Apicorp Report: W-Shaped Recovery for MENA as Energy Investments Plunge
A protracted slump in upstream oil and gas investment may result in the undesirable return of price volatility and market imbalance.
Regional Affairs
China’s Gulf Partnerships Likely to Weather Current Global Crises
The complementary nature of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Gulf “vision” development programs has established another pillar of China-Gulf cooperation.
Mental Health in the Gulf: Reforms and Challenges
While youth-led awareness campaigns and public health education are shifting the landscape of mental health care in the Gulf, sociocultural challenges persist.
Bahrain
Bahrain’s Royal Family Adjusts for the Future
The recent elevation of Bahrain’s young prince, Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa, to national security advisor is the latest indication of maneuvers to secure the future hierarchy of the monarchy.
Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Compete to be Gulf’s Cryptocurrency Hub
The heightened interest in cryptocurrencies across the Gulf is taking place alongside global efforts to both regulate digital assets and attract cryptocurrency firms.
Bahraini Women Make Gains amid Tightening Political Freedom
Since adopting a new constitution in 2001, the government of Bahrain has promoted women’s rights and political participation. However, challenges remain for reaching gender equality in politics, and for creating a more open political space in the kingdom.
Kuwait
Populism on the Rise in Kuwait as Elections Loom
Under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic and the political imperatives of upcoming elections, populism is raging in Kuwait. It colors public discourse high and low, from elite campaigns to root out corruption to grassroot demands to expel guest workers.
The National Union of Kuwaiti Students: Nurturing a Commitment to Civic Engagement?
Student unions and clubs have played an important role in the lives of Gulf Arab students, both in local universities and abroad.
The Rise of Bidun Literature: Representation and Advocacy in Kuwait
A number of works about the situation of the biduns, or stateless people, have emerged into Kuwait’s contemporary literary scene.
Oman
Oman Jump-Starts Its Slow-Moving Technology Initiatives
Advancing Oman’s technology initiatives can help the government address economic challenges that have assumed a new degree of urgency following the coronavirus outbreak and oil price collapse.
The Business Diplomats: The Power of Bania Traders in Oman
The Bania Indian-origin mercantile community is mediating the New Delhi-Muscat relationship in a low oil price Oman.
Oman’s New Sultan Unlikely to Pursue Qaboos’ Monopoly of Power
Sultan Haitham will need to balance powerful interests while engaging all parties, especially as he tackles economic policy.
Qatar
Qatar Balances Fraught Regionalism Against Uncertain Globalization
In order to remain a relevant actor in the global economic order, Qatar has established a middle ground between the trends of regionalism and globalization through a strategic strengthening of bilateral partnerships.
Qatar Shuffles Back to the Future
Qatar’s recent Cabinet reshuffle and announcement it will withdraw from OPEC are decisions that are not likely to herald a strategic shift in the country’s direction, but they do demonstrate that Doha is, once again, pursuing its own regional interests.
Qatar, Turkey, and the Politics and Perils of Reciprocity
With Turkey’s economic woes, Qatar has leapt to its aid, but sitting uncomfortably between two critical allies, Ankara and Washington, Doha must tread carefully.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia Hikes Its VAT, But for How Long?
Saudi Arabia has adopted strict austerity measures to combat the dual effect of falling oil prices and the coronavirus crisis. Unlike previous measures that were lifted when oil prices recovered, a July 1 VAT increase (from 5% to 15%) is more likely to stay in place, which could present challenges to low-income families, businesses, and plans to revive domestic tourism.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Goes on a Spending Spree
A tense period in U.S.-Saudi relations has not dissuaded the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund from investing in major U.S. companies during an opportunistic spending spree.
Max Weber in Arabia: Saudi’s Character Enrichment Program
As the Saudi government manages the fallout from collapsing oil revenue, it will be seeking greater contributions from the Saudi public. A little-known program to instill the productive values of entrepreneurship, hard work, and optimism may have found its moment.
United Arab Emirates
UAE Security Apparatus Central to Its Pandemic Response
The UAE’s growing military engagement has contributed to the steady rise of the armed forces as the centerpiece of a power and influence strategy carved out by the UAE’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Zayed.
UAE Messaging to Israel is Bold and Complex, But Potentially Misunderstood
UAE officials are doing their best to warn Israelis against annexation, but the medium may trump the message.
Young Emirati Women Take the Stage in an Experimental Theater Production
“Al Raheel,” a play written by a young Emirati woman, made its world premiere in January in Abu Dhabi. With its all-female Emirati cast, this poetic and innovative production shakes many assumptions about theater and what it means to be a young woman in today’s United Arab Emirates.
Iran
Strategic Partnership Agreement With China Represents Lifeline for Iran
The Iran-China agreement appears as a framework for cooperation. Its realization depends on external factors over which Iran has no influence.
What Iran’s Military Journals Reveal About the Role of Missiles in Strategic Deterrence
A pilot survey of Imam Hussein University academic journals shows the limits of academic freedom in the Islamic Republic, save a few pieces reflecting the Iranian leadership’s view of the role of missiles in strategic deterrence.
Constants in Iran’s Security Policy Under the Pahlavi Regime and the Islamic Republic
Survival supersedes ideology, and the ruling elites of the Islamic Republic find themselves adhering to the constants in security policy of a predecessor they vilify.
Yemen
Houthis’ Approach to Coronavirus Designed to Benefit Movement’s Elite
Donors’ efforts are needed to ensure access to coronavirus assistance is open to all citizens without discrimination, lest they risk exacerbating social bias and inequality in an already frail country.
Two Pillars of Yemeni Peace Efforts Near Collapse as Saudis Search for an Exit Door
The specter of a Saudi withdrawal from Yemen is prompting parties to the conflict to shore up their positions, further destabilizing the country.
The Conflict in Yemen in its Sixth Year
On March 30, AGSIW hosted a briefing discussing salient issues and developments in the conflict in Yemen as it enters its sixth year.
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Through its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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