cyber attacks. Therefore, the Arab world in general is picking up pace in the field of creating cyber protection, showing similarities with global development trends, but at the same time with a variety of strategies and practices for promoting a safe digital environment.

Armies of Arabia: Military Politics and Effectiveness in the Gulf

Armies of Arabia: Military Politics and Effectiveness in the Gulf

Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East: losses and gains

The article analyzes the US foreign policy in the Middle East in the context of the growing confrontation between the collective West and Russia against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis. Particular attention is paid to the results of the visit of US President Joe Biden to Israel, to the West Bank of the Jordan River to the State of Palestine and to Saudi Arabia, which he made in mid-July 2022. The author comes to the conclusion that another attempt by Washington to draw the countries of the region into its behind-the-scenes foreign policy games has failed. The Middle Eastern allies and partners of the United States represented by Israel, the monarchies of the Persian Gulf and other Arab states took a neutral position in relation to the confl ict in Ukraine, and the oil and gas exporting countries did not go for a sharp increase in hydrocarbon supplies to the EU countries and the UK, as he insistently asked Biden. The White House failed to put together a regional anti-Iranian bloc on the basis of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC), as the leaders of Qatar, Oman and Iraq are determined to maintain their traditional ties and contacts with Tehran. Moreover, these countries are making mediation eff orts to normalize relations between the Saudi Arabia and Iran, and there are prerequisites for success in this matter. In general, the Arabs do not support the US administration's concept of hegemony in the world and building a unipolar world order in the Middle East. Even with some remaining dependence on the United States and the West as a whole in the fi nancial, economic, military-technical and other fi elds, the Arab countries prefer to pursue an independent policy on key issues of our time, develop a multipolar world, and maintain mutually benefi cial and respectful relations with all states, including China and Russia. The Arab capitals are in no hurry to speed up the rapprochement with the State of Israel, which is imposed by Washington, expecting from its leadership to intensify eff orts to justly resolve the Palestinian problem and liberate the illegally occupied Arab lands. Even the bogey exaggerated by the White House of a common threat to the Middle East from the hypothetical appearance of Iran's nuclear weapons and its expansion in the region cannot persuade the Persian Gulf monarchies and other Arab countries to cooperate with Jerusalem in the military or military-technical fields.

A Shared Vision: Security Convergence between the Gulf and Israel

This essay provides an overview of the growing convergence of interests between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, the joint signatories to the 2020 Abraham Accords. It argues that the two Gulf states increasingly view Israel as an attractive model to emulate in terms of the management of internal dissent and external security. It details how both sides are seeking to develop a joint regional security architecture that mitigates their shared concerns around a possible return by the United States to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA), as well as the Gulf states’ specific anxiety about a broader US drawdown in the region. The analysis highlights how this new framework built around a common securitized approach is also intended to further the objectives of the two Gulf monarchies to lead the course of regional affairs.

RUSSIA AND THE GULF MONARCHIES: QUEST FOR COMMON INTERESTS AND PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION

The article deals with the current state and the prospects of relations between Russia and the Gulf monarchies. The author analyzes the most important political and economic interests of Moscow in the Gulf, and makes a brief overview of bilateral ties with the most important partners in this subregion. The author also shows the factors that affected the development of Russia’s relations with the Gulf monarchies. Particular attention is focused on the efforts of the Russian Federation to play a role of an active peacemaker and its attempts to reduce tensions between the Gulf states and Iran. The author comes to the conclusion that the importance of the Persian Gulf for Russia’s long-term political and economic goals is increasing, and the Gulf states became valuable partners of the Russian Federation in various spheres, including counterterrorism and the settlement of the Syrian crisis. There are also good prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in a number of other areas such as hydrocarbons, nuclear energy and food security.

The Abraham Accords between Israel, UAE and Bahrain in the context of changing of the geopolitical reality in the Middle East

The article analyzes the geopolitical significance of the normalization agreements between Israel, UAE and Bahrain, which were signed in September 2020 and became known as the Abraham Accords (the title refers to the Biblical Abraham, who is considered to be the forefather of both Arabs and Jews). The authors examine the historical background of the agreements, their features and differences from the previous acts on the Arab-Israeli settlement, as well as their impact on the geopolitical reality of the Middle East. In addition, the article contains predictions on the possible prospects of the remaining Gulf States (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait) joining the agreements. As the authors note, the normalization between Israel and the two Gulf monarchies has become possible due to three main factors. The first factor is the presence of the common enemy, Iran, which threatens both the Jewish state and the Gulf monarchies. The second factor is the consequential decline of the importance of the Palestinian issue among the Gulf leaders, disappointed with the stubbornness of Palestinian leadership and interested in cooperation with Israel. Finally, the authors underline the pro-Israeli policies of D.J.Trump, which strongly stimulated the acceleration in the normalization process, focusing on the Arab-Israeli normalization before reaching a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thus, according to the authors, the Abraham Accords have a potential to stimulate an acceleration to Arab-Israeli reconciliation all across the MENA region as it already did with Morocco and Sudan, which followed UAR and Bahrain in normalizing with Israel shortly after the accords were signed.