The Gulf And International Security

This book discusses the threats and challenges facing the Persian Gulf and the future security in the region, providing an overview of the major regional and extra-regional actors in Gulf security. It argues that except for Iran, no regional or extra-regional actors, including the United States, China, India and Russia, have developed a strategy for Persian Gulf security, and only Turkey has expressed a willingness to provide security for the region. Importantly, the major threats to Persian Gulf security are nonconventional, rather than external, threats to Iranian hegemony or the balance of power. In conclusion, it predicts that the power struggle in the Persian Gulf in the coming decades will be between Iran and Turkey, and not between Iran and Saudi Arabia. This book is of interest to diplomats, journalists, international affairs specialists, strategists and scholars of Gulf politics and security and defence studies.

Small states are often believed to have been resigned to the margins of international politics. However, the recent increase in the number of small states has increased their influence and forced the international community to incorporate some of them into the global governance system. This is particularly evident in the Middle East where small Gulf states have played an important role in the changing dynamics of the region in the last decade. The Small Gulf States analyses the evolution of these states’ foreign and security policies since the Arab Spring. With particular focus on Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, it explores how these states have been successful in not only guaranteeing their survival, but also in increasing their influence in the region. It then discusses the security dilemmas small states face, and suggests a multitude of foreign and security policy options, ranging from autonomy to influence, in order to deal with this. The book also looks at the influence of regional and international actors on the policies of these countries. It concludes with a discussion of the peculiarities and contributions of the Gulf states for the study of small states’ foreign and security policies in general. Providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the unique foreign and security policies of the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) before and after the Arab Spring, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Middle East studies, foreign policy and international relations.

A perspective on the countries involved in the Gulf conflict, dealing with the oil price dynamics, the Reagan administration's dealings with Saudi Arabia, Gorbachev's new politics and its implications, conflicts among the Arab sheikhdoms and the impact of the Iran-Iraq War.

The connection between regional instability and the preservation of global security is nowhere more sensitive than in the Gulf. Events since the 1990-1991 Gulf War continue to confirm the fragile interaction among states in the region and their susceptibility to external forces. Gulf Security in the Twenty-First Century brings together some of the foremost area experts to explore the most pressing issues, including military threats to the region, obstacles to economic development and socioeconomic harmonization, and challenges to political stability. In particular, the work examines Iran's often enigmatic foreign policy vis-à-vis its Gulf neighbors, Iraq's resurgent military threat, choices and constraints confronting US Middle East policy, and Europe's inability to identify and pursue a united policy to safeguard its economic interests in the area. These topics are further illuminated with an analysis of Russia's historical attempt at balancing foreign policy objectives in the Gulf with its enduring interests in Central Asia. The potentially explosive issues of religious radicalism and the challenges of democratic pluralism are discussed in an effort to ascertain the potential of political Islam to disturb or enhance regional security. Similarly, the problems inhibiting the settlement of territorial disputes in and around the Gulf are brought into focus to illustrate lingering historical tensions among neighboring states. To round out the book's topical coverage, several contributors shed light on the region's unfettered dependence on foreign labor, growing demographic pressures, associated social and economic transformations, and challenges to responsive public policy.

The U.S. military maintains a significant presence across the Arabian Peninsula but it must now confront a new and emerging dynamic as most Gulf Cooperation Council countries have begun to diversify their political, economic, and security partnerships with countries other than the United States—with many turning to ascending powers such as China, Russia, and India. For Gulf Arab monarchies, the choice of security partner is made more complicated by increased domestic and regional instability stemming in part from Iraq, Syria, and a menacing Iran: factors that threaten to alter totally the Middle East security dynamic. Understanding the dynamics of base politicization in a Gulf host nation—or any other—is therefore vitally important for the U.S. today. Gulf National Security and the U.S. Military examines both Gulf Arab national security and U.S. military basing relations with Gulf Arab monarchy hosts from the Second World War to the present day. Three in-depth country cases—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman—help explain the important questions posed by the author regarding when and why a host nation either terminated a U.S. military basing presence or granted U.S. military basing access. The analysis of the cases offers a fresh perspective on how the United States has adapted to sometimes rapidly shifting Middle East security dynamics and factors that influence a host nation's preference for eviction or renegotiation, based on its perception of internal versus external threats.

This book brings together the papers presented at ‘Gulf Security: Identifying and Confronting the Challenges,’ a symposium held at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) on February 24, 2020. Highlighting the various challenges faced by GCC countries, amid the region’s strategic and geopolitical significance, the book examines the Gulf’s influence over global trade routes and its role in maintaining international energy security. The book underscores the vital importance of international cooperation and sound Arab leadership in the face of a growing number of challenges and threats, particularly against the backdrop of external interference in regional issues. Several regional issues of global significance are explored, including the Iranian crisis and the resultant risks to maritime security amid repeated threats to close the Strait of Hurmuz. In responding to these issues, the book emphasizes the importance of pursuing political action to avoid military conflict in the region, which would result in catastrophic damage to the regional and wider global economy and global security. The book also addresses the transition from oil and gas to renewable energy, focusing on the implications for the GCC. Finally, the balance of international and intra-regional alliances in the Middle East is covered, examining the role of Russia, the US and China in response to the challenges that undermine the security and stability of the Arabian Gulf region.

Since the 19th century the Gulf region has been an area of intense interest, having been influenced first by the British and more recently by the Americans. This book charts the changing security and political priorities of these two powers and how they have shaped the region. Adopting a narrative approach, the author provides background history on British involvement from the 19th century and a detailed analysis of the years after the Second World War, when oil supply became more critical. He covers the growth of US influence and the British withdrawal, and follows more recent changes as the US built up its military presence following Desert Storm and the invasion of Iraq. Looking at the three enduring missions fulfilled by the British - maintaining interstate order, protecting the free flow of commerce, which later included petroleum; and keeping out other Great Powers – the book demonstrates how these had by 1991 been assumed almost entirely by the American leaders. A comprehensive and thorough look at the history of the Gulf and the contemporary issues affecting the region, this will be essential reading for students of Middle East history, military history and diplomatic history. Visit the author's website at www.thepoliticsandsecurityofthegulf.com

The Arabian Gulf region has increasingly become the focus of international concern since the Gulf War of 1991 which clearly demonstrated the link between regional stability and global security. An effective Gulf security framework hinges, to a great extent, on the integration of national and regional policies with the defense policies of allied countries. The end of the Cold War has afforded the opportunity for the Gulf region to develop a more stable security paradigm that is not constrained by the imperatives of a bipolar system. Against this backdrop, this book examines the foundation and the scope for closer security ties between the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This volume includes a number of specialized papers presented by prominent military officials and experts from the GCC countries and Britain in a conference held jointly by ECSSR and the Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies (RUSI) in London, April 29-30, 1998. The book thus offers a unique opportunity to access professional experience in the field of security and stresses the need to develop a greater range of consultative mechanisms. In highlighting both immediate and potential threats to Gulf security and effective national and regional measures to counter them, the book aspires to provide a deeper understanding of the security issues that will define the shape of the GCC-UK relationship in the twenty-first century.