Crisis In The Gulf Cooperation Council

The Gulf Crisis marks a clear dividing line in the GCC's history reflecting a change in the political, economic, security, social and media realities of the intra-GCC relationship. The question on everyone's mind: will this Crisis be the final nail in the coffin of the Gulf Cooperation Council after nearly four decades?

This book delves into the economic development of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Since the 1960s, the GCC states have harnessed their potential to exploit the wealth accrued from the oil boom to build their infrastructure and grow their economies. However, the high level of dependency on oil as the primary source feeding their output made their economies volatile and vulnerable to fluctuations in the global oil prices. Moreover, the plunge in oil prices and the threat of depletion of this natural resource pose serious challenges to the GCC countries. Consequently, the GCC governments have realized the importance of diversifying their economies following the need to move away from reliance on hydrocarbon. This book contributes to the theoretical literature by enriching the debate on the transition of the GCC countries from rentier states to diversified economies. It helps students and scholars understand this transformation with an expansive comprehension of the contemporary challenges facing the region, as well as outlining prospects for the future.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, launching an economic blockade by land, air and sea. The self-proclaimed 'Anti-Terror Quartet' offered maximalist demands: thirteen 'conditions' recalling Austria-Hungary's 1914 ultimatum to Serbia. They may even have intended military action. Well into its second year, the standoff in the Gulf has no realistic end in sight. With the Bahraini and Emirati criminalisation of expressing support for Qatar, and the Saudi labelling of detainees as 'traitors' for their alleged Qatari links, bitterness has been stoked between deeply interconnected peoples. The adviser to the Saudi crown prince advocating a moat to physically separate Qatar from the Arabian Peninsula illustrates the ongoing intensity--and irrationality--of the crisis. Most reporting and analysis of these developments has focused on questions of regional geopolitics, and framed the standoff in terms of its impact on (largely) Western interests. Lost in this thicket of commentary is consideration of how the Qatari leadership and population have responded to the blockade. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup draws closer, the ongoing Qatar crisis becomes increasingly important to understand. Ulrichsen offers an authoritative study of this international standoff, from both sides.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Possessing a significant share of the world's oil and gas reserves and including some of the world's fastest growing economies, the GCC is a significant regional grouping. As with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Council has made significant progress towards economic integration. Seeking to draw out lessons applicable to ASEAN, this report looks at the structure and evolution of the GCC. This includes the context within which the Council was established, its rationale, and economic importance. It then follows the organization's development over time, paying particular importance to its progress from Customs Union and Common Market towards Monetary Union. The report then sets out the key challenges ahead for the Council, and concludes by highlighting the structural, organizational, and political lessons that resonate with ASEAN and its membership.

Departmental papers are usually focused on a specific economic topic, country, or region. They are prepared in a timely way to support the outreach needs of the IMF’s area and functional departments.

This paper focuses on impact of the global financial crisis on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries and challenges ahead. The oil price boom led to large fiscal and external balance surpluses in the GCC countries. However, it also generated domestic imbalances that began to unravel with the onset of the global credit squeeze. As the global deleveraging process took hold, and oil prices and production fell, the GCC’s external and fiscal surpluses declined markedly, stock and real estate markets plunged, credit default swap spreads on sovereign debt widened, and external funding for the financial and corporate sectors tightened. In order to offset the shocks brought on by the crisis, governments—buttressed by strong international reserve positions—maintained high levels of spending and introduced exceptional financial measures, including capital and liquidity injections. The immediate priority is to complete the clean-up of bank balance sheets and the restructuring of the nonbanking sector in some countries. Clear communication by the authorities would help implementation, ease investor uncertainty, and reduce speculation and market volatility.

This book provides an overview of the origins, repercussions and projected future of the ongoing Gulf crisis, as well as an analysis of the major issues and debates relating to it. The Gulf region witnessed an extraordinary rift when, on 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all diplomatic ties and imposed a siege on the State of Qatar following the hacking of the Qatar News Agency website. This book approaches the Gulf crisis from an interdisciplinary perspective by bringing together a group of top scholars from a wide range of disciplines and areas of expertise to engage in a nuanced debate on the current crisis. With the pressing role of media in general and social media in particular, new political realities have been created in the region. The book addresses the role that cyber and information security play on politics, as well as the shift of alliances in the region as a result of the crisis. It scrutinizes the role of media and information technology in creating political cultures as well as conflicts. The book also explores the long-term economic implications of the siege imposed on Qatar and identifies how the country's economy is adjusting to the impact of the siege. Thus, the book considers the extent of social and economic changes that the crisis has brought to the region. This book invites in-depth understanding of the regional crisis and its implications on nation building and the reconfiguration of political and economic alliances across the region. It will appeal to a broad interdisciplinary readership in the area of Gulf studies.